Funders for LGBTQ Issues Releases New Report on Grantmaking

2009 REPORT CONFIRMS ECONOMIC DOWNTURN’S IMPACT ON LGBTQ FUNDING

(New York, NY – December 15, 2010) Funders for LGBTQ Issues has just published its annual tracking report on LGBTQ grantmaking which shows that, in 2009, U.S. foundations awarded $93.5 million to organizations explicitly serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) communities, a decline of 12.7% --- 4.3% higher than the national decline of 8.4% in U.S. foundation giving overall in 2009, as reported by the Foundation Center. As foreshadowed in our previous reports on LGBTQ grantmaking and the economy (available here and here), it was inevitable that the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression would have a profound impact on foundation giving to LGBTQ issues and communities.

Anticipating this fallout and aiming to prevent a scenario that could have been worse, many LGBTQ grantmakers engaged various strategies that, despite the cuts, still resulted in LGBTQ issues garnering more than 0.2% of the total dollars granted by U.S. foundations for the 2nd consecutive year since we began our reporting. Among the report's findings:

Children and youth were the population sub-group receiving the greatest amount of funding.

Funding for LGBTQ people of color organizations and projects decreased by 25%.

Support for civil and human rights surpassed that of other issues.

Advocacy was the most well funded strategy among those used by LGBTQ organizations and projects.

In light of these findings, Funders for LGBTQ Issues remains committed to its critical efforts to both increase the number of foundations that support LGBTQ issues overall and to ensure that the full diversity of the LGBTQ community is resourced. The full report and the executive summary are now available for download.

Please click here to download Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Grantmaking by U.S. Foundations (2009). Full Report

Please click here to download Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Grantmaking by U.S. Foundations (2009): Executive Summary.

Category(s): Philanthropic Sector, General LGBTQ Community

Focus(es): Focus on Bisexuals, Focus on Gay Men, Focus on Lesbians, Focus on Transgender People

Topic(s): Anti-Violence, Aging/Elderly, Arts/Culture/Media, Civil/Human Rights, Disabilities, Education, Government/Political, Health, HIV/AIDS, Immigration, People of Color/Ethnic Communities, Religion/Faith, Youth