Funders for LGBTQ Issues is excited to announce a 15% increase in funding for Out in the South (OTS) Fund, raising our total grantmaking from $650,000 in 2024 to $750,000 in 2025 to support 13 LGBTQ and allied grassroots intermediary funds across the US South. 

Over the past ten years, OTS has distributed over $5 million to strengthen Southern philanthropic infrastructure supporting local queer and trans organizing. This growth reflects our commitment to the leadership and work of Southern LGBTQ+ organizations on the frontlines of building power, resilience, and joy in their communities.

OTS is proud to play a critical role in transforming the philanthropic landscape of the US South, deepening institutional investment in Southern LGBTQ movements and communities. OTS embraces the integral role intermediary funders and programs play in fostering a robust and sustainable ecosystem of LGBTQ movement organizations. We know these organizations are necessary to meet the needs of LGBTQ people, their families, and communities in the South.

The grantee partners of the Out in the South Fund support robust funding infrastructure networks deeply rooted in community; an intervention to traditional funding streams that is needed now more than ever.

Here are our 13 OTS Fund grantee partners:

1. Arkansas Community Foundation, Little Rock, AR
2. Blackbelt Community Foundation, Selma, AL
3. Co-Thinkk, Asheville, NC
4. Campaign for Southern Equality/Southern Equality Fund, Regional
5. Contigo Fund, Orlando, FL
6. LGBTQ Fund of Greater Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
7. LGBT Fund at Spartanburg County Foundation, Spartanburg, SC
8. LGBT Fund of Mississippi, Jackson, MS
9. Southern Power Fund, Regional
10. Southern Vision Alliance: Queer Mobilization Fund, NC and SC
11. Texas Pride Impact Fund, Dallas, TX
12. Appalachian Community Fund, Knoxville, TN
13. Maria Fund, Puerto Rico

During Funding Forward 2025, held in Houston, TX, we celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the Out in the South Program. In partnership with OTS Fund grantees, we created an interactive anniversary project analyzing U.S.-based grantmakers that support LGBTQ communities and causes at the state and regional level. Explore the LGBTQ Philanthropic Landscape in the U.S. South: Reflecting on Ten Years of the Out in the South Program.

Note: For data security, this resource is protected by a password. You can request the password from our research team ([email protected]). 

We thank the members of the Out in the South Steering Committee for their invaluable guidance and stewardship of this program. We also thank our funders, without whom this work would not be possible: Arcus Foundation, Weissberg Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, Ford Foundation, Foundation for a Just Society, Kicking Assets Fund, and Laughing Gull Foundation.