posted on: Tuesday, May 26, 2009

by Julia Craig

As The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported last week, a recent study from Funders for Gay and Lesbian Issues (FGLI) found that grantmaking to LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer)* causes is expected to grow in 2009. In late April, FLGI surveyed 33 grantmakers who give significantly to LGBTQ causes and found that while some were planning to scale back, the difference was more than made up by those planning to increase their giving this year.

The study – LGBTQ Grantmaking by U.S. Foundations (2007) – examined data from 2007 grantmaking, the last year for which data is available. It found that grantmaking to LGBTQ causes increased 18 percent that year to $77.2 million from 293 U.S. grantmakers. Despite this good news, overall giving in this category remains low.

When preparing data for Criteria for Philanthropy at its Best (Criteria), NCRP found that in the aggregate, just 0.2 percent of foundation funding from our sample went to the LGBTQ community between 2004 and 2006. While there is no Census data on the sexual orientation or gender identity of the U.S. population, the American Community Survey does provide a proxy for same-sex households. Gaydemographics.org estimated that same-sex households accounted for about 1.14 percent of U.S. households in 2004. Single LGBTQ individuals likely represent a much larger proportion of the population.

Despite increases in recent history, overall giving remains remarkably low. The recent FGLI study reported that ten foundations accounted for nearly half of the funding in 2007. Further, ten large, national charities received a quarter of the total support. FGLI found that 10 percent of the funding went to directly benefit LGBTQ individuals (rather than organizations representing this constituency). As part of the Values chapter of Criteria, NCRP recommends grantmakers designate at least 25 percent of their funding for marginalized communities, broadly defined. LGBTQ communities are included in this definition.

What types of work are LGBTQ groups that receive foundation support undertaking? As part of a series of reports under the Grantmaking for Community Impact Project, NCRP has documented the impact of advocacy and organizing groups in New Mexico and North Carolina. In New Mexico, Equality New Mexico successfully campaigned to amend the state’s nondiscrimination clause to include “sexual orientation and gender identity” in its protected categories. In North Carolina, Equality NC partnered with non-traditional allies such as the state ARC to help pass House legislation protecting kids from being bullied in public schools. Equality NC also has worked each year since 2004 to defeat a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, civil union or any other kind of same-sex relationship recognition. North Carolina is currently the only state in the South without such a ban. These impacts extend beyond the LGBTQ community – a constitutional ban could impact unmarried heterosexual couples, and all school children would be protected under anti-bullying legislation.

It’s great news that FGLI has found that support for LGBTQ causes is expected to increase over the coming year, particularly in light of the recession and the fact that many grantmakers are announcing cutbacks or focusing on meeting immediate needs. However, as NCRP’s data analysis shows, overall giving is incredibly low, and few foundations are supporting the direct engagement of LGBTQ constituencies at the local and state level, particularly those of color.

Julia Craig is research assistant at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy and co-author of Strengthening Democracy, Increasing Opportunities: Impacts of Advocacy, Organizing and Civic Engagement in North Carolina.

* FGLI defines “LGBTQ” this way. NCRP defines it as “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning.”