International: $10.5 Million Awarded by Grantmakers Worldwide to Lesbian and Gay Organizations Working in Global South and East

08/14/2007

IGLHRC believes that a vital part of our mission is supporting the work of activist organizations and allies by disseminating important information on human rights issues affecting LGBT communities worldwide. To this end we are reposting the following announcement from one of our partners.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 13, 2007

Historic study reports that 40 grantmaking institutions supported more than 200 LGBTI groups around the world in 2005, most of which are small, young and operate with few to no staff members.

[NEW YORK CITY, NY] Forty grantmakers from around the world awarded nearly $10.5 million to groups working on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) issues in the Global South and East, according to a historic report just released by Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues (FLGI), a national philanthropic group based in New York City.

The report—“A Global Gaze: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) Grantmaking in the Global South and East”—represents the first-ever study analyzing LGBTI grantmaking and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in those regions. Most of the money was provided by private and public foundations around the world.

According to Karen Zelermyer, executive director of Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues, $10.5 million is miniscule compared to the $3.8 billion provided by US foundations alone in 2005, as reported by the Foundation Center, which unlike FLGI’s report does not include non-US funders.

“The report is a call to grantmakers, media, and advocates to step into the broader human rights arena and support the diversity of LGBTI groups globally that are positively transforming communities, often under harsh conditions and political opposition," said Zelermyer.

The report describes how most of the NGOs residing in the Global South and East came about in the last decade, operate with minimal staffing and survive on small, annual incomes, often under $5,000.

However, as the study found, most of the funding originated in, and was received by, entities based in North America and Western Europe. Further, the 20 largest groups identified received the majority of the $10.5 million for LGBTI rights in the Global South and East.

"The study highlights an incredible opportunity for grantmakers to nourish a vibrant yet under-resourced infrastructure of Global South and East LGBTI groups that are changing the political discourse in their countries,” said Robert Espinoza, author of the report and director of research and communications at Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues.

The full report is available at http://www.lgbtfunders.org/programs/global.cfm