In 2023 we witnessed genocide, migrant displacement, and the continuation of a global campaign seeking to eradicate bodily autonomy. Our movements have been warning about this moment for decades.
And yet, in spite of countless horrors, we continue to witness an abundance of hope and power. Movement groups across the nation continue to rise up, organizing to defeat the vast majority of anti-LGBTQ bills brought forth in state legislatures, hosting massive state and local advocacy days, creating art, and practicing expansive strategies grounded not in resistance, but in one undeniable reality: we all deserve to be free.
Our work at Funders for LGBTQ Issues has been to hold hope in this moment— not as some passive, mild emotion, but rather as a call to action. Poet Yusef Komunyakaa writes use your head for a drum. This line is a mandate, meaning that our work as storytellers and philanthropic organizers is to hold and share the drumbeat of our movements. This past year’s work, as shared below, tells that story.
Our network honored that mandate last year, and our member base grew to the largest it has ever been in our 42-year history. This moment demands our work— and we have answered that call with abundance and vision. In 2023, we hosted our first in-person Funding Forward since 2019, organized funders to increase low-barrier giving to LGBTQ organizations, particularly those led by TGNC communities, intentionally created spaces for members to come together and strategize, and continued to track the strength and power of LGBTQ philanthropy. Whether hosting our first-ever podcast, Justice Ain’t Cheap, or convening a series of funder briefings about how movements are organizing in response to anti-LGBTQ attacks, we are proud to be a hub for visionary organizing and action.
We invite you to look back on the last year of our work.