Pro-LGBTQI+ organisations receive just 0.35 percent of philanthropic funding; anti-LGBTQI+ organisations actively campaigning for the reversal of our rights are far better funded. One organisation alone spent $622m on stopping LGBTQI+ rights in 2019-20, $46m more than the entire funding donated globally to pro-LGBTQI+ causes that year. We are still fighting for basic human rights in many countries across the world, and only have to look at US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurring opinion overturning Roe v. Wade to see how easily these hard-won rights could be taken away.

How can we expect to advance global rights for LGBTQI+ people when funding is anaemic? For many causes, organisations would turn to a group which have a natural affinity to their cause and the resources to advance it, which leads me to ask the question; where are the LGBTQI+ philanthropists?

Growing evidence suggests LGBTQI+ individuals face additional barriers to fulfilling their economic, and therefore philanthropic, potential. The challenges, micro-aggressions and prejudice we face in our daily lives, not to mention the trauma and fear of social exclusion linked to coming out, leads to poorer economic inclusion and mental health issues for our community.

First and foremost we need all funders to step up and support our rights.

For companies this Pride, whilst making a statement with a rainbow logo and asking LGBTQI+ staff to share their experiences on a blog post is a step forward, there is more that needs to be done. Looking at policies around pay and progression with an inclusive lens will ensure that LGBTQI+ individuals are paid on par with their heterosexual and cisgender colleagues.

In parallel, all funders, whether corporates, foundations, or individuals, must look at how they can use their capital to invest in and provide more philanthropic capital to support LGBTQI+ rights. If you haven’t supported an LGBTQI+ rights charity before, make it your 2022 Pride pledge to do so. We can achieve equality, but only if we can finance it. Adjust your funding criteria or assessment processes to ask organisations how their work will support the LGBTQI+ community to encourage wider uptake of pro-rights programmes globally.

Read the full article about how donors can support LGBTQI rights by Allan McKinnon at Alliance Magazine.