Welcome to The Surfus Foundation

VIDEO DISCLAIMER: The video above of The Lavender Forum was created in both Microsoft Teams and Cisco Webex due to some technical issues that we were having. We are thankful to the candidates for their patience as we navigated some technology issues. The editing of the video removed the portion of the conversation regarding the technical issues, but the actual questions answered by the candidates were not edited. Each candidate received 2 minute responses and responses were timed to ensure equal response time.

The Lavender Forum was on Monday, September 23, 2024 at 6pm. The Lavender Forum featured Grand Rapids Mayoral Candidates David LaGrand and Senita Lenear to discuss key LGBTIQ+ policy issues facing Grand Rapids. The event was open to the public. 

Supplemental Questions from Candidates

We asked the candidates to complete supplemental questions on Business/Economy issues. Below are the questions we asked.

  1. How will you encourage or support LGBTQ+ owned businesses in the city? Or how would you increase the representation of LGBTQ+ owned business in the city?
  2. How will you elevate the philanthropic community that works specifically on LGBTQ+ equity concerns?
  3. How will you address homelessness in the City of Grand Rapids, and more specifically LGBTQ+ youth homelessness?
  4. How will you introduce or expand city services for vulnerable groups that are part of the LGBTQ+ community?

David LaGrand’s Responses

  1. I will vigilantly support those businesses against any and all bullying threats, and I will spend my dollars with them. This week I went to the Lotus Brew Coffee house. 🙂
  2. Any group that can contribute to the flourishing of Grand Rapidians will always have my support.
  3. There is a lot of work to be done in the area of homelessness. Many groups are doing this great work. For example, AYA works with LGBTQ+ homeless youth; I have met with their leadership and am excited to help them do more.
  4. Expansion of services for underserved communities is an ongoing priority. We need to foster a community where we all act with empathy and charity for our neighbors. 

Senita Lenear’s Responses

  1. I would focus efforts to increase LBGTQ+ owned businesses by ensuring more representation on our corridor improvement authorities. I have served on our southtown CIA and it has been an important economic tool for existing as well as new businesses to connect to. I would also point to efforts in our equitable economic development and mobile GR plan that was approved in 2019, in the plan we have several strategies to ensure more diverse representation in all aspects of economic development. I would also be sure to work to connect to capital partners outside of the city, as that is one of the more prevalent barriers to business creation.
  2. In my civic and business experiences I have worked closely with the greater philanthropic community and also recognize that philanthropy is defined in new and different ways. I would look for ways to connect to support grassroots organizations and individuals with lived experiences to lead LGBTQ+ equity concerns.
  3. The issue of homelessness is one that will require the the city and leadership to work closely with our county and other municipalities. I would also use my past experience leading the kent county community action board to connect our city and county resources. Our community development department has focused on rapid rehousing and full housing solutions and I recognize that shelter is not a long term solution and may need to have more investment to ensure people are safe, especially LGBTQ+ youth who are experiencing homelessness.
  4. I think it is important to focus on the investments that the city has core responsibility for, including economic development, public safety and community development. I would point to my responses to question #1 regarding economic development, public safety has been a core issue for me as a past commissioner and I would support discussions on how the LGBTQ+ community wants to interact with all our public safety departments. Lastly, would make sure that our community development efforts reflect the needs I address in questions #3.

Introducing the Surfus Scholars program!

 

The Surfus Scholars program logo featuring a rainbow icon and text that reads "Surfus Scholars" and "The Surfus Foundation."

 

The Surfus Scholars program is our scholarship program. Our first scholarship is the Dr. Chris R. Surfus Presidential Scholarship. The application period is now closed for the 2024-25 academic year. No scholarships were awarded for the 2024-25 academic year. The Board of Directors will decide on future scholarship application cycles soon.

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November 15, 2023 Update: Grand Rapids earns 100 score on Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index

The Surfus Foundation Press Release for Grand Rapids MEI 2023

February 17, 2023 Update: The Surfus Foundation releases updated LGBT Population of the United States estimate.

The Surfus Foundation estimates that the LGBT population of the United States has risen 10 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic. LGBT people are now 8.8 percent of the U.S. population. This data is from the U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey (Phase 3.5-3.7), using 461,550 surveys and is nationally representative of 252,481,011 U.S. adults, aged 18 and older. 95% CI. The prior LGBT population was 7.93% (HPS Phase 3.2) of the U.S. population. The analysis was completed by Dr. Chris R. Surfus. The Surfus Foundation is an LGBTQ+ public policy and research foundation in Grand Rapids, MI.

 

December 16, 2022- Grand Rapids Municipal Equality Index Score Upgraded

This past summer, The Surfus Foundation launched its Grand 100 Campaign in an effort to make Grand Rapids the 5th city in Michigan to have a perfect 100 score on the Municipal Equality Index. We have since been working with the city in partnership to advance key policy priority areas for the LGBTQ+ community. We are focused on work for 2023 to:

  • Ban Conversion Therapy at the local and state level
  • Implement Transgender-Inclusive Healthcare Benefits for city workers.
  • Advocate for a City Contractor Nondiscrimination Policy update to protect the LGBTQ+ community from discrimination from city partners.

These areas will continue the work of the Grand 100 Campaign to bring us  to our goals. We are pleased to celebrate the first increase in the Grand Rapids MEI score in over 3 years. Grand Rapids increased from 92 to 94. Transgender-Inclusive Healthcare Benefits could bring us to our 100 score goal. Still, the 100 score is largely a floor or base level of where we want to be on LGBTQ+ inclusivity. We want to work to make Grand Rapidians thrive at every level of economic development and human rights.

Grand 100 Campaign The campaign to make Grand Rapids, MI LGBTQ+ Inclusive We need Grand Rapids to: 1. Advocate For LGBTQ+ Inclusive Public Policy 2. Adopt Transgender Inclusive Employee Benefits 3. Advocate Against Harmful Conversion Therapy 4. Implement LGBTQ+ Inclusive City Services Image: This image is The Surfus Foundation's prior logo from 2021-22.

July 21, 2022- Grand Rapids City Manager’s Office Update

Dr. Surfus received a call at The Surfus Foundation from the City Manager’s office of the City of Grand Rapids. We will be working with the department that focuses on Diversity and Inclusion for the City of Grand Rapids implement the goals of The Surfus Foundation’s Grand 100 campaign.

July 12, 2022- Surfus Foundation President Dr. Chris Surfus addresses Grand Rapids City Commission.

July 6, 2022 Update

We are taking this important step to make Grand Rapids the 5th city in the State of Michigan to have a 100 score on the Municipal Equality Index (MEI). Currently, Grand Rapids has a 92 out of 100.
The Surfus Foundation has identified four key focus areas for improvement in its Grand 100 campaign. First, it is essential that the City of Grand Rapids press the State of Michigan to adopt LGBTQ+ inclusive policy. Second, the City of Grand Rapids itself must adopt Transgender-Inclusive Employee Benefits. Third, the Mayor and the City Manager of Grand Rapids need to make public statements condemning Conversion Therapy and press for the State of Michigan to ban such a harmful practice. Finally, the City of Grand Rapids needs to adopt a series of services that connect the nonprofit organizations that provide similar services with the city government services for the LGBTQ+ community. These services include youth (including anti-bullying policies), homeless, transgender, older adults, and people living with HIV/AIDS.
While a combination of the above will get us to 100 on the MEI, it is also important to note that the Public Accommodations component of the MEI are worth 3 points in our journey from 92 to 100. These points can be earned by providing gender-neutral or all gender restrooms in all of the city buildings. Dr. Surfus notes that this progress has been made at City Hall, and that this is perhaps the most involved of the proposed changes. Thus, the four above key focus areas were selected as the easiest path to 100.

Pride Month Update

Grand Rapids, today we celebrate Pride. Tomorrow, we get to work.

The Surfus Foundation will be asking the City of Grand Rapids to adopt LGBTQ+ protections that will make Grand Rapids the 5th Michigan city (after Ann Arbor, Detroit, East Lansing, and Ferndale) to achieve a perfect 100 score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index.

The Surfus Foundation will specifically ask the City of Grand Rapids to adopt the following changes to policy:

  • Adopt Transgender-Inclusive Healthcare Benefits for City of Grand Rapids employees.
  • Protect youth from harmful Conversion Therapy.
  • -Issue a Proclamation condemning the practice of conversion therapy.
  • -Develop policies that are against the use of conversion therapy.
  • Issue a Proclamation urging State of Michigan legislative policy changes to protect the LGBTQ+ community.
  • Create a network of LGBTQ+ services for youth, those experiencing homelessness, older adults, those living with HIV/AIDS, and the transgender community that links government resources with nonprofit sector resources.

The Surfus Foundation will be asking Kent County, MI Board of Commissioners to adopt a county-wide Nondiscrimination Policy to protect the LGBTQ+ community in housing, employment, and public accommodations. This includes amending the Human Resources policies of Kent County to protect the LGBTQ+ community.

#SurfusStyle Store.