LGBTQ+ Pride Month

LGBTQ+ businesses in the United States contribute an estimated $1.7 trillion to America's economy, creating thousands of new jobs each year. Every June, SBA celebrates the LGBTQ+ innovators and entrepreneurs who provide essential services and diversify our communities.

• Chicago, 1924. The Society for Human Rights opens in Chicago, the first LGBTQ+ rights organization in the country.
• New York City, 1930. The Stonewall Inn opens its doors in the heart of Greenwich Village in lower Manhattan.
• San Francisco, 1956. The Ladder, the first nationally distributed lesbian publication, begins in San Francisco.
• New York City, 1967. The Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookstore, the first bookstore devoted to gay and lesbian authors, opens in New York City.
• San Francisco, 1972. Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in the history of California, opens Castro Camera.
• Nationwide, 2004. The National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce creates best-in-class diversity certification program for LGBTQ+ businesses.
• Nationwide, 2014. SBA hosts the Many Faces. One Dream. tour to empower LGBTQ+ communities of color.
• San Rafael, 2016. SBA names Equator Coffee as the Small Business of the Year, the first LGBTQ+ owned business to win the honor.
• Nationwide, 2020. The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects gay, lesbian, and transgender employees from discrimination based on sex.

SBA helps entrepreneurs with access to capital, mentorship, and business opportunities. The following resources will help you get started:

• Resources for LGBTQ+ business owners from SBA
• Certify your business with the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce
• Community Navigator Pilot Program outreach to the LGBTQ+ community

Explore upcoming events of interest to LGBTQ+ small business owners.

• LGBTQ+ Resources in Business and the Workplace from the Library of Congress
• Resources on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Workplace Rights from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• Protecting the Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex Individuals from the Department of Justice