LGBTQI movements around the world are facing a defining moment. Hard-won rights are under attack, civic space is shrinking, and many communities are experiencing criminalisation and violence. At the same time, external funding for human rights and development is becoming more fragile, with significant cuts, shifting priorities, and growing constraints on international funding flows.
And yet, this is not only a moment of loss. It is also a moment of possibility.
Across contexts, LGBTQI communities continue to organise, care for one another, and mobilise resources — often quietly and under risk. Mutual aid, collective savings, in-kind solidarity, community-led funds, and diaspora giving are not new responses to crises; they are long-standing practices rooted in trust, shared responsibility, and collective survival.
It was from this understanding that the Global Fund for Community Foundations (GFCF) and GiveOut came together to undertake this research. Our aim was not simply to document funding gaps, but to examine the wider resourcing ecosystem that sustains LGBTQI movements — including internal and local resourcing, diaspora solidarity, and external funding — and to explore how these flows can better complement one another.
This report shows clearly that LGBTQI movements are not waiting to be resourced. They are already mobilising financial and non-financial resources of their own. External funding remains vital, and it is most effective when it recognises, centres, and strengthens these existing community efforts rather than overriding or displacing them.
At a moment of contraction and uncertainty, external funders have a particular responsibility to hold the line. As resources shrink, this means not only maintaining support for LGBTQI movements, but doing so more thoughtfully: with greater trust and flexibility; with attention to care, safety, and long-term resilience; and with investment in community philanthropy and resource mobilisation alongside programmes.
This report is offered as a contribution towards broader reimagining efforts around how LGBTQI movements are resourced in this context. While grounded in the experiences of communities, intermediaries, and diaspora actors, it is directed in particular to external funders. We invite you to join us in working together — learning, adapting, and sharing responsibility — to support LGBTQI movements in ways that are effective, sustainable, and grounded in solidarity.
Jason Ball
Executive Director, GiveOut
Jenny Hodgson
Executive Director, Global Fund for Community Foundations