2027 – 2029 Project Continuation Campaign

The American-German Institute is launching a sponsorship campaign to continue the project “Building LGBTQ+ Communities in Germany and the United States.”

In shifting political landscapes, human and civil rights, in particular for minority and LGBTQ+ populations, face renewed challenges in both Germany and the United States. At a moment when progress is being questioned and vulnerable communities are under pressure, transatlantic collaboration and shared learning are more crucial than ever.

About the Project

LGBTQ+ individuals and their communities have been organizing to assert their rights for over a century, especially in Germany and the United States—two countries that were early pioneers and that have currently achieved more equality than other places. But many challenges persist, especially as a backlash to greater LGBTQ+ and civil rights has been visible in both countries.

A comparative examination of the history, present, and future of LGBTQ+ rights will generate new understandings, leadership skills, and policy lessons for both countries and many others around the world. This AGI project fosters cross-cultural exchange with participants from diverse backgrounds by sharing personal testimonies, successes and failures, and best practices through week-long study tours in the United States and Germany.

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Our Goal

AGI is seeking $50,000 per year for two years—a total of $100,000—to continue the Building LGBTQ+ Communities program in 2027 and 2028.

This investment will enable us to connect with new LGBTQ+ communities in both Germany and the United States, grow a more inclusive network, and deepen transatlantic dialogue. Planned expansion sites include:

  • Hamburg, Germany, and Denver, Colorado
  • Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and San Francisco, California

Support Us

Your pledge will support programmatic and administrative costs to make this initiative possible and advance the AGI mission to foster a greater transatlantic network. The following benefits will be activated once AGI reaches the full $100,000 campaign goal and the project extension is confirmed.

Individual / $500 – $6,999

  • Name listed on the AGI project webpage

Scholarship / $7,000

  • Named scholarship supporting one participant
  • Recognition on select project materials, the AGI website, and the participant’s deliverables

Corporate / $14,000

  • Company logo on the project website
  • Acknowledgement on social media

Please submit your pledge form by June 30, 2026, to AGI Program Associate Mr. Jack Fornasiero at jfornasiero@aicgs.org.

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Participant Testimonials


“The American-German Institute’s exchange program has profoundly reshaped my conceptual approach to queer activism. Encounters with queer activists and policymakers, alongside the sustained intellectual exchange within the American-German cohort, illuminated for me that transformative social change is most effectively initiated through collective structures. Prior to this experience, I had primarily understood myself, as a lesbian poet, to be operating in a solitary mode of resistance. Following my week in Washington, DC, I founded the “queerpoesie Kollektiv” in December 2025 — a consortium of queer writers committed to advancing political and societal transformation through their literary work. Our inaugural public presentation will take place on March 18, 2026, as part of the “Day of Democracy History,” proclaimed by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.”
—Mona Maijs, LiteraturRaumDortmundRuhr


“Participating in AGI’s Building LGBTQ+ Communities in Germany and the United States: Past, Present, and Future year-two cohort significantly expanded both my professional and personal networks. I gained invaluable insights from my cohort members and have remained meaningfully connected with several participants beyond the program. Our experience included a trip to New York City prior to the U.S. presidential election and a visit to Munich several months afterward, making our conversations and collaborative work especially timely and impactful. Building solidarity with and learning from LGBTQ+ individuals and organizations on both sides of the Atlantic has inspired me to become more involved in my local community. In our current era of political uncertainty and isolationism, these relationships with a diverse group of professionals across the United States and Germany have provided not only support and perspective, but also a deeper sense of shared purpose and connection.”
—Tyler Renner, People Assisting the Homeless (PATH)


“For me, this project came at exactly the right moment. Working at the municipal level, I see every day how questions of LGBTQ+ equality, democratic resilience, and social cohesion are becoming more contested, more politicized, and more vulnerable to backlash. What I valued most in the program was the transatlantic exchange grounded in concrete practice: learning from colleagues and institutions from Germany and the United States who face similar challenges yet operate in different political and social contexts. It helped sharpen my own perspective on how local administrations can actively support LGBTQ+ communities, even under increasing pressure, and how solidarity, networks, and historical awareness matter when democratic values are no longer taken for granted. The project also strengthened my work in Heidelberg professionally by providing concrete impulses and, perhaps most importantly, a sense that we are not working in isolation in difficult times.”
—Danijel Cubelic, Office of Equal Opportunities, City of Heidelberg

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About AGI

The American-German Institute is the only think tank focused exclusively on the vital partnership of Germany and the United States. Your generous donation supports transatlantic dialogue, scholarship, and research on issues confronting both countries.

For further questions about the project or the continuation campaign, contact Program Associate Mr. Jack Fornasiero at jfornasiero@aicgs.org.

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