Last month, opponents of LGBTQ rights formally petitioned the United States Supreme Court to revisit – and ultimately overturn – the right to marriage equality, a right affirmed nationwide in the Court’s 2015 landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. In that case, the Court recognized a constitutional right to marriage for same-sex couples as the law of the land. Now, as we await the Court’s decision on whether to take up this dangerous challenge, let us be clear: LGBTQ communities and allies have been bracing for this moment. 

The authors of Project 2025 did not hide that depriving LGBTQ people of their rights and protections by overturning Obergefell was a key step to achieve their overarching goal of converting the United States into an authoritarian state. The call we issue to philanthropy today has not changed from what we’ve been asking our sector to do since before the second Trump presidency: continue to support LGBTQ communities and our resistance work through increased grantmaking to state, local, and national queer and trans-led orgs holding the line, and stand in solidarity with grantees and movement partners. 

I began my career at a time when most funders made it clear that they prioritized support to legalize same-sex marriage over the needs of the transgender community – that we would have to “wait our turn” – setting our community back by decades. We must learn from the past to avoid making the same mistakes. We ask everyone in our network to set an intentional and strategic plan for your grantmaking that empowers all communities who are on the front lines of the Trump Administration’s efforts to hollow out our democracy. This means intentionally deepening your relationships and funding for transgender communities, immigrants, people who are unhoused, and Black and Brown communities – particularly those contending with the unprecedented military occupation of Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles as I write this.

We know our work is stronger together. Please share these timely resources with your colleagues, family, and friends who may be directly impacted if  the loss of Obergefell becomes reality:

• Pride Plans 
• Free Will

Our team is taking a much-needed break for the rest of August to care for ourselves, our communities, and loved ones. When we return in September, we look forward to intentionally engaging with our membership and network around these themes. 

If there are resources you’d like to share with our network or if you’d like to explore these challenging times in community with other institutions, we hope that you’ll reach out as we continue to collectively respond to these cruel and immoral attacks on our humanity. 

In solidarity,

Alexander Lee
Deputy Director