The Buckeye Flame is Ohio's only LGBTQ+ newsroom, committed to amplifying the voices of LGBTQ+ Ohioans and supporting community and civic empowerment. Through engaging content, they chronicle the triumphs, struggles, and lived experiences of the LGBTQ+ community, providing a vital platform for stories that need to be heard. As one of only a handful of statewide LGBTQ+ newsrooms left in the United States, The Buckeye Flame stands as a beacon for advocacy, information, and connection in Ohio.
We took a moment to chat with The Buckeye Flame to share more about their work, recent achievements, and challenges. Here’s what they had to share about their mission, impact, and role within the community:
1. Every organization has its unique identity. What sets your organization or program apart from others working in a similar space?
The Buckeye Flame stands as Ohio’s only LGBTQ+ newsroom and one of only a handful of statewide LGBTQ+ newsrooms left in the United States.
2. Reflecting on recent achievements, what has been your biggest success as an organization in the past year?
In June, we moved into our first-ever brick-and-mortar newsroom, which has exponentially increased our collaboration and productivity. We sent out an email for our June birthday hoping to raise two months of rent and utilities. Our readers immediately responded by funding two years of being in our news space.
3. Turning to challenges, what is the most pressing issue your community or clients are currently facing in the coming year?
Here in a state that has no LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination protections, Ohio’s LGBTQ+ community is under constant attack by the Ohio legislature, with Republicans proposing bill after bill to restrict the lived experience of LGBTQ+ Ohioans. Our role is to do everything we can to cover these bills and increase the legislative literacy of LGBTQ+ Ohioans so that they can make the connection between what is being proposed in Columbus and their daily lives.
4. Community involvement is key. How can people who are inspired by your work get involved with your organization?
Reading and sharing our content is absolutely key. The success of The Buckeye Flame is dependent on getting as many eyes on our content as possible. We have made the commitment to always have our content be free, accessible, and never behind a paywall. To pull that off, monthly donors are extraordinarily helpful at even our lowest monthly funding level ($12.50/month).
5. Collaboration is often essential in creating impact. Who are some of your favorite partners or collaborators in the community, and how do you work together?
Our work is dependent on successful collaboration with LGBTQ+ nonprofits across the state who we can reach out to for quotes, as well as with readers who submit story ideas via our website. This latter collaboration is critical for us, as that’s how we’re able to find out about stories about which we never would have heard without our readers letting us know what’s happening in their neck of the woods.
6. Becoming part of this network brings you to a new community and potential collaborations. Why did you decide to join Community Shares of Mid Ohio? (Please share your thoughts beyond the fundraising aspect)
It’s always about connections for us. To be a successful and sustainable newsroom, we have to be as networked as possible. We very intentionally launched in 2020 as a nonprofit because we believe in a tenor of connections where each org lifts each other up. Just as we do everything we can to amplify organizations invested in LGBTQ+ equality, we hope being a part of this network similarly helps amplify The Buckeye Flame.
7. The heart of Community Shares’ work is to create a more just, caring, and healthy community for all. How does your organization contribute to this vision?
We believe that a just, caring, and healthy community has to be an informed community. That’s where The Buckeye Flame comes in. Through the publishing of original content, The Buckeye Flame exists to build relationships among LGBTQ+ Ohioans and organizations and to empower individual LGBTQ+ Ohioans and organizations to live their full and authentic lives.
8. Let’s end with something surprising. What’s an interesting fact or statistic about your organization that most people might not know?
The Buckeye Flame employs the only “LGBTQ+ Rural” beat reporter in the entire United States of America!
Through its work, The Buckeye Flame remains a critical source of information, a pillar of the LGBTQ+ community, and a catalyst for connection and empowerment across Ohio. Check out their website to read their content and consider getting involved!
