Funders for LGBTQ Issues

Funders for LGBTQ Issues is a network of over 100 foundations, corporations, and funding institutions that collectively award over $1 billion annually, including approximately $250 million devoted explicitly to LGBTQ issues. For over 40 years, Funders for LGBTQ Issues has advocated for increasing philanthropic support for LGBTQ+ communities. 

LGBTQ communities – especially trans and gender non-conforming people – are under attack. At the same time, inflation is eroding the gains we’ve fought for, and support is stagnating in places like the Southeast, Midwest, and Mountain states, where it’s needed most.

But there’s power in collective action. Thanks to bold advocacy and initiatives like Out in the South and our other philanthropic organizing efforts, for the first time since 2018, the Southeast region was awarded the highest amount of funding with $36 million, or 17 percent of the total funding awarded in 2023 (the last year we have data for). This represented a 27% increase from the funding awarded to the Southeast region in 2022. Given that more LGBT adults live in the Southeast region than in any other, this increase in funding specifically for LGBTQ communities and causes in the region is encouraging. We helped make that happen – and with your support, we can do even more.

This is a critical moment. Every dollar fuels our ability to organize funders, shift resources, and meet the rising threats head-on. Give now to strengthen LGBTQ philanthropy and fund our futures. 

As you make gifts to LGBTQ+ non-profits today, we hope you will consider donating to Funders for LGBTQ Issues. Your support helps us achieve our vision – a world where all queer, trans, and gender-nonconforming people are liberated, loved, valued, respected, and thriving. Thank you for standing in solidarity with LGBTQ+ communities. 

Ways to get involved with Funders for LGBTQ Issues – 

✨ Learn more about our work & organizing over the past year by checking out Our Power is in Witness: 2025 Recap Report. You can request the password by emailing communications@lgbtfunders.org.

✨ To dig into the key findings from the 2023 Resource Tracking Report (the latest year we have data for). We'll be releasing our 2024 Resource Tracking Report: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, & Queer (LGBTQ) Grantmaking by U.S. Foundations in just a few weeks! We hope you can join us for the launch. 

✨ Out in the South, our program that works to increase philanthropic resources for LGBTQ organizations in the U.S. South, launched new programs this year, the OTS Micro Funders Project, alongside the OTS Fellowship Program, a leadership development opportunity designed to support emerging grantmakers and resource mobilizers committed to strengthening Southern LGBTQ+ ecosystems. You can learn more about OTS's new programs and grantmaking strategy here. 

✨ Listen to recent episodes of Justice Ain't Cheap: A Queer Philanthropy Podcast. This podcast, which debuted in 2023, has been a labor of love from our team, and we hope that it creates a home for tough, honest conversations (led with love and grounded in care) about the state of the LGBTQ movement and the role philanthropy has to play in this crucial moment for our communities.

✨ Check out the latest news from Funders for LGBTQ Issues here. Stay up to date on all the latest news from our organization by signing up for our newsletter here.

👋 Questions about how to give or Funders for LGBTQ Issues? Reach out to our Director of External Affairs, Amara Reese-Hansell.