Chipman family donates $500K to Place of Pride

Rainbow Resource Centre broke ground on Phase 2 of its LGBTTQ+ campus Thursday, with the help of a significant donation from the Chipman family.

The family contributed $500,000 to the $23-million project, called Place of Pride. Rainbow Resource Centre began the project in late 2022.

“We believe everyone deserves a place where they feel welcome, supported and accepted for who they are. Rainbow Resource Centre is creating that kind of place for generations to come,” said Ruth Chipman, spokesperson for the family, in a news release announcing the donation.

“We are proud to support a project that will make such a meaningful difference in people’s lives and help build a stronger, more inclusive community.”

The second phase of the project will be a 12,000-square-foot community, programming and peer-support hub, which will be located on the Rainbow Resource Centre property at 545 Broadway. The project is $13 million short of being fully funded.

The first-in-Canada facility, which completed its first phase in 2024, is a 21-unit, rent-geared-to-income complex for older queer and transgender people.

“Today, with shovels officially in the ground, we are one step closer to being able to provide Manitoba’s queer community a first of its kind place to simply “be” — the home it’s been asking for, for decades. Not just in crisis or turmoil, not just in times of unrest or when advocacy is required,” said Noreen Mian, executive director of Rainbow Resource Centre.

In May, the Carolyn Sifton Foundation donated $1 million to the project, and in late 2024, Canada Life announced a $750,000 donation to Rainbow Resource Centre for Phase 2.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca