After reports last week announced that the Stonewall Inn may be permanently closing its doors, the gay bar, known as a cornerstone for the LGBTQ+ movement, has received a $250,000 donation to prevent this from happening.

With Covid-19 in full swing, the Stonewall Inn was faced with uncertainty around whether it can remain open as NYC begins phase two of its reopening plan. Although the bar is able to serve customers outdoors and managed to secure funds from the Paycheck Protection Program, owner Stacy Lentz said this simply isn’t enough to pay the growing bills. According to CNN, Lentz said the monthly rent alone for the Stonewall Inn is over $40,000.

On June 13, the bar began a GoFundMe campaign in order to save the business and protect its historic significance. Lentz said that the funds raised will go directly to rent and insurance payments.

At the time of this article, the campaign has raised $296,543. The Gill Foundation, a leading funder for LGBTQ rights, has pledged $250,000 of that figure. As donations continue to come in, the funds secure the bar’s future after the devastating impact of Covid-19.

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“Queer people of color — including trans women of color like Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and Miss Major — led the uprisings against police brutality at Stonewall and in doing so helped spark the movement for LGBTQ equality,” said Scott Miller and Tim Gill, co-chairs of the Gill Foundation, in a statement. “We must preserve that history and the legacy of the activists who led the charge.”

The Stonewall Inn was the site of the legendary 1969 Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village, a six-day-long protest sparked by a New York City police raid of the bar. It became the first national gay historic landmark, celebrating one of the most significant events leading to the LGBTQ rights movement and the fight against police brutality and harassment.

“Stonewall is the place the community gathers for celebrations, comes to grieve in times of tragedy, and rally to continue the fight for full global equality,” the bar’s GoFundMe page states. “The road to recovery from the COVID 19 pandemic will be long and we need to continue to safeguard this vital piece of living history for the LGBTQ community and the global human rights movement.”