News

The Christopher Street pier is a favorite hangout for many gay youths of color in New York City — a place they can “truly be themselves,” as the narrator of the documentary Fenced Out puts it. The film, produced in 2001 by a small LGBT nonprofit called FIERCE, is a major part of the group’s campaign to save the pier from Manhattan’s relentless redevelopment. Another FIERCE initiative? Training LGBT kids of color to be strong advocates for their rights through workshops on political education and activism. But FIERCE’s work requires money, and securing funding is “challenging,” says its executive director, […]

On a recent Thursday morning, Joseph Rosenthal, 77, drove from his barn-red, four-story house on Buena Vista Terrace to a lawyer’s office in the Castro, where he quietly transferred a substantial part of his estate to the endowment fund of the Horizon Foundation, a grant-giving organization for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. “I have almost no family living at this time,” said Rosenthal, a retired librarian. “Certainly, not having children prompts one to consider other options, such as supporting charitable organizations in the area of my particular interest.” The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement has traditionally depended […]

Foundation giving to gay causes increased by $65.6 million in 2006, a 24-percent gain over the previous year, according to a new report by Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues, a New York group that advises grant makers. The number of funds contributing to such causes also grew, from 199 in 2005 to 266 in 2006. The majority of foundation dollars came from independent funds. Those foundations account for 61 percent of total giving to gay causes, while public foundations gave 17 percent and community foundations gave 13 percent. Public and community foundations are typically financed by more than one […]

U.S. foundations gave more than $65 million to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) organizations and projects in 2006, a 24 percent increase from 2005, according to a report recently released by Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues (FLGI), a national philanthropic group based in New York City. The report includes 67 foundations that contributed to LGBTQ issues in 2006 but not in 2005. For Karen Zelermyer, executive director at FLGI, these increases speak to how more funders are recognizing LGBTQ issues and rights as central to their visions for social change. “As organizations continue to score wins for […]