At GiveOut, we are proud to partner with donors that are deeply committed to advancing LGBTQI human rights worldwide, including through Donor Advised Funds such as the MSN Fund.
The MSN Fund is dedicated to supporting marginalised communities, and has been supporting the global LGBTQI movement through GiveOut since 2024, including as a supporter of the LBTQ Women’s Fund, established by GiveOut to support organisations working to advance the human rights of lesbian, bisexual, trans, and queer women around the world
We spoke with one of the Board Committee members about the MSN Fund’s commitment to supporting LBTQ women, the importance of philanthropy to sustain LBTQ organisations and insights for other donors looking to make a meaningful impact.
Could you start by introducing yourself and the MSN Fund
My name is Richard Scott, and I am a Board Committee member of the MSN Fund.
The MSN Fund is a donor-advised fund that supports individuals from, and projects supporting, marginalised communities. We have a focus on supporting migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, primarily through initiatives focusing on arts and education, health and wellbeing, human rights and peacebuilding.
What inspires MSN Fund to support LBTQ women, and how does this fit into the Fund’s overall objective and priorities?
GiveOut’s focus on supporting LBTQ women overlaps with three MSN Fund priority areas:
- Human Rights. We support marginalised communities whose human rights are compromised.
- Peace. We support projects that alleviate the burdens of conflict on vulnerable groups and create opportunities for survivors of violence to improve their lives.
- Health and Wellbeing. We empower marginalised communities to take back control over their life and to improve their access to services.
We support projects that focus on addressing intersectionality and overlapping inequities, which we recognise as particularly relevant to LBTQ women internationally.
Our decision to support GiveOut as a leading supporter of LGBTQI activism worldwide reflects our five core values: Listening, Bravery, Compassion, Trust and Change.
How do you see the role of donors in sustaining LBTQ organisations, particularly in areas where funding is limited or under threat?
Philanthropy is playing an increasingly vital role in supporting LBTQ organisations who are fighting to survive in an unprecedented, increasingly competitive funding environment.
Recent cuts to funding, including USAID, coupled with growing hostility within the environments that LBTQ organisations operate, has a disproportionate, potentially irreversible impact on the global ecosystem of LBTQ initiatives. LBTQ organisations and their advocates are facing rising barriers trying to fill this gap, often at great personal cost.
With just 8% of total funding for LGBTQI issues worldwide going to LBTQ women organisations – philanthropy is more than a critical way of showing solidarity; it can often mean the difference between surviving and organisations closing their doors indefinitely.
What would you say to others considering supporting GiveOut’s LBTQ Women’s Fund?
The MSN Fund encourages like-minded individuals and organisations to consider GiveOut’s important work. The LBTQ Fund has played a valuable role in deepening our Fund’s support for the self-empowerment of historically under-served communities.
As a conscientious grant-maker, the MSN Fund recognises the role that we can play in tackling this. Inequities are inherently intersectional and the advancement of human rights requires a co-ordinated, global approach; one that protects the rights of every woman everywhere.
We encourage grant-makers to consider how they are embedding intersectionality into their philanthropy. GiveOut plays a crucial role in this space, and we encourage others to explore GiveOut’s matched funding offer, which we value as a way to maximise impact.
What message would you like to share with the organisations and communities benefiting from the LBTQ Women’s Fund?
The MSN Fund is proud to have supported the LBTQ Women’s Fund. We were especially pleased to learn more about GiveOut’s recent partners that we supported at the Asia Feminist LBQ Network and Women’s Health and Equal Rights Initiative (WHER) in Nigeria.
We recognise the barriers and challenges faced by LBTQ organisations and their impactful efforts in advocating for the communities that they serve. Whether that be influencing policy-making to strategic litigation, the bravery and fortitude of LBTQ organisations in shifting the wider institutional dialogue is applaudable.
We hope that the MSN Fund’s support serves to illustrate the many allies and supporters in the United Kingdom who share the vision and mission of GiveOut and its partners.
Any final comments or reflections you would like to share?
“We are very pleased to have partnered with GiveOut. Throughout the grants process, we have been consistently impressed by the Charity’s ability to effectively focus on supporting effective initiatives and advocating for the needs of LGBTQI community.
We have particularly valued GiveOut’s willingness to go above and beyond to answer our questions and to keep us updated throughout. Whether that be articulating their robust processes for identifying partners; inviting our Board to Charity events and summits; and, meeting their senior leadership team in-person –we recognised that Give Out is being very capably led.”
The MSN Fund are doubling the impact of their support through the LGBTQI Solidarity Fund, an exciting initiative by GiveOut to mobilise the UK LGBTQI community and allies to come together to show our collective support for LGBTQI communities worldwide. 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.
Support Global LBTQ Women
LBTQ women face particular challenges within the global movement for LGBTQI human rights due to the intersection of their gender and sexuality, especially in countries where the rights of women are limited.
Donate now to join MSN Fund in supporting LBTQ women and make a difference!