Quad Citians Affirming Diversity

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About Quad Citians Affirming Diversity

Quad Citians Affirming Diversity is the longest running organization in the greater Iowa-Illinois Quad Cities region that provides education, advocacy and support to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender/gender non-conforming community.

Quad Citians Affirming Diversity seeks to bring gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and straight people together to learn from each other and to create an inclusive community through support, education, and advocacy.

Founded in 1990, QCAD provides a safe space and support people of all sexual orientations and gender identity/expression. Initially, QCAD focused primarily on creating an affirming community for youth. Realizing the community needs, we later expanded to provide support, education and advocacy across all ages including programming for youth, young adults, adults, and seniors. What started as a safe place for the LGBT+ community and allied youth to relax and know they are accepted, became the area's leading organization in LGBT+ issues.

QCAD started the new millennium as a leading voice to create social change; the passage of three ordinances extending civil rights protection for sexual orientation in Davenport, Iowa (2000), Moline, Illinois (2002) and Bettendorf, Iowa (2004). Changes achieved locally were extended statewide when Illinois extended civil rights protection to individuals based on sexual orientation and gender identity in 2006, Iowa followed in 2007.

QCAD's advocacy and education work remains broad in scope and is aimed at creating the public awareness and support needed to create an all inclusive community.