Funders for LGBTQ Issues is pleased to announce its seventh grantmaking cycle for the Out in the South Fund, awarding $500,000 to 12 LGBTQ funds and allied grantmaking organizations throughout the US South.

The Out in the South Fund is a collaborative fund awarding matching and planning grants to build and support locally-driven Southern funds. Over the last seven years, the fund has distributed over 3 million dollars to catalyze locally-driven Southern funds to move resources supporting LGBTQ movement work in the South.

In the past two years, at least 306 bills targeting trans and nonbinary people have been introduced, with 86% of the state legislation focused on trans youth. Much of this legislation has started in the US Southeast. Three of the four states enacting a partial or total ban on gender-affirming care – Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, and Tennessee – are in the region. The ongoing demand for the safety, wellness, and joy of trans and nonbinary communities and spaces is continuously threatened and under attack.

“In this time riddled with uncertainty and brutal attacks on the rights of LGBTQ communities, especially trans youth, I’ve learned much from our Out in the South Fund grantee partners,” said Funders for LGBTQ Issues’ President, Saida Agostini-Bostic. “They have built robust infrastructure rooted deeply in and responding directly to the needs of the community and are moving resources to Southern LGBTQ movement work in a way that should inspire all philanthropy.”

This year’s twelve grantees include:

AR+ Collaborative, Little Rock, AR

Blackbelt Community Foundation, Selma, AL

Co-Thinkk, Asheville, NC

Campaign for Southern Equality/Southern Equality Fund, Regional

Campaign for Southern Equality and Southern Vision Alliance, Regional

Contigo Fund, Orlando, FL

LGBTQ Fund of Greater Birmingham, Birmingham, AL

LGBT Fund at Spartanburg County Foundation, Spartanburg, SC

LGBT Fund of Mississippi, Jackson, MS

Southern Power Fund via Alternate ROOTS, Regional

Southern Vision Alliance, NC and SC

Texas Pride Impact Fund, Dallas, TX

Most of our grantees are led by strong multiracial teams and organizations with authentic leadership and vision from BIPOC leaders and organizers rooted in Southern communities that continue to be deeply under-resourced and misunderstood by traditional philanthropy. Our grantees continue to find ways to bring resources to communities throughout the South in a way that keeps the integrity of movement work alive. 

The Out in the South Pooled Fund is a central element of the Out in the South Initiative and a critical piece of our strategy to transform philanthropy in the U.S. South. We are growing and learning alongside our grantee partners as we build a community of practice with regional and national funders. We look forward to revisiting the programmatic goals of the Out in the South Fund in 2023 based on the outcomes of Funders for LGBTQ Issues’ strategic planning process. Learn more about the Out in the South Initiative and ways your foundation can get involved here.

We want to thank members of the Out in the South Steering Committee and Pooled Fund Committee for their stewardship of this program and invaluable guidance.

You can view the complete list of grantees and grant amounts on our website here.