Contact: April Bethea, Director of Philanthropic Outreach, [email protected]

(New York, NY) Funders for LGBTQ Issues will celebrate 40 years of funding for LGBTQ movements and honor leaders in LGBTQ philanthropy at the Pride in Philanthropy Awards, to be held in New York City and live streamed on Thursday, September 29, 2022.

Leading this year’s Pride in Philanthropy Awards will be President Saida Agostini-Bostic whose tenure began in August 2021. “Pride in Philanthropy is a critical opportunity to not only celebrate forty years of LGBTQ  philanthropic organizing but also reflect on what this moment demands of us,” said Saida Agostini-Bostic, President of Funders for LGBTQ Issues. “We’re living in a time of profound crisis and brutal attacks on our communities. Pride in Philanthropy offers our sector an opportunity to reimagine how we invest, resource, and share power with intersectional LGBTQ organizers working towards our liberation.”

Funders for LGBTQ Issues was founded 40 years ago at the annual conference of the National Network of Grantmakers, where a small group of funders met to discuss how philanthropy could better support lesbian and gay issues. In its founding year, 1982, funding for LGBTQ issues totaled $214,962. In 2020, grantmakers awarded more than $201 million to support LGBTQ communities. Funders for LGBTQ Issues is now a network of more than 90 foundations, corporations, and funding institutions that collectively award more than one billion dollars annually, including more than $100 million specifically devoted to LGBTQ issues. 

The Event

Pride in Philanthropy Awards will be a hybrid in-person and online celebration of LGBTQ philanthropy. Ceremonies will take place in New York City on September 29, 2022 from 5pm-8pm at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library, 7th Floor, 455 5th Avenue, New York, NY, and via live stream. Tickets and more details about the event are available here. 

The Awards

The Pride in Philanthropy Awards honor philanthropic leadership in LGBTQ funding. The ceremony will recognize five individuals and institutions that have led the way in funding the advancement of equality, social justice, and better lives for LGBTQ communities. The Awards will honor:

Urvashi Vaid with the Paul Rapoport Award for Lifetime Achievement in LGBTQ Philanthropy. This award will be presented posthumously to Urvashi to honor her profound legacy within the philanthropic sector. Urvashi’s thought leadership and deep commitment to centering the diverse intersections of LGBTQ people’s lives continues to transform our sector.

Tzedek Social Justice Fund with the Out in the South Leadership Award for its legacy of thoughtful leadership and impactful grantmaking in LGBTQ Southern communities. 

Kiyomi Fujikawa with the Reed Erickson Award for Trailblazing Philanthropic Leadership. This award honors Kiyomi’s leadership in furthering trans issues and grantmaking in philanthropy, including supporting the launch of the Fund for Trans Generations at Borealis Philanthropy. 

Foundation for a Just Society with the Out for Impact Award for its significant commitment to LGBTQ Issues as a non-LGBTQ funder. FJS is now one of the largest grantmakers nationally and internationally of LGBTQ Issues.  

Black Trans Fund with the Grantmakers United for Trans Communities (GUTC) Leadership Award. The first national fund dedicated to Black Trans organizing, the Black Trans Fund has transformed the field of philanthropy to draw funder attention to an incredibly under-resourced part of the LGBTQ community. 

The Awards Host Committee includes Aaron Dorfman, Alli Jernow, Ana Marie Argilagos, Bia Vieira, Brad Clark, Cathy Kapua, Cecilia Garza, Cindy Rizzo, Desiree Flores, Erik Stegman, Hez Norton, Jennifer Ching, Jonathan Jayes-Green, Judy Yu, Katie Carter, Kelli King-Jackson, Kristina Wertz, Lane Harwell, Lyle Matthew Kan, Matthew “Matty” Hart, Naa Hammond, Namita Chad, Neill Coleman, Paul DiDonato, Rebecca Fox, Richard Burns, Rickke Mananzala Roger Doughty, Ryan Li Dahlstrom, Rye Young, Storme Gray, Surina Khan, and Susan Taylor Batten. 

Funders for LGBTQ Issues works to increase the scale and impact of philanthropic resources aimed at enhancing the well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities, promoting equity, and advancing racial, economic and gender justice.