Whether it’s for your hair, your bank, or your home, LGBTQ businesses are everywhere. And thanks to the internet, it’s easier than ever to support them. The website GLPages lists everything from accountants to mechanics, bars to dentists, and even shows you the cheapest place for your favorite queer lipstick. The app is equally expansive, and it’s easy to search by category or location.
For those shopping with intention, GLPages also allows users to select businesses that have been certified by the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI). That means these businesses have signed on to the HRC’s nondiscrimination policies, and they’re open to everyone—LGBTQ people included.
The business directory is free to use, and it’s a great way to find LGBTQ-friendly businesses in your area. And if there’s a LGBTbusiness you’d like to see added, you can submit a request through the site.
Another online resource is Everywhere Is Queer, which offers a worldwide map of LGBTQ-owned businesses. The website is still in its early phases, but already it has businesses from all over the world, including retailers such as Housewife Skateboards in Los Angeles and coffee shops such as Lussi Brown in Lexington, Kentucky. There are only four states that don’t have a LGBTQ-owned business listed on the map, and anyone can contribute by simply adding a business through an online form.
In New York City, the Pink Pages has a similar database of LGBT-friendly businesses. Users can navigate by region, then zero in on a state and categories such as jewelry. And the site includes a “Local Pride” section that lets users filter for businesses by neighborhood.
Other online resources for LGBTbusinesses near me finding LGBTbusinesses near you include a list of NYC businesses to support during Pride month, a list curated by the nonprofit LGBT Network, and the online store A Tribe Called Queer, which features items like shirts, pins, and bucket hats with messages such as “Femmes Can Be Themselves” and “Women of Color Are the Backbone of America.”
A few other ways to support LGBTbusinesses is to volunteer at those companies, and to attend events. The nonprofit LGBT Network, for example, hosts an annual LGBTQ networking event and a Pride week panel discussion. You can also join a gay or lesbian chamber of commerce in your area.
Another option is to donate money to LGBT-friendly charities, such as the New York City-based nonprofit A Tribe Called Queer or the Emergency Release Fund, which helps bail trans people out of jail before they can get their day in court. Then there are crowdfunding sites such as GoFundMe, which allow individuals to contribute to small businesses and projects. And if you’re in the mood for investing, there are LGBT-friendly venture capital funds such as Gaingels and Pipeline Angels.