News

Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues coordinated and moderated a panel on increasing support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people of color efforts at the Applied Research Center’s 2008 Facing Race conference in Oakland, California, held November 13-15. For Ellen Gurzinsky, moderator of the panel and program director at Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues, these kinds of workshops heighten awareness about how sexuality and gender identity play out in the racial justice sphere—where LGBTQ communities of color have long been powerful agents for change. “It’s a historic moment for our country and an opportunity for us—as […]

Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues presented an updated study on international grantmaking to LGBTI issues in the Global South and East at a world conference hosted by the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) in Vienna, Austria and attended by approximately 200 LGBTI activists from more than 80 countries. The conference was held November 4-6. “Gatherings such as ILGA’s international conference are wonderful opportunities to draw on the wisdom of activists to shape our work, as well as to share with organizers in the field how grantmakers have understood LGBTI issues in their regions,” said Karen Zelermyer, executive director […]

Nine out of 19 foundations studied in a first-ever racial equity “report card” provided dollars in 2006 to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people of color organizations and projects, according to a report recently released by Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues (FLGI), a national philanthropic group based in New York City. The LGBTQ Grantmakers 2008 Report Card on Racial Equity examines how a subset of 19 LGBTQ grantmakers addresses racial equity in grantmaking, governing documents, policies and practices, demographics and leadership, and strategic communications. “It’s clear that while LGBTQ grantmakers have contributed enormously to improving the landscape […]

While foundations that support gay causes have significantly increased their giving to charities led by minorities over the last five years, not all such grant makers make racial equity a priority in their giving, according to a new report by Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues. The report, which was released today at the annual meeting of the Council on Foundations, showed that giving to minority-led charities by 19 foundations supportive of gay causes jumped from $173,000 in 2002 to $2.9-million in 2006. But only nine of the 19 foundations surveyed had made a grant to help communities of color […]