2011 REPORT ON U.S. FOUNDATIONS SHOWS 27% GAIN IN LGBTQ FUNDING
2011 REPORT ON U.S. FOUNDATIONS SHOWS 27% GAIN IN LGBTQ FUNDING
By: Andrew Wallace on November 6, 2016
(New York, NY – January 07, 2013) Funders for LGBTQ Issues recently released a new report, which found that U.S. foundation funding for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) communities grew by 27% in 2011, reaching a record-breaking high of $123 million.
The report, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Grantmaking by US Foundation (2011), is the latest edition of the funding network’s annual tracking report on the scale and character of U.S. foundation giving to LGBTQ communities based on available data for the year 2011.
The increase far out-paced the 2.2% growth of overall foundation grant dollars in the same year, pushing LGBTQ grantmaking over one quarter of one percent for the first time. “This increase in foundation giving is a sign of the growing momentum for equality regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity,” says Ben Francisco Maulbeck, President of Funders for LGBTQ Issues. “LGBT-focused funders like the Arcus Foundation are growing in number and size, and more and more mainstream funders like American Jewish World Service are integrating LGBTQ communities into their grantmaking strategies.”
Among this report’s findings:
• LGBTQ grantmaking to international organizations increased by 50%, from $19 million to $28.5 million, accounting for nearly one-third of the total increase in LGBTQ funding.
• LGBTQ grantmaking for transgender communities rose by 63%, from $3 million to $5 million.
• Children and youth received 16 percent of all LGBTQ grant dollars, the largest of any sub-group.
“I am heartened to see this growing response to the urgent civil rights and livelihood needs of LGBTQ people both nationally and abroad,” noted Maulbeck, “We look forward to working with an increasingly diverse array of funders to expand LGBTQ funding even more, so that the scale of resources at our disposal is commensurate with the great challenges and opportunities before us.” Thus, Funders for LGBTQ Issues remains committed to working in collaboration with a variety of grantmakers to both increase the number of foundations that support LGBTQ issues overall and to ensure that the full diversity of the LGBTQ community is resourced.