LGBTI Movements Under Attack: $100 Million in LGBTI Funding Announced

Amid rising anti-rights backlash, the dark cloud of a second Donald Trump presidency and dramatic shifts in the funding landscape, more than $100 million in new funding has been pledged for LGBTI groups and initiatives worldwide.

Under the banner of the Fund Our Futures campaign, the news was announced by the Global Philanthropy Project (GPP) at the first-ever Global LGBTI Funding Summit and the ILGA World Conference in Cape Town this week.

In recognition that several long-standing top LGBTI global donors are likely ending or scaling back their funding, GPP hopes to bridge the gap by securing new funding commitments with this pledging campaign.

Through its Fund Our Futures pledging campaign, it aims to raise $150 million for global LGBTI movements to address the emerging crisis in funding.

“With anti-rights backlash on the rise, funding for global LGBTI movements is more crucial than ever,” said Matthew Hart, Executive Director of the Global Philanthropy Project. “GPP calls on philanthropy and donor governments to mobilise the resources LGBTI movements need now.”

Through the Fund Our Futures campaign, donors pledge to increase their support for LGBTI communities, awarding new funds directly to the recipients of their choice in any geographic location. For foundations, the pledge time period is three years, and for governments, it is five years.

As of this week, 28 foundations, corporate funders, and donor governments have so far pledged a total of $100 million in new funding.

“The Fund Our Futures campaign is a brilliant example of what happens when private philanthropy, public foundations, and governments come together to defend and grow funding for LGBTI movements,” said Nicky McIntyre, CEO of Foundation for a Just Society and strategic advisor to the Fund Our Futures campaign.

“We will keep working to resource these incredible leaders who are charting a different path forward, one that is rooted in self-determination, community, and care — rather than division and fear,” added McIntyre.

These funding threats come to movements that are already tremendously under-resourced, while anti-rights and anti-gender groups continue to be highly resourced in their efforts to undermine sexual and gender equality.

GPP’s Global Resources Report has identified that global LGBTI funding in 2021-2022 accounted for less than 39 cents of every $100 in foundation funding and only 4 cents of every $100 in Overseas Development Assistance (ODA).

Furthermore, recent movement research has documented that about one-third of trans, intersex, and LBQ organizations had no external (foundation or government) funding.

The Fund Our Futures campaign has called for all donors to step up and protect the hard-won current LGBTI funding levels and commit to increasing and improving resources for the years ahead.

For more information, visit the Global Philanthropy Project website.