News

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 […]

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 […]