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When Funders for LGBTQ Issues was founded in 1982, less than $250,000 was awarded to LGBTQ issues annually. In 2015, the last year for which data is available, foundations and corporations awarded more than $160 million to support LGBTQ communities. The Pride in Philanthropy Awards celebrate and acknowledge the philanthropic leadership that has brought LGBTQ funding to this moment. Our inaugural honorees have led the way in funding the advancement of equity, social justice, and a better lived experience for diverse LGBTQ communities. The Reed Erickson Trailblazing Leadership Award The inaugural Reed Erickson Award for Trailblazing Leadership will be presented […]

  Funders for LGBTQ Issues stands in solidarity with those who resisted the forces of white supremacy in Charlottesville, Virginia, this weekend — and with the countless individuals who everyday resist bigotry and prejudice. We are grateful for all of the activists and community-based organizations that have been organizing in recent months in response to white nationalist efforts targeting Charlottesville. Our hearts go out to the families of those whose lives were taken and those who were injured. We recognize that this is not an isolated incident, but rather this weekend’s violence represents a disturbing trend of increased activity on the […]

This morning, President Donald Trump tweeted that, at his direction as Commander in Chief, the United States will no longer “accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military.” Funders for LGBTQ Issues strongly condemns this discriminatory and ill-informed statement as a baseless attack on transgender people. While the implications and legality of his statement remain unclear, if enacted it would make our country less safe. It is wrong and cruel for the president to single out transgender people for differential treatment – just as it has been wrong and cruel for him to target immigrants, […]

The big headlines from the 2015 Tracking Report noted that LGBTQ funding reached a record high of $160.7 million in 2015 – with notable increases in funding supporting trans communities, LGBTQ communities in the U.S. South, and efforts to address LGBTQ criminalization and criminal justice reform. While 2015 set a new record, our research also found that the rate of growth decreased – down from 20 percent growth in 2014 to less than 5 percent growth in 2015. This decrease is partially attributable to a decrease in depth of support for LGBTQ issues from several core funders – even as the field […]