URE Permanent Space Initiative

The URE Permanent Space Initiative is a five-year capital campaign to move Underground Rainbow Experiment from a model dependent on recurring space (places for housing, gathering, work) expenses toward one built on ownership, passive income, and permanent community infrastructure.

We believe space is more than a social service—it is creative infrastructure. By acquiring permanent space assets, URE can create spaces for artists and creative workers to live, rest, create, and build while developing long-term financial sustainability for the organization.

Building permanent space infrastructure for Black
Trans and Gender Non-Conforming creatives.

Help Us Build the First Asset

URE is seeking a founding catalytic investment of approximately $1.5 million to launch the initiative.

Our broader goal is to raise approximately $4.1 million over five years to acquire, develop, and stabilize housing assets across our chapter communities and selected international locations.

The model is simple:

Capital → Asset → Housing → Revenue → Reinvestment → More Assets

Each acquisition is designed to strengthen our capacity to make the next.

What Your Investment Makes Possible

A founding investment can help URE:

Acquire its first permanent space asset. Our current priority is housing.
Provide space for residency, transitional, and emergency housing.
Create artist and creative retreat space
Establish chapter-based space infrastructure
Build property and acquisition reserves
Develop sustainable space revenue
Begin building a long-term investment reserve
Create a foundation for future space acquisitions

From Renting
to Owning

Traditional fundraising often requires organizations to repeatedly raise money for recurring expenses.

URE is exploring a different approach: fund the infrastructure once and build the capacity to sustain it.

A permanent space asset can support community for years beyond a single grant cycle while potentially generating revenue that can be reinvested into additional space and programming.

One investment → One permanent asset → More people housed and third spaces created → Revenue → Reinvestment → More infrastructure

Who We're Looking For

We are seeking founding capital partners who believe in long-term investment in Black Trans communities, housing, creative infrastructure, and community-led economic development.

We welcome conversations with:

Angel and impact investors
Family offices
Foundations and social-good funders
Major donors
Property and land partners
Construction and development partners
Strategic and in-kind partners

Our Ask

Help us build the first asset

A $1M–$1.5M founding investment would establish the first stage of URE's Permanent Space Initiative and provide the foundation for a five-year capitalization strategy.

This is not simply an investment in another program cycle.

It is an investment in permanent infrastructure designed to outlive the initial investment.

Renting → Owning
Short-term funding → Long-term capitalization
Space (priority housing) as an expense → Space as infrastructure
Recurring crisis response → Permanent capacity