For decades, Faye Schuett, alongside her late wife Linda Seaver Burnett, has championed LGBTQ+ rights, blending LGBTQ+ activism with philanthropy to create lasting change. Her deep commitment to equality has long been intertwined with her relationship with the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan (CFSEM), particularly through its HOPE Fund. This fund, a pioneering initiative in Michigan advancing LGBTQ+ equality, has amplified Schuett’s impact for years, ensuring resources and support reach organizations doing crucial work for the LGBTQ+ community. The partnership between Schuett and the Community Foundation stretches back many years and has created immeasurable positive change throughout southeast Michigan.

For Schuett, professor emerita of English at Schoolcraft College, activism is profoundly personal. Her journey began in Tulsa, Oklahoma with the challenges she and Burnett faced in securing their legal rights as an LGBTQ+ couple. “It wasn’t easy,” Schuett recalls. “We had to navigate the complexities of ensuring our relationship was protected in ways that other couples didn’t have to think about.” These experiences shaped their broader mission and focus on blending LGBTQ+ activism and philanthropy, turning personal hardship into a cause that would benefit the entire LGBTQ+ community. First in Oklahoma, and later in Michigan, they educated themselves and others, sharing resources with fellow LGBTQ+ couples striving for equality and legal protection.

The Beginning of Schuett's Journey to Merge LGBTQ+ Activism and Philanthropy

“We started by gathering friends together,” Schuett says, “and educating ourselves on how to secure legal rights. It was about making sure we were protected, but also about sharing that knowledge with others.”

This personal mission soon transformed into a lifetime of activism. Schuett and Burnett became involved in grassroots movements throughout Michigan, eventually playing a role in the Peninsula Group, a coalition that worked to unite LGBTQ+ organizations across the state. This movement was about much more than individual couples securing their legal rights. It was about creating a stronger, more connected community that could advocate for widespread, systemic change. Schuett reflects, “It was always about the bigger picture. We knew that by coming together as a community, we could make a difference that would benefit everyone.”

Read the full article about LGBTQ+ activism and philanthropy at Pride Source.