News

In honor of the Pope’s visit to the United States, we decided to explore LGBTQ funding for religious issues. LGBTQ funding for religion runs the gamut from funding to foster welcoming and affirming faith–based communities, to funding to support the work of multi-faith LGBTQ and ally coalitions and leaders, to funding that supports advocacy efforts to push back harmful religious exemptions legislation. LGBTQ funders have supported work across many faith and spiritual traditions, with the majority of funding focused on groups based in Christian, Jewish, and some Muslim communities. In the last decade, more than $36 million has been awarded […]

What a summer of growth! We’re delighted to have recently welcomed two new staff to Funders for LGBTQ Issues. Our New Project Director of the Out in the South Initiative! Chantelle Fisher-Borne joined the staff as our new Project Director for the Out in the South Initiative, a philanthropic initiative of local and national funders committed to creating a more robust, inclusive conversation among Southerners and foundations to empower LGBTQ communities in the South to shape their own lives and futures. Chantelle joins Funders after almost two decades working in the nonprofit sector addressing a diverse range of issues, including […]

Today is a good day! It is a day that has been a long time coming. It is a day many have fought tirelessly for; a day that some never dreamed would come in our lifetime; a day that innovative funders encouraged from the outset. Today, the Supreme Court has paved the way for full marriage equality in every corner of the United States.   I recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of my coming out: April 1995, the first time I told another person that I was gay. A teenager at the time, I assumed a happy future just wasn’t […]

In the past few months, Funders for LGBTQ Issues welcomed four new leaders within LGBTQ philanthropy to our Board of Directors: Alfredo Cruz (Director of Programs, Foundation for Louisiana); Gabriel Foster (Co-founder and Director, Trans Justice Funding Project); Surina Khan (CEO, Women’s Foundation of California); and Rye Young (Executive Director, Third Wave Fund). We sat down with them informally to find out more about who they are, what inspires their philanthropy, and why they’re excited to join the Board. Read on to learn more about these fantastic new Board members! Tell us about one of your earliest experiences of philanthropy […]