Funders for LGBTQ Issues celebrates the historic election turnout made possible by intersectional movements who mobilized to defend democracy. We also celebrate the openly LGBTQ candidates elected to public office around the nation, including the first openly non-binary person elected to a state legislature, the first Black gay members of Congress, and the first transgender state senator. While there is more work to be done and uncertainty ahead, we pause to embrace the collective joy from the painstaking work in communities and at the polls as we envision the possibilities of a democracy that centers the needs of all people.

Yet our joy is tempered by the reality that the COVID-19 pandemic has left more than 240,000 of our loved ones dead, created the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, and laid bare the stark inequalities that too often dictate which lives have value and which are deemed disposable. A global movement for the defense of Black life continues to rise in the face of police brutality and emboldened White nationalists and other far-right networks. The ongoing epidemic of violence against Black trans women continues in the face of demands to protect Black trans life. We also face a judicial branch transformed by conservative appointments, including three new Supreme Court justices on a court now positioned to curtail LGBTQ and reproductive rights. In this context, BIPOC and LGBTQ activists and organizers – and Black women in particular – mobilized historic turnout that shaped the outcome of this disturbingly close election. As funders take stock and develop strategies for the years ahead, let this election remind us of the power and necessity of well-resourced, intersectional movements. 

Our country’s long-standing, deep-rooted inequities amplified by the Trump Administration’s hateful policies rooted in white supremacy, misogyny, transphobia, and hate will not disappear overnight under the Biden Administration. Overcoming them will require deep investments in sustained organizing and movements that center racial, economic, and gender justice. This work will also require support for the security, health, and healing of those on the frontlines who have and continue to risk so much as they fight for our collective liberation. We invite the philanthropic sector to recognize the need for this strategic investment and we pledge to continue to bring resources and support to our members to do this essential work.

We invite members and partners of Funders for LGBTQ Issues for a community call on November 19th at 12:30 pm PT/1:30 pm CT/3:30 pm ET to share space, debrief the election and envision our collective work moving forward. 

Image note: Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

WE INVITE OUR MEMBERS TO JOIN US FOR A POST-ELECTION DEBRIEF AND COMMUNITY SPACE

November 19th at 12:30 pm PT/1:30 pm CT/3:30 pm ET 

We are also heartened by the thoughtful resources and responses from many of our colleagues in the philanthropic sector and have created a resource page to compile a list of events and other election debriefs to support foundations in the coming weeks. Click here for more information. We will be updating this page regularly.