News
November 6, 2016
Something special happened in Charlotte, North Carolina at the end of July. The first summit of the LGBT Southern Funding Project not only attracted over 50 funders, representing 39 organizations, from 11 different states and the District of Columbia (8 of those states being Southern States), but it also built some real momentum for strategically increasing funding for LGBTQ communities in the U.S. South. On July 29th and 30th, Funders for LGBTQ Issues convened a summit to assess the assets, gaps and opportunities for funding LGBT communities in the US South. Some of the key findings included: In 2011, U.S. […]
November 6, 2016
I am pleased to announce several staffing changes at Funders for LGBTQ Issues. First, Lyle Matthew Kan, who has been working with us as our strategic communications consultant since February, has now joined us on a full-time basis as our Director of Communications and Education. In the past five months, Lyle has revamped Qnotes to make it a more useful tool for our members, expanded our social media presence, strengthened the branding of our annual retreat, and developed a comprehensive communications strategy for the organization. In this new, expanded role, Lyle will not only lead our communications efforts, he will […]
November 6, 2016
As I write this, my partner and I about to leave for Borough Hall to get our marriage license. Today’s Supreme Court decisions on the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8 went largely as expected, yet I still found myself shocked and overwhelmed with joy that, for the first time in my life, I am able to marry the man I love with the full recognition of the law. No more “skim milk” marriages – now we have the real thing. This decision means that my partner can finally become a citizen and that we can at last […]
November 6, 2016
In 2011 we saw a record-breaking $123 million in grants awarded to LGBTQ issues. However, the U.S. South saw less than $4 million of that historic sum. In fact, the U.S. South barely saw 3% of the year’s LGBTQ funding despite the fact that over a third of the U.S. population lives in the 13 states of the South (as defined by Grantmakers for Southern Progress). With an estimated 11 million “out” LGBTQ people living in the U.S., foundation funding for LGBTQ issues averages out to $11.20 per LGBTQ person. In the U.S. South, there are an estimated 3,438,872 million […]