News

With the new year upon us, Funders for LGBTQ Issues is pleased to announce the election of new officers, including new board chair, Rickke Mananzala of Borealis Philanthropy, and of two new board members with extensive experience working in Southern philanthropy, Kelli King-Jackson of the Simmons Foundation and Cynthia Renfro of Civis Consulting. The election of Rickke Mananzala represents a historic step for the organization as the first transgender chair of the board of directors. He brings to the role extensive experience in both philanthropy and social justice leadership. Rickke currently serves as Vice President of Strategy and Programs at […]

Andrew Wallace December 19, 2018 As a community of funders dedicated to creating a more inclusive world for LGBTQ communities and other marginalized communities we spend much of our time focused on the challenges ahead of us. In this political moment, when the forces of hate and repression wield immense power and often dictate the news we consume and the conversations we have, it is easy to lose hope. One way to combat this malaise is to recognize the the inspiring leadership – from institutions as well as individuals – leading the path for philanthropy to be more impactful and […]

Tragically, we are bombarded with news of a mass shootings all too frequently in the U.S. As recently as the summer of 2016, our community experienced the most violent attack targeting the LGBTQ people in our history. A gunman attacked Pulse Nightclub, a gay club in Orlando Florida, taking 49 lives and wounding 68 others. It was Latin Night, and the majority of the victims and survivors were LGBTQ and Latinx. At the time, the Pulse Nightclub Massacre was the worst mass shooting since Wounded Knee. Since then, that record has again been shattered, and in the last 30 days […]

The horrendous shooting of 11 Jewish worshippers at the Tree of Life Congregation Synagogue outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has no place in the future Funders for LGBTQ Issues envisions and works to inspire. We stand with the Jewish community in mourning. We strongly condemn all anti-semitic sentiments and violence as harmful, uninformed, and unacceptable. All forms of hatred – anti-semitism, racism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia – are interconnected and affect us all. Funders for LGBTQ Issues is dedicated to addressing this kind of hatred and is only more deeply committed to this work in the wake of this terrible tragedy. […]