This Was a Big Year for LGBT+ VC

Some years feel like chapters. This one felt like a whole book. It began with unexpected generosity—an anonymous fund of the Central Indiana Community Foundation who believed in our work before they ever met us. That single gesture set a current in motion that reached far more than any of us imagined.

What followed expanded outward, gathering people, breakthroughs, and milestones into something both ambitious and deeply meaningful. And if you’re reading this, it’s because you were part of that movement. You helped write this year.

Thousands of people felt the impact of LGBT+ VC. It was our largest footprint to date: a global network growing in scale, depth, and courage.

And we won’t bury the headlines. This was the year our work:

• Led with the New York Stock Exchange, where the Pride Summit—co-created and curated by LGBT+ VC—assembled investors, founders, and Fortune 500 leaders onto the trading floor for a historic day of leadership. The Summit marked one of only a handful of LGBTQ+-led economic moments in the Exchange’s 232-year history—and our organization helped shape it from inception to execution.

• Advanced AIDS investment strategy with The Elton John AIDS Foundation , shifting the narrative from charity to catalytic capital and driving meaningful progress at a time when major funding cuts hit.

• Collaborated with Adjuvant Capital, First Round Capital, Rebalance Capital, First Close Partners, and many leading venture investors, opening new doors for mobility within our award-winning fellowship program. Thank you for your support!

• Activated hundreds of VC-backed leaders and partners, especially women & gender-expansive people, mobilizing them to invest in, support, and uplift innovators and investors who have long been underestimated.

• Expanded our Legal Advisory Council, adding more top-tier expertise and founder support from day one.

• Invested in the future of 100+ Fellows & Alumni across 50+ campuses, empowering over 80% to enter into new venture roles, competitive graduate programs, or entrepreneurial pathways.

This year reinforced why we committed capital to this impact-driven thesis: investing in LGBTQ economic empowerment delivers measurable impact and generates long-term value creation.

The results speak for themselves. We've seen emerging fund managers raise. Founders we backed secured critical early-stage partnerships that unlocked their next phase of growth. Emerging talent gain unparalleled access to networks and opportunities previously out of reach due to discrimination. Our community drove meaningful career progression and geographic expansion from Chicago to Boston.

With your partnership, we will deepen our programs, scale our support, expand our reach into classrooms and boardrooms, and continue shaping a future where anyone can win.

Thank you for standing with us.
For believing in this work.
For investing in a future that will outlast us all.

Before you go, one final ask either:

1. Pay it forward — extend the generosity that once shaped your own path.

2. Partner with us — bring your network, expertise, or capital to what we're building. Our email [email protected] 

3. Stay tuned — the next chapter of LGBT+ VC will be nothing short of consequential.

From strength to strength with tremendous gratitude for all of you!
Jackson J. Block
LGBT+ VC