We are a national specialist infrastructure and membership organisation.
We work to build the resource, sustainability and resilience of LGBT+ groups, organisations and projects so that they can deliver direct services and campaign for individual rights.
Consortium is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee.
We welcome new members all year round and all memberships renew on an annual basis. When assessing applications for new membership, or during annual renewal, Consortium considers a range of factors.
We welcome members who are positively supportive of the aims and objectives of Consortium. We expect members to share our values of positive and collaborative communication and engagement, as well as our ambition for a flourishing, diverse and inclusive LGBT+ third sector.
Little specialist infrastructure exists to support LGBT+ groups and organisations, and existing voluntary sector infrastructure organisations have often failed to acknowledge or provide the right support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans plus projects.
Consortium was set up in 1998 to address these gaps and to nurture the development of an LGB sector. In 2003, the desire for greater diversity from Members saw Consortium expand its brief to include trans voluntary and community organisations. In 2018, in recognition of the ever-increasing diversity of LGBT+ organisations, we included the plus (+) to proactively highlight our support for those LGBT+ organisations serving diverse parts of our sector.
We currently host the largest network of LGBT+ groups, projects and organisations in the UK.
Many lesbian, gay, bi and trans plus voluntary and community organisations have developed in response to poor mainstream services and support. LGBT+ initiatives vary in their focus from housing and health to helplines and self-help groups--and everything in between!
Community forums provide a voice for LGBT+ individuals at the local level; and national campaigning groups challenge discrimination within the structures and laws of society.
Although diverse, innovative and passionate, the LGBT+ sector has historically been marginalised, underfunded, and thus isolated and disparate. Many groups operate exclusively through the use of volunteers; and income for the sector remains incredibly low (at 0.06% of national charitable income).
