This past October, the Funders for LGBTQ Issues team attended the UNITY Summit in Minneapolis. Hosted by CHANGE Philanthropy, this summit was an engaging and timely gathering that brought philanthropic leaders and practitioners together to address critical issues and drive equitable change across the philanthropic sector.

Our team had the opportunity to organize a pre-session on Monday, October 27, to cultivate power-building and combat institutional retreat through skill-sharing and highlighting intersectional work. The program included collective grounding, deep-dive sessions, peer learning, and vision-forward conversations while centering both external movement-building and internal institutional organizing.

Our pre-session featured discussions including Relationship Cultivation 101: Finding and Building Your Philanthropic Crew, presented by Jordan Blaza Olsen (Executive Director at Transgender Strategy Center and Trans Futures Funding Campaign (TFFC) co-chair), and Funding at the Intersections: Tools for Funders, presented by Rígel Lugo (interim Executive Director of María Fund PR and Out in the South grantee). In addition, our wonderful board members, Katie Carter (CEO of Pride Foundation) and Zev Lowe (Executive Director of Tikkun Olam Foundation, Inc.), hosted a workshop titled “Engaging Institutional Leaders.“ 

During the pre-session, our Programs team organized a plenary titled From Despair to Direction – Power, Institutions & Queer Possibility to discuss their work, the challenges our communities are facing, and to share insights. 

Our Director of Programs, Cleopatra Jach Acquaye, shared her observations from that panel. 

Having worked in philanthropy for 3 years, and starting by working with a completely new and the largest team in Funders for LGBTQ Issues’ history, it was a pleasure to be able to highlight the work I get to see in its seedling iterations.

The program team discussed how each of our experiences shows up in our work, and spent time laying out the different facets of our program. What matters most isn’t where a particular program is housed, but how our programs work together in a coordinated, collaborative way to advance our shared vision of LGBTQ liberation. Each part of our work is connected, and we’re intentionally building a system where every program understands its unique and important role and strengthens our collective impact.

Programs Team (L-R): Cleopatra Jach Acquaye (Director of Programs), Shaena Johnson (Out in the South Project Director), Luna Moreta Avila (Grantmakers United for Trans Communities Project Director), and Ashe Helm-Hernández (Philanthropic Organizing Project Director)

Alongside the Trans Futures Funding Campaign (TFFC), we hosted a reception on the evening of October 28th. With over 75 folks in attendance, it was a wonderful opportunity to share space with our partners and members. We introduced the three new Co-Chairs of TFFC: Shelby Chestnut (Transgender Law Center), Allison Scott (Campaign for Southern Equality), and Jordan Blaza Olsen (Transgender Strategy Center). All three Co-Chairs shared their vision for TFFC and launched their new fundraising goal – $10M to trans movements and organizations. 

“Having a space for our people to come together and socialize brought JOY to a lot of people. It was a much needed time to show each other that we’re not alone during these tough times.” — Jordan Blaza Olsen 

Co-Chairs of TFFC (L-R): Jordan Blaza Olsen (Transgender Strategy Center), Shelby Chestnut (Transgender Law Center), and Allison Scott (Campaign for Southern Equality) 

During the summit, we also enjoyed engaging with our affinity space for LGBTQ+ professionals, QTPIES (Queer and Trans People in Emergent Space), and our communications partners – 

• Queer & Trans People in Emergent Space (QTPIES) — QTPIES organized a lunch meet-up with around 15 folks on Wednesday, October 29th. It was a wonderful opportunity to touch base with current and aspiring QTPIES during the conference. We look forward to continuing to find opportunities to connect with QTPIES during in-person conferences and gatherings. Thanks to those who joined us! 
• Our Communications and Storytelling Officer hosted a meetup for communicators and storytellers in philanthropy on Wednesday, the 29th. Over 30 people joined the conversation to discuss narrative change, the challenges our organizations are facing in the current political climate, and how communicators can collaborate to help shift the narrative. 

Thank you to everyone who attended our pre-session, reception, and meetups. We look forward to connecting with you at future conferences and events!