News

(New York, NY – May 28, 2015) Funders for LGBTQ Issues’ new strategic plan is being publicly unveiled today. The Road Map to $200 Million: The Strategic Plan for Increasing Foundation Funding for LGBTQ Issues, reaffirms Funders for LGBTQ Issues commitment to strategically increasing the scale and impact of philanthropic resources for LGBTQ communities and sets the ambitious goal of increasing foundation funding for LGBTQ issues by more than $70 million (a nearly 55 percent increase) from $129.1 million in 2013 to $200 million in 2017. The plan calls for increasing the number of grantmakers investing in LGBTQ issues from […]

It’s almost Pride Month in the U.S., and dozens of cities will soon host LGBTQ pride marches, parties, and demonstrations that attract millions of people each year. As our urban areas prepare, we thought it would be interesting to look at the top funded cities. Historically, LGBTQ funding and non-profits have tended to concentrate in metropolitan areas. This may mirror larger queer migration trends of LGBTQ communities and/or movement resources over the last century (though the lack of historical data on LGBTQ communities makes tracking these geographic patterns difficult). In 2013, much of the local funding for LGBTQ issues concentrated […]

The events in Baltimore Maryland unfolded right as many grantmakers in the field were engaging in the 2015 conference season. The killing of people of color, predominantly Black people, by police is a recurring concern. This is a not a new problem, just one that is more well known to us all given the presence of cell phone cameras and social media. As in Ferguson, New York, South Carolina and many other regions, funders in Baltimore are now faced with developing rapid response strategies in addition to their ongoing work. At this time, the members of the Joint Affinity Groups […]

This past week, the eyes of the nation have turned to Indiana, where Governor Mike Pence recently signed a bill purportedly intended to protect religious freedom. In reality, the bill was crafted and advanced by individuals who want to pull back our recent progress toward equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. The language of “religious freedom” is a smokescreen to allow people and businesses to discriminate against LGBT people. Unfortunately, this problem is not limited to Indiana. As of this writing, a similar bill is advancing in Arkansas, and “religious freedom restoration” bills are on the table […]