Seven Ways Your Business Can Support LGBTQI Communities This Pride

By Allan McKinnon

28 June 2023

I’ve been meeting lots of businesses to discuss how they can support LGBTQI communities this Pride, and I often get asked the same question: How do we start?

There are so many ways you can involve your business in supporting LGBTQI communities worldwide and, as we say at GiveOut, celebrate “Pride with Purpose.” 

Sometimes you need to see how others are doing it to know what works, so here are seven ways you can get involved, and a few examples of other corporate allies who are already stepping up to support the global struggle for equality.

1. Donate to Support LGBTQI Activism to Advance Equality

The simplest and most impactful way your business can support activists at the forefront of the fight for equality, particularly those in some of the hardest places to be LGBTQI, is to donate. GiveOut pools donations from companies to invest funds where they are needed most, whether that’s supporting activists to use strategic litigation to advance equality, build stronger communities and safe spaces, provide the evidence needed for change, promote public understanding and acceptance of LGBTQI people, or provide emergency and humanitarian support. Our corporate partners know that their money is being invested in groups and campaigns that are making a huge difference to the lives of LGBTQI people around the world.

As an investment fund manager, impact is important for Rokos Capital Management. They donate to GiveOut to support LGBTQI rights activism worldwide. To mark Pride, they hosted us and our grant partner IraQueer for a round table discussion with their team to discuss how their support can help  LGBTQI groups build stronger communities, safe spaces and safe houses, support refugees and more.

"RCM would like to thank the GiveOut team, and above all IraQueer for giving us amazing insights, for being brave and for being there for your community on the ground and for our community globally. We are very moved by this and it’s incredible to hear from you directly.” Christos Nifadopoulos, RCM

2. Sponsor an Event to Fundraise for LGBTQI Rights

As a small charity with limited resources, we rely on our corporate allies to support us to put on events and activities to help us fundraise for LGBTQI rights activism globally. Providing event spaces and support is an exciting and engaging way for our allies to show their solidarity.

Macquarie wanted to do more to support LGBTQI rights and encourage others to do the same. They have partnered with us, Consortium and The Funding Network to create City for LGBT+, an annual live-crowd fundraiser to raise vital resources for LGBTQI activists. The event - a brilliant night out - has grown to raise over £80,000 last year alone, and has become a highlight of the LGBTQI corporate calendar.

“We’re proud to partner with LGBTQ+ organisations who are working to lead on the cultural changes needed in the UK and globally. The power of corporate allyship cannot be understated, and with the necessary support, these organisations are able to pursue meaningful actions to drive an LGBTQ+  inclusive culture.” Rachel Palmer, the COO, ally, advocate and LGBTQ+ Executive Sponsor at Macquarie EMEA 

3. Offer Pro Bono Support

Our partners rely on pro bono or in-kind support to help them achieve their mission to advance LGBTQI equality. Through GiveOut’s LGBTQI Legal Aid Fund, for example, law firms come together to provide funding and legal expertise to support activists using the law to protect LGBTQI people and promote equality. 

Travers Smith, Latham & Watkins and Allen & Overy are donating their time and resources to ensure that LGBTQI people can access their legal rights, and our partners can undertake strategic litigation to advance equality. One of the partners supported through the Fund is the Centre for Law and Policy Research (CLPR) in India. CLPR provides free legal representation to trans communities, winning important victories, including representing the trans community in the Section 377 proceedings that ended in the landmark Supreme Court decision that decriminalised same sex relations in India.

4. Provide Emergency Support

The COVID-19 pandemic showed on a global scale that LGBTQI people are disproportionately affected in crises, a reality that is set to continue in the face of the climate emergency. Meanwhile, on every continent our communities continue to be targeted, simply for being who we are. During emergencies, LGBTQI communities around the world rely on the support – and protection – of LGBTQI organisations, and these organisations in turn rely on the support of our community and allies globally. GiveOut’s LGBTQI Emergency Fund provides an opportunity for our corporate allies to support the LGBTQI movement in the face of crises, coming together in solidarity for when our movement needs us most.

Levi Strauss & Co donated to our Emergency Fund following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. By providing the resources we needed to respond, we partnered with Outright International to channel resources quickly to LGBTQI organisations across Ukraine, so they were able to provide emergency food, shelter and medicine to those who needed it. During crises, LGBTQI people are often left out from mainstream humanitarian responses.

5. Establish Your Own LGBTQI Fund

GiveOut works with businesses to establish their own LGBTQI funds, to channel resources to a particular region, issue, or part of the LGBTQI movement. Businesses including the insurance company Emerald Life and the trans and non-binary inclusion specialists Global Butterflies have joined individuals including Suki Sandhu, Antonia and Andrea Belcher, and Josh Graff and Jon Steinberg in establishing funds to support LGBTQI causes closest to their hearts. 

Gay Times established Amplifund with GiveOut to support LGBTQI activists around the world in their campaigning and media work. Gay Times is committed to the amplification of queer voices and experiences. In line with this, Amplifund ensures that LGBTQI organisations have more of the resources they need to influence coverage of LGBTQI issues in the mainstream media through amplifying a diverse range of voices.

“I fundamentally believe that we all want to be seen for who we are.  AMPLIFUND will enable our partners to continue their work, empowering queer people to feel understood, recognised and heard in all the places we call home.” Tag Warner, CEO, Gay Times.

6. Fundraise for Us and Match Employee Donations

Funding the LGBTQI movement is vital; without this support, our partners can’t do the incredible work they are doing to overturn discriminatory laws, change public attitudes, create safe spaces and so much more. By engaging your employees in fundraising for LGBTQI equality, you’re involving your whole business in supporting this vital work. The impact and engagement of employee fundraising is made even stronger by offering to match donations, raising even more vital funds and inspiring your people with your commitment to LGBTQI equality.

Over Pride, Popcorn Shed are donating a percentage of their sales to support LGBTQI rights, while companies like the security software specialists Egress have been holding raffles, cake sales and other fundraising activities, knowing every penny raised will support GiveOut’s grant partners to fight for LGBTQI rights. LinkedIn and Google have matched donations made by their employees to support LGBTQI groups around the world through GiveOut, including in the Czech Republic, across Southern Africa, and in Cambodia. Fundraising and matching gifts is such an impactful demonstration of solidarity for the global movement, and fun too!

7. Invest in GiveOut so We Can Grow Giving and Funding for LGBTQI Rights

Our partners around the world are incredible, fighting for LGBTQI rights in some of the hardest places for our community to exist. We’ve seen massive progress, but the fight is far from over. The anti-LGBTQI movement is better resourced, and is investing in places like East Africa to overturn hard won freedoms, and further criminalise LGBTQI people and our allies. We need strategic investment, not only in our partners around the world, but in GiveOut itself, to ensure we can continue our work to grow giving and funding for the LGBTQI movement. 

In the last five years, GiveOut has granted over £1.75m to grassroots LGBTQI organisations around the world; we simply wouldn’t have been able to provide such vital resources to the movement without the support of corporate allies who understand the strategic nature of what we do, and the impact that our organisation has. The Boston Consulting Group, our founding corporate partner, has been investing in GiveOut since we launched in 2018, and has supported us to grow, develop and deliver even more impact. The international private equity firm Cinven joined the GiveOut family last year, and are investing in our capacity to engage businesses to be better allies, and unlock the resources that the global LGBTQI movement needs.

In five years time, we want to be giving £1.75m to LGBTQI organisations every single year, but we cannot do it alone. Corporate allies are vital in helping to invest in GiveOut, in our partners, and in strategic interventions which protect the LGBTQI community around the world, and advance our rights. 

Pride events and flying the rainbow flag are great ways for businesses to celebrate progress and show solidarity with their LGBTQI staff and the wider community. But to help those around the world facing discrimination and violence on a daily basis we need to do more. 

Join GiveOut and our other corporate allies in marking Pride with Purpose, by supporting LGBTQI activists and their organisations defending our communities and campaigning for equality in the most difficult places to be LGBTQI.

To involve your business in supporting GiveOut, please contact Allan on allan@giveout.org. For more information, visit www.pridewithpurpose.com.