🌈 Rainbow Camp®
Permanent Home Campaign
The Home We Never Had
Help build a permanent home for Rainbow Camp®, a place where 2SLGBTQ+ youth and allies can experience belonging, leadership, mental wellness, chosen family, and community for generations to come.
Many of us grew up without a safe place where we could fully be ourselves. Together, we can build that place for the next generation.
A permanent home would allow Rainbow Camp® to grow beyond seasonal programming and become a year-round place of belonging for youth, elders, families, volunteers, and allies.
Youth
Safety, joy, leadership, and belonging.
Legacy
A lasting gift to future generations.
Community
Year-round connection and care.
Home
A permanent base for Rainbow Camp®.
Why this matters
Rainbow Camp® changes what growing up can feel like.
For many queer, trans, Two-Spirit, non-binary, questioning, and allied youth, Rainbow Camp® is the first place they can exhale. It is a place where they are not asked to hide, shrink, explain, or defend who they are.
For many older 2SLGBTQ+ people and long-time allies, spaces like this did not exist when they were young. The Home We Never Had is an invitation to help create what so many of us needed then, and what young people still urgently need now.
The vision
A permanent, year-round home for belonging.
A permanent home would give Rainbow Camp® the stability to plan for the future, reduce uncertainty, expand access, and create more opportunities for 2SLGBTQ+ youth and allies to connect with safe, affirming community.
The vision is not only about land or buildings. It is about creating a brave, welcoming place where young people can grow into themselves, where elders can share wisdom, where families can find support, and where community can gather with pride.
Who this home is for
Centred on youth. Open to generations.
Rainbow Camp® youth remain at the heart of this campaign. The permanent home vision begins with young people who deserve safety, joy, friendship, and affirmation now.
Intergenerational belonging
The home many of us needed can become the home young people inherit.
The phrase The Home We Never Had carries a powerful intergenerational message. It honours the lived experience of older 2SLGBTQ+ people while keeping today’s youth at the centre of the work.
This campaign can invite elders, older gay men, long-time allies, and community builders to help create a place where future generations have access to affirmation, chosen family, mental wellness, leadership, and pride.
Ways to help
You can help build this home.
This campaign needs more than one kind of support. Every gift, introduction, lead, and conversation can move Rainbow Camp® closer to a permanent home.
Make a donation
Give now to support Rainbow Camp® and help move the permanent home vision forward.
Make a pledge
Consider a multi-year pledge that helps create stability and momentum for the campaign.
Consider a legacy gift
A gift in your will can help ensure future generations of 2SLGBTQ+ youth have a place to belong.
Share a land or property lead
Know of land, a camp property, retreat space, or a potential donor? Start the conversation with us.
Founding supporters
Join the founding circle for Rainbow Camp®’s future home.
Early supporters can help build momentum, open doors, and show others that this vision is possible. Founding gifts may be one-time donations, multi-year pledges, matching gifts, legacy commitments, or major introductions.
Friend of the Future Home$500+
Builder$1,000+
Pathfinder$5,000+
Homebuilder$10,000+
Legacy Founder$25,000+
Visionary Founder$100,000+
Recognition can be discussed privately and respectfully. Some supporters may prefer public recognition, while others may wish to give quietly or through their estate plans.
Why now
Rainbow Camp® needs long-term stability to keep growing.
Rainbow Camp® has already shown what is possible when 2SLGBTQ+ youth and allies are welcomed into a brave, affirming space. A permanent home would allow us to protect that work, grow it responsibly, and plan beyond one season at a time.
The need is bigger than a summer schedule. Youth need belonging. Families need hope. Elders need connection. Communities need places where dignity, pride, and care are lived out in practical ways.
Help build the home many of us never had.
Your support can help Rainbow Camp® move toward a permanent, year-round home where 2SLGBTQ+ youth and allies are safe, seen, celebrated, and connected for generations to come.
Email: info@welcomefriend.ca
Website: rainbowcamp.ca