Las Vegas Sands Wednesday announced the addition of the LGBTQ Center of Southern Nevada to its Sands Cares Accelerator, a three-year program that helps nonprofit organizations impact their communities.

Sands also will continue to support the Center in its expansion of the Arlene Cooper Community Health Center and the buildout of its events center.

“The partnership with Sands has been a valuable catalyst for helping us make significant progress toward our long-term vision for the Center,” said LGBTQ Center of Southern Nevada CEO John Waldron in a statement. “Joining the Sands Cares Accelerator will be an even greater vehicle for helping us build our capacity to better meet the needs of the LGBTQ+ community. It is a great honor to be part of this unique and exclusive program.”

The Sands Cares Accelerator will assist the Center in developing marketing and communications strategies to share its story with allies, partners, funders, and other supporters. The Center will receive $100,000 annually for the three years of membership in the Sands Cares Accelerator, along with guidance to support its focus area, strategic counsel from Sands, and other in-kind support.

General funding from Sands Cares will bring the 2023 donation to the Center to just over $265,000. The funds will help the continued buildout of the Cooper Community Health Center toward becoming a Federally Qualified Health Center and assist with the renovation of the nonprofit’s events center.

Sands Cares support also will enable the Center to cover infrastructure costs to relocate general administrative staff to another facility so that space can be used for medical services, and provide technology and other upgrades.

Sands has supported the expansion of the Cooper Community Health Center since 2021.

“Inviting the Center to join the Sands Cares Accelerator was a natural fit after having worked with John and his team over the past few years,” said Las Vegas Sands Senior Vice President of Global Communications and Corporate Affairs Rob Reese.  “Everything we look for in a Sands Cares Accelerator member had been demonstrated – a strong long-term vision for impact, measurable progress toward identified goals and the ability to deliver significantly greater impact with the support the program brings. We have been greatly impressed with the Center’s accomplishments in building a sustaining model of service and look forward to seeing its continued progress as part of the Sands Cares Accelerator.”

The Center is the sixth organization to join the Sands Cares Accelerator, launched by Sands in 2017 to help fast-track nonprofit organizations on the verge of  increasing their community impact.