A new fund to support LGBTQI activism around the world has been established, sponsored by Jon Steinberg and Josh Graff, and managed by GiveOut.
“We are excited to partner with GiveOut to support grassroots organisations around the world that are fighting for fundamental rights and freedoms for our community. As part of the generation who saw our rights transformed over the past twenty-five years, from the end of Section 28 to marriage equality, we are committed to supporting groups that are working to bring that kind of transformational change to their own local communities.” – Jon Steinberg and Josh Graff
Through the Steinberg-Graff Fund for International LGBTQI rights, grants will be provided to support activists campaigning for legal reform and human rights protections. Initial grants will be made to:
- The Other Foundation, a grant-giving organisation working in partnership across Southern Africa to support the right of LGBTQI organisations to be recognised by governments and challenging homophobic and transphobic laws.
- Trans*parent, a charity in the Czech Republic providing services to support trans and intersex people. They are currently campaigning to end the forced sterilisation of trans people.
- Rainbow Community Kampuchea (ROCK), an organisation raising awareness of and supporting LGBTQI people across Cambodia, and advocating for equal protection.
The fund is managed by GiveOut, which works with the LGBTQI community and allies to support activist organisations around the world, ensuring they have more of the resources they need to defend LGBTQI communities, tackle inequality and campaign for lasting change.
Viktor from Trans*parent said: “In the difficult landscape of Czechia where public policies and structural resources for the basic protection and inclusion of trans and non-binary people are lacking altogether, the funding and support we receive through GiveOut and others is simply vital. It gives us a stable ground to stand on and continue in our activities aimed towards the advancement of trans rights, abolishment of unacceptable conditions for legal gender recognition such as forced sterilization, and increasing the visibility of LGBTI issues in the eyes of the politicians and the general public.”
Adding to this, Kutlwano Magashula, Head of Programmes for the Other Foundation, said: “This new funding comes at just the right time when LGBTI activists in many countries in the southern Africa region are poised to intensify their public policy advocacy campaigns.”
Rupert Abbott, GiveOut’s Executive Director, said:
“Thank you to Josh and Jon for their generosity and solidarity – we are so proud to partner with them. They are supporting vital work to change LGBTQI lives in Cambodia, the Czech Republic and in countries across Southern Africa. We hope others will follow their example and join us in supporting LGBTQI rights worldwide.”
To learn more about the Steinberg-Graff Fund for International LGBTQI rights and the organisations they work with, please click here.