17 May 2024, IDAHOBIT
- International LGBTQI community foundation GiveOut announces launch of LGBTQI Solidarity Fund, supported by the UK government.
- LGBTQI people worldwide are at risk and hard-won rights are being rolled back.
- GiveOut is building a pool of match funding to double the impact of donations by individual and corporate donors.
- Funds raised will be used to provide grants to LGBTQI organisations working in contexts in the Global South and East where LGBTQI rights are at risk.
The LGBTQI Solidarity Fund is an exciting new initiative by GiveOut to mobilise the UK LGBTQI community and allies to come together to show our collective support for LGBTQI communities worldwide.
LGBTQI Communities at Risk
Around the world, LGBTQI people are at risk and their hard-won rights are being rolled back.
In the last year, we have seen dangerous new anti-LGBTQI bills being introduced in countries including Ghana, Uganda and most recently, Iraq. These bills include prison sentences for simply identifying as LGBTQI and for promoting LGBTQI human rights.
Same sex relations are criminalised in 64 jurisdictions and gender identity in 14. And even in many countries where LGBTQI people are not criminalised, they still face discrimination, violence and other abuses.
LGBTQI activists are defending their communities, campaigning for equality and challenging old and new anti-LGBTQI laws, but they receive tiny amounts of funding and need more support.
The Solidarity Fund
In response, GiveOut is launching the LGBTQI Solidarity Fund to encourage giving by the UK LGBTQI community and allies.
With support from foundations and the UK government through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), GiveOut is building a pool of match funding to double the impact of donations by individual and corporate donors.
GiveOut will use the pool of match funding to match eligible donations, unlocking more support for LGBTQI organisations globally.
Through the Solidarity Fund, GiveOut will provide grants to LGBTQI organisations working in contexts in the Global South and East where LGBTQI people are at risk and hard-won victories are being rolled back.
Ryan Silverio, Executive Director of ASEAN SOGIE Caucus, said:
“Southeast Asia is a region that receives very minimal support from global funds. So global funding, increased funding for LGBTQI activism in the region will definitely help local LGBT organisations to create safe spaces for their communities to meet, to learn from each other, and to have a safe space whenever they are being attacked or their families or communities are hostile to them.”
Mukami Marete, Executive Director of UHAI-EASHRI, said:
“LGBTQI people are facing unprecedented violence. To bring the change needed, movements need sustained, long term, flexible resourcing. Activists have been asking philanthropy to do better in their support. It is urgent.”
Joel Simpson, Managing Director of SASOD Guyana, said:
“With more funding in the region, organisations like SASOD could better be able to provide emergency services to people who face hate crimes and discrimination. It would allow us also to amplify public education campaigns to change social attitudes, which therefore would prevent hate crimes and discrimination against LGBTQI people from occurring in the first place.”
Rupert Abbott, Executive Director of GiveOut, said:
“In the face of efforts to roll back hard-won progress, LGBTQI activists need more support from our community and allies. With the LGBTQI Solidarity Fund and the opportunity to match eligible donations, there has never been a better time for individuals and businesses to support the global struggle for LGBTQI human rights.”
Background
The LGBTQI Solidarity Fund
Inspired by the UK Aid Match model, equal contributions by the UK Government and trusts and foundations to the Fund will help to leverage and unlock giving by individuals and businesses, diversifying sources of funding for LGBTQI rights. The ambition is for the Fund to be worth £3 million over four years.
For more information on the Fund and how it works, visit here.
UK LGBTQI Giving Summit and Research
UK government support for GiveOut’s LGBTQI Solidarity Fund was announced at the first UK LGBTQI Global Giving Summit in November 2023, co-organised by GiveOut and The Baring Foundation.
The Summit was informed by first-of-its-kind research, assessing the current level of collective UK giving to support LGBTQI causes internationally (currently totalling just £13.4 million annually), with recommendations to catalyse more funding.
Read the UK LGBTQI International Giving Report here.
To arrange interviews and for more information, please contact:
Luke Smith
Communications and Campaigns Officer
luke@giveout.org
020 8156 7643