(New York, NY – September 30, 2014) Funders for LGBTQ Issues has released a new report entitled Out in the South, Part Two: LGBTQ Community Assets in the U.S. South. The report finds that not only is the U.S. South home to more LGBT adults than any other region, it is also home to an impressive array of more than 750 LGBTQ community assets.

Out in the South, Part Two (2014) assesses the state of the LGBTQ movement in the U.S.South, based on a comprehensive scan of the region’s LGBTQ community assets, a survey of more than 200 organizers and service providers working in the South, and in-depth interviews with 30 LGBTQ leaders. It also identifies several funding strategies with potential for high impact.

The report, authored by Claudia Horwitz, finds that more than two-thirds of the LGBTQ community assets in the U.S. South are grassroots community groups. As the report notes, “in every state in the region there is an inspiring depth of LGBTQ work being done with shoestring budgets and minimal or no full-time staff.”

Some highlights from the report include:

• Each state in the U.S. South has at least 10 LGBTQ community assets, with robust states like Florida, North Carolina and Texas each housing more than 100 LGBTQ community assets.
• Nearly 50 percent of LGBTQ community assets in the U.S. South operate with only one or no full-time staff.
• Over 55 percent of LGBTQ community assets in the U.S. South operate with a budget of $250,000 or less. (With nearly 20 percent working with $10,000 or less)

“This report provides an excellent overview of the many LGBT community assets in the South,” said Roz Lee, Director of Social Justice Initiatives at the Arcus Foundation and co-chair of the LGBT Southern Funding Project. “I’m especially glad to see the report highlight the great intersectional work that many LGBT and racial justice groups are doing in the South.”

“This report confirms what I’ve seen first-hand in Jacksonville and other parts of the South,” said Jeff Chartrand, a founder of the LGBT Community Fund for Northeast Florida and a member of the LGBT Southern Funding Project. “There are many amazing LGBT leaders and groups operating in the South without much support. I hope this report encourages more funders to invest in Southern LGBT communities.”

Out in the South, Part Two, builds on the previous report Out in the South, Part One: Foundation Funding for LGBTQ Issues in the U.S. South. Both reports are a part of the LGBT Southern Funding Project at Funders for LGBTQ Issues. The goal of the LGBT Southern Funding Project is to expand the scale and impact of funding for LGBTQ communities in the U.S. South.

The report also includes an infographic that visually summarizes the findings. Both the infographic and full report are now available for download at www.lgbtfunders.org.