An alumnus from York University’s School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design and former staff member, Jeffrey Zoeller, has created an endowment to support students in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community at York, helping them overcome financial and systemic barriers to higher education.
Launched June 1, the initiative aligns with global and local Pride Month celebrations.
Zoeller, an event production and project management professional, has a long history with York University.
“I can remember the moment so clearly when I received the acceptance letter from York U,” he says, recalling when he joined the University as a Winter’s College student in 1989 to pursue a degree in visual arts. “It was life changing.”
Now, he’s hoping to help change others’ lives with the newly established Jeffrey Zoeller Queer Endowment.
The idea for the endowment goes back to Zoeller’s time as a student, when financially, he and his family also had to make sacrifices. “I was working two part-time jobs and my parents had to make serious financial decisions to make university a possibility for me,” he says.
After graduating, Zoeller became president of the York Federation of Students in 1993. In that role, he witnessed how many students, like himself, struggled to make ends meet – particularly when they were denied financial assistance. As a member of the OSAP Review Committee, he advocated to reverse those decisions. “I worked to bring the voice of students to that table and to work on reversing the ‘no’ decision for as many people as we could,” he says.
His advocacy didn’t stop there. “To my surprise, I became an activist and one of the leaders for the queer movement at York,” he says.
Over the course of 13 years, including his time as marketing and event manager with the York University Student Centre, Zoeller helped shape early queer advocacy efforts on campus. His contributions included helping raise the Pride flag for the first time during the 1998 Queering the Nation Conference and serving as lead researcher for the President’s Task Force on Homophobia and Heterosexism in 1994. The task force’s recommendations led to the creation of the Sexual and Gender Advisory Committee (now SexGen) and the Positive Space campaign – initiatives that were among the first of their kind at a Canadian university.
After his time at York, Zoeller continued his advocacy, serving as associate director of Pride Toronto and on the board of the 519 Church Street Community Centre.
Now, he is bringing that work full circle with the Jeffrey Zoeller Queer Endowment, created specifically to help queer youth at York. The fund will support 2SLGBTQIA+ students facing financial and other barriers to education. For every $25,000 raised, $1,000 will be available annually in perpetuity, creating a sustainable source of support for generations to come.
Research shows that queer individuals face disproportionate challenges, including lower average incomes, according to Statistics Canada. Resources like the Ontario Student’s Guide and B.C. financial-aid guides also indicate queer students are less likely to receive financial support from parents.
The endowment aims to help address those inequities. The initial goal is to raise a minimum of $25,000 to activate the fund through a crowdsourcing model, something that was important to Zoeller. “I wanted the ability for everyone to be able to contribute,” he says. “You shouldn’t have to be rich and/or famous to be part of transformational social change.”
While the criteria for applying for the endowment funds is still under development, Zoeller does share that it will not be based solely on a student’s academic standing, but on involvement in the queer community as well as the barriers they face as a result of being queer.
Zoeller plans for funds from the endowment – nicknamed JZ.QE.YU – to begin distribution by 2029, aligning with the 40th anniversary of his first year at York.
“With ongoing donations, the hope is to grow this endowment large enough to help students continue their studies and support other academic-related endeavours,” he says.
The endowment will complement existing York resources such as the Queer Resource Centre and specialized programming that fosters inclusive, empowering environments for 2SLGBTQIA+ students.
“This new endowment will serve as a vital source of support for students in the queer community, who often face disproportionate barriers to success particularly financial ones. Many queer students take on advocacy and leadership roles to help dismantle these barriers for others, a commitment that can add significant pressure and make full-time studies even more challenging," says Marian MacGregor, executive director of the Centre for Human Rights, Education and Inclusion. "By easing financial strain, this endowment could make the difference between a student continuing their education or having to pause – or even leave – their program. It represents not just financial assistance, but a meaningful investment in equity, resilience and the future of queer student leaders.”
To learn more about the endowment or to contribute, visit the giving.yorku.ca/JeffreyZoellerQueerEndowment.