An indoor event photograph showing participants during A Queer Expressions arm wrestling fundraiser in St. Petersburg, Florida on June 21, 2024. Captured from a medium shot at table height under cool-toned party lighting, a person on the left wearing glasses and a white button-down shirt with vertical red and blue stripes smiles while arm wrestling an opponent on the right in a dark green t-shirt. A crowd of onlookers watches from behind the table, including a person in a black patterned long-sleeve top, a spectator in a black tank top and baseball cap, and a person on the right wearing glasses and a dark headband watching intently with a hand near their chin. Warm string lights and floral garlands hang along the wall in the background.A Queer Expressions arm wrestling fundraiser in St. Petersburg, Florida on June 21, 2024. Credit: Queer Expression St Pete / Facebook

Even safe spaces need their rent paid.

Queer Expression St. Pete’s youth programming creates a nonjudgemental environment for kids who don’t want their identities politicized or scrutinized. 

For the first few years, QE’s events bounced around local businesses. In 2024, the group started a lease on a new community center they lovingly call the Nest.

Now QE is asking supporters to make a monthly donation to help pay for rent and other expenses at the Nest. As credit cards expire and people trim their budgets, the organization has lost 20% of its funding since a call for donations last September.

“For the price of one coffee per month, you can help keep Tampa Bay’s only active LGBTQ center running,” a post on QE’s Instagram reads.

All of QE’s programming is free. Previous events include a “power tool petting zoo,” where people and families got hands-on experience with some of the more intimidating implements of home-repair. There’s also a “Queer AF” alcohol-free group for sober people who don’t subscribe to religious addiction recovery programs, and cop-free corporation-free Pride programming for the entire month of June.

The Nest has daily programming for a variety of age ranges. It also has a fully-stocked kitchen, a library room including banned books, a maker’s space with free arts supplies, a “calm-down” room, a community garden, a pay-what-you-can washer and dryer, and more.

QE doesn’t take corporate funding and has rejected traditional nonprofit models.

“As a collective, we have refused to become a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, allowing us to prioritize mutual aid and radical healing over institutional norms,” QE’s website reads. “Solidarity is central to our work—we’re committed to building accessible, safe spaces for all members of the queer and trans community.”

Monthly donations can be made through QE’s Patreon.

Pitch in to help make the Tampa Bay Journalism Project a success.

Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.

Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | BlueSky

This article appears in Sept. 24 – 30, 2026.

Related