It's Give OUT Day!

Today is the last day you can donate to Give OUT Day, a national month of LGBTQ giving led by our member institution, Horizons Foundation. Every dollar you donate to Funders for LGBTQ Issues today will be matched, up to $5,000. Help us toward our goal of $10,000 to support our programmatic work!

Your support goes to our programs and helps us achieve our vision of a world where all queer, trans, and gender non-conforming people are liberated, loved, valued, respected, and thriving.

Make a gift today.

Sharing Funders for LGBTQ Issues' 2023 Annual Review,

"Joy is Our Name"

Our 2023 Annual Review is a testimony to what happens when our membership organizes together for a world where we are all free. We invite you to reflect on our last year of organizing, which included the addition of vital new members to our team, the launch of "Justice Ain't Cheap: A Queer Philanthropy Podcast," the return of the Funding Forward conference, and much more.

Read the annual review here.

Congratulating Ashe Helm-Hernández + Shaena Johnson

We are thrilled to announce that Ashe Helm-Hernández and Shaena Johnson are joining the Funders for LGBTQ Issues’ team in permanent capacities.

Ashe, who began at Funders in January of 2023 as the Inaugural Senior Fellow of Philanthropic Organizing, is now the Director of Philanthropic Organizing.

Shaena, who has been a consultant with both Out in the South and Grantmakers United for Trans Communities and who has served as the Interim Project Director of Out in the South for the last year, has been named the new Project Director of Out in the South.

Our team has continually been awed by the creativity, expertise and joy that Shaena and Ashe bring to the work. We are excited and grateful to have them join us as permanent members of our team! 

Funders for LGBTQ Issues is thrilled to announce the launch of our Member Spotlight series, where we'll regularly showcase the vital work being done within our network.

For our inaugural spotlight, we are excited to feature our first-ever member, the MacArthur Foundation, and share their incredible work and creative approaches to grantmaking. 

If you'd like to be considered for a feature, please contact our Membership Engagement Officer, Amara Reese-Hansell, at amara@lgbtfunders.org.

Read and learn more here.

ICYMI: Funding Forward 2025 Save the Date

We are thrilled to announce the dates of our next Funding Forward conference, coming to Houston, TX from March 31 to April 3, 2025. 

The 2025 Funding Forward conference will mark the tenth anniversary of our Out in the South initiative, celebrating a decade of intersectional southern philanthropic organizing. It will also be our most robust conference to date—beginning with our first ever official pre-session day.

As previous attendees of Funding Forward all know, the conference offers funders committed to resourcing LGBTQ communities powerful opportunities for connection, relationship building and organizing. 

We hope you’ll plan to join us in Houston for Funding Forward 2025!

Members of the Funders for LGBTQ Issues’ team will be at the following upcoming conferences. Feel free to reach out to connect and learn more about our work.

June 3rd to 5th:

Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy’s 2024 Conference (New Orleans)

Amara Reese-Hansell (Membership Engagement Officer) will host an LGBTQ affinity space.  

July 15th to 17th:

United Philanthropy Forum Conference (St. Louis)

Stephen Switzer (Director of Finance and Administration) will be in attendance.

Laughing Gull Foundation Announces $1.9 Million in Funding for Climate and Environmental Organizations in the U.S. South

Funders for LGBTQ Issues’ member, the Laughing Gull Foundation (LGF), is pleased to announce the approval of $1,975,000 in grants awarded to 28 Climate & Environment organizations in the U.S. South. The grants will fortify the work of organizations that are making progress in a region that is leading the way towards a more just, equitable, sustainable future.

Read more here.

State of LGBTQ Philanthropy + 20th Resource Tracking Report Launch

Join Funders for LGBTQ Issues on Tuesday, June 11th, 2:00 – 4:00 pm EDT, to celebrate the release of our twentieth resource tracking report! During this virtual event, we’ll go over key findings of the forthcoming 2022 Tracking Report: LGBTQ Grantmaking by U.S. Foundations and then move into a timely conversation with trans philanthropic leaders moving money rapidly and creatively to our movements in a moment of critical need. This conversation invites the sector to consider how philanthropy can better partner with LGBTQ movements to resource frontline organizing and change work, especially as we head into the 2024 presidential election.

Featured Speakers

RSVP here.

Two Decades of Funding Trans Artists: Denise Brown, Gabriel Foster & V Chaudry

(Co-Sponsored by Funders for LGBTQ Issues)

Join us for a conversation with Denise Brown, Gabriel Foster and V Varun Chaudhry on funding transgender artists. In 2005, the Leeway Foundation expanded its grant funding to artists who identified as trans. After almost twenty years, we look back at Leeway’s decisions, strategy, processes, and impact on philanthropy and nonprofits. The three will also discuss how this work evolved over the years, what is still needed, and what’s next.

Register here.

Investing in Inclusion: The LGBTQ+ Community & the Census

(Co-Sponsored by Funders for LGBTQ Issues)

On Thursday, June 13th, celebrate Pride Month with a funder briefing about LGBTQ inclusion. This year marks a historic moment in the movement: for the first time ever, the Census Bureau will test questions that allow LGBTQ people to identify themselves on the American Community Survey (ACS), the premier source of social, economic, housing, and demographic data on the nation’s population.

Register here.

Agency, Autonomy, & Affirmation: Empowering Cultural Self Determination in Trans and Queer BIPOC Communities

Despite reporting more racial diversity than the general adult U.S. population, TQBIPOC (Trans and Queer Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) are challenged with disproportionate inequities such as higher rates of unemployment and housing insecurity. Through this conversation, presenters will share how cultural self-determination is a path for racial, gender, and economic justice.

Register here.

Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) National Convening

GCIR’s biennial National Convening is the foremost gathering in philanthropy on immigrant and refugee issues. GCIR’s 2024 convening will take place in the context of daunting challenges for immigrant communities at a pivotal moment for our country’s future as a multi-racial democracy. We will meet that moment together at our gathering in October by addressing those challenges while shining a light on the powerful advocacy and organizing work being done to effect systemic change and build strong, welcoming, fully inclusive communities.

Register here.

REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS

Cleveland Black Futures Fund announces fifth grant opportunity

The Cleveland Foundation has announced the upcoming fifth round of grantmaking from the Cleveland Black Futures Fund. Black-led, Black-serving nonprofit organizations operating in Cuyahoga, Lake or Geauga counties with budgets of $25,000 to $1 million can apply beginning on Monday, May 13.

Trans Resilience Fund

The Trans Resilience Fund is a grant program of Gender Justice Fund to support regional trans communities. The second information session will be held on Monday, June 3rd, and the application deadline is Friday, June 21st.

Native Voices Rising 2024 Grant Cycle Now Open: Empowering Native-Led Solutions

Common Counsel Foundation and Native Americans in Philanthropy proudly announce the opening of the Native Voices Rising 2024 grant cycle, now open for both donors and potential applicants.

Rapid Response Fund

Groundswell's Rapid Response Fund provides the philanthropic community with a vehicle for deploying resources quickly and strategically to reproductive justice and social justice organizations during unexpected and critical campaign fights and key opportunities. The Fund is open to rolling requests monthly. 

WEBINARS, TRAININGS, AND BRIEFINGS

Grantmaking for Disability: LGBTQIA+ Funding

Watch this webinar hosted by the Disability & Philanthropy Forum and learn why it's crucial for philanthropy to fund disabled LGBTQIA+ communities—and how to get started. Shaena Johnson, Funders for LGBTQ Issues' Out in the South Project Director, was a panelist.

What Funders Need to Know: The State of Nonprofits and Grantee Well-Being

New research by the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) examines how nonprofits are faring in 2024, what challenges they face, how funders can best support these crucial institutions, and more. Join CEP for a free webinar on June 20, hosted in partnership with Philanthropy California, to discuss the findings of CEP’s new research and delve into these vital questions.

RESEARCH, RESOURCES, AND UPDATES

Funders Must Step Up to Engage Pro-Equality Voters This Year

With LGBTQ+ rights under attack, mobilizing pro-equality voters will be crucial this year. Fran Hutchins (Equality Federation) and Dani Martínez (Arcus Foundation) highlight ways funders can engage, including through a new donor organizing network, organized by Funders for LGBTQ Issues.

The Gill Foundation, an LGBTQ Powerhouse, Dives Into Pro-Democracy Funding

One of the country’s largest LGBTQ funders is giving $4.3 million to democracy nonprofits in the lead-up to the 2024 election. It’s the latest example of a key, cause-focused philanthropy embracing broader civic engagement work.

Foundations lag in giving to LGBTQ causes

Katie Carter, Pride Foundation CEO and Funders' Board Member, discusses the challenges and opportunities of funding LGBTQ causes with Roger Doughty of Horizons Foundation.

LGBTQI+ Movements Need Mental Wellness

As Mental Health Awareness Month begins, the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice recognizes and honors the importance of holistic mental health for LGBTQI+ communities. Burnout and mental stress are far too common amongst LGBTQI+ activists, and they believe that putting funding into the proper hands helps alleviate that. 

Prioritizing Grants Management: An Unsung Key to Effective Funding

Emma Relle, Senior Analyst at the Center for Effective Philanthropy, writes about the critical role that grants management staff play in philanthropy.

Do Better: Grantmaking Principles and Practices Toward Community Accountability

Principles and practices that center community accountability should be part of philanthropy’s core purpose. This resource was adapted from content from a webinar hosted by Neighborhood Funders Group titled “Do Better: Grantmaking Practices Toward Community Accountability” to share learnings and reflections.

Introducing the Fund for Trans Generations’ New Program Associate, Lucas Gauna

Borealis Philanthropy is delighted to introduce Lucas Gauna (he/him) as their new Program Associate.

Program Officer (Democracy, Gender & Racial Justice)

The JPB Foundation

New York, New York

Operations Manager

Global Philanthropy Project

Remote

Digital Media Manager

North Star Fund

New York City or Hudson Valley, New York

Visit our website for more listings on our full Jobs Board.

American Jewish World Service

Annie E. Casey Foundation

Arabella Advisors

Arcus Foundation

Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice Baltimore Community Foundation

Borealis Philanthropy

Boston Foundation

California Wellness Foundation

Collaborative for Gender and Reproductive Equity 

Cleveland Foundation

Community Foundation for Southern Arizona

Community Foundation of Louisiana

Community Foundation of Northeast Florida

Con Alma Health Foundation

Cream City Foundation

David Bohnett Foundation

Dwight Stuart Youth Fund

Edward W. Hazen Foundation

Excelerate Foundation

Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund

Ford Foundation

Foundation for a Just Society

Foundation for the Carolinas

Foundation for Louisiana

General Services Foundation

Gender Justice Fund

Gilead Sciences

Gill Foundation

Gilmour-Jirgens Fund

Groundswell Fund

Halff Windham Foundation Hartford Foundation for Public Giving

Henry van Ameringen Foundation

Horizons Foundation

Hyams Foundation

Impact Charitable

James Irvine Foundation

Johnson Family Foundation

JP Morgan Chase & Co. 

Kicking Assets Fund

Kresge Foundation

Laughing Gull Foundation

Levi Strauss Foundation

Lloyd A. Fry Foundation

The Leonard-Litz LGBTQ+ Foundation

Libra Foundation

MacArthur Foundation

Marguerite Casey Foundation

Masto Foundation

McKnight Foundation

Mellon Foundation

Meyer Memorial Trust

Movement Voter Project

Ms. Foundation For Women

Mukti Fund

Nathan Cummings Foundation

NEO Philanthropy

New Moon Network

New York Women's Foundation

North Star Fund

Northern California Grantmakers

Northwest Area Foundation

One of Us Global Foundation

Open Society Foundations

Our Fund, Inc.

Overbrook Foundation

Pacific Foundation Services, LLC

Paul G. Allen Foundation

Peggy and Jack Baskin Foundation

PFund Foundation

Philadelphia Foundation

Polk Bros. Foundation

Pride Foundation

Proteus Fund, Inc.

Richmond Memorial Health Foundation

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors

Rosenberg Foundation

Santa Fe Community Foundation

Simmons Foundation

Small Change Foundation

Southwest Florida Community Foundation

Stonewall Community Foundation

Stupski Foundation

Surdna Foundation

The California Endowment

The Collins Foundation

The Colorado Health Foundation

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation

The Palette Fund

The Queer Livelihoods Project

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Tikkun Olam Foundation

Third Wave Fund

Tides Foundation

Trans Justice Funding Project

Transgender Strategy Center

Tzedek Social Justice Fund

Wallace Foundation

Washington Grantmakers AIDS Partnership

Wellspring Philanthropic Fund

Wild Geese Foundation

Winthrop Ro

Women's Foundation of California