2022 Year in Review

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Director’s Letter

Matthew Hart

Executive Director

Dear friends, members, partners, and colleagues: I write today as 2023 is just beginning. I look ahead with clear eyes, determination, and joy at our shared work. Global LGBTI liberation requires “both/and” strategies. Together we support LGBTI movements and fight to stop or block the harm of oppositional forces. We reach towards the liberation of independence in bodily self-determination, freedom of movement, and freedom of association while we also reach for each other in interdependence, connection, networks, solidarity. We fight for inclusion in broader systems and simultaneously build solutions beyond those that continue to fail LGBTI communities. Social transformation is not binary.

Since GPP was founded, documented LGBTI funding outside of the U.S. has increased from US$35 million in 2010 to $136 million in 2020! What will be possible in the next decade? Will you redouble your efforts to mobilize the resources our communities need and deserve?

GPP is committed to maintaining the complexity, creativity, and nimble movements required to move big resources toward global LGBTI liberation. In 2023, I am happy to share that our work will be significantly enabled by an upcoming transition to become an independent organization (moving out of fiscal sponsorship). We are eager to expand into new possibilities and continue building this organization, this network, and this ecosystem toward the liberation we all reach for.

Social transformation needs all of us, and there is much work ahead. I know that we are in it together. I invite you to join with GPP and build on the success of the past decade to finance and capacitate the movements fighting for LGBTI liberation.

Research

GPP is committed to cultivating and deepening the knowledge, skills, and capacity of GPP members and other funders in support of global LGBTI issues. GPP and member funds often commission new research exploring and documenting opportunities, challenges, and trends in the field. Learn more.

The 2019–2020 Global Resources Report: Government & Philanthropic Support for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex Communities was released in June, 2022. The most comprehensive report to date on the state of global funding for LGBTI issues, it documents a combined 8 years, providing detailed data on the distribution of LGBTI funding by geography, issue, strategy, population focus, and donor type, and offers a tool for identifying trends, gaps, and opportunities in the rapidly changing landscape of LGBTI funding. The report site also includes, for the first time, a series of interactive slides providing another way to engage with and share the information. Nearly 600 people registered for the webinar launch event.

The full French report translation launched in September 2022 with a French-language webinar, in partnership with Égides and ISDAO.  In November 2022, GPP launched the full Spanish report translation.

GPP continued to share our 2021 report Manufacturing Moral Panic: Weaponizing Children to Undermine Gender Justice and Human Rights, produced in partnership with Elevate Children Funders Group and research group Sentiido. This report explores how gender-restrictive groups are using child protection rhetoric to manufacture moral panic and mobilize against human rights, and how this strengthens the illiberal politics currently undermining democracies. The report’s comparative analysis of three country case studies (Bulgaria, Ghana, and Perú) underscores recurring strategies, narratives, and actors and gives insight into how gender-restrictive groups collaborate and engage in coalitional work across the globe. The full report Spanish translation was released in November 2022, following an earlier 2022 Spanish-language webinar with over 70 registrants.

In February 2022, GPP launched a “Toolkit for Trans-Inclusive Grantmakers.” The toolkit was released with a focused audience of LGBTI and feminist funders, distributed in collaboration with feminist funding network partners including two webinars with over combined 320 registrants. For grantmakers interested to learn more about this resource, contact research@globalphilanthropyproject.org.

Convenings

In service of GPP’s goal to cultivate and deepen the knowledge, skills, and capacity of GPP members and other funders, GPP regularly organizes Donor Pre-Conferences and related events in advance of regional or global meetings of LGBTI Civil Society. GPP events center funder peer education, and may include civil society representatives as content experts. See upcoming events here.
  • In May 2022, GPP held our first in-person global donor pre-conference since the start of the covid pandemic as part of the ILGA World Conference in Los Angeles, CA (USA) with multiple additional side grantmaker meetings and briefings.
  • In 2022, GPP also hosted regional donor pre-conferences at ILGA-Europe in Sofia, Bulgaria and ILGA Asia in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
  • GPP staff members also attended at presented, virtually or in person, at events including the Equal Rights Coalition conference (Argentina) and more in Bulgaria, Canada, Germany, and Portugal.

Webinars

GPP hosts webinars to cultivate and deepen the knowledge, skills, and capacity of GPP members and other funders in support of global LGBTI issues. See upcoming events here.

Thank you to our co-presenting partners this year: Ariadne, Égides, Funders Concerned About AIDS, Funders for LGBTQ Issues, Gender Funders Co_Lab, Global Network of Sex Work Projects, Horizons Foundation, Human Rights Funders Network, ILGA-Europe, ISDAO, Sex Work Donor Collaborative, and Women’s Funding Network.

2022 in numbers

Task Forces & More

GPP activities are organized through a number of structures including Task Forces, Working Groups, Advisory Committees, and Governance Bodies. Learn more here about opportunities for member engagement.

Government and Multilateral Task Force

In 2022 GPP worked with several donor governments to provide research, data analysis, and advice to help inform their LGBTI funding strategies. Following the release of the 2019-2020 Global Resources Report, GPP launched a tailored program of webinars for government and multilateral donors in the second half of the year. The series will provide unique and never-before published insights, evidence, and details on funding trends, gaps, and opportunities to support government and multilateral donors in developing impactful, strategic funding. This year GPP has continued to pursue a number of strategies focused on influencing specific donor governments to increase the amount and quality of funding for LGBTI issues within their development assistance programs. Each of these strategies reflects the political context and opportunity for increased global LGBTI funding from the respective donor and is undertaken in partnership with GPP members and civil society partners in the relevant country. We are excited by the possibility that the hard work done in 2022 will lead to new resources for LGBTI movements in the Global South and East in 2023. The task force was co-chaired by Justus Eisfeld (Hivos) and Caroline Kouassiaman (ISDAO) and coordinated by Dave Scamell (GPP).

Responding to Anti-Gender Ideology Task Force

The task force on Responding to Anti-Gender Ideologies met monthly during 2022. At those meetings, members shared their institutional strategies, as well as their planned or ongoing research, and contributed to collect and analyze information on anti-gender issues at the national, regional, and international levels. Key knowledge gaps were also identified, including a conceptual analysis on philanthropic approaches to anti-gender movements and a quantitative analysis of the current funding available to support responses to those movements around the world. Both pieces will be elaborated in 2023. Other task force activities included a virtual donor coordination session at the IPAS/EPF Conference, and an in-person meeting at the ILGA World Conference. In the second semester, the task force started implementing a monthly focus, which included West Africa, the anti-science movement, and Latin America. The task force was co-chaired by Medina Haeri (OF) and Prachi Patankar (FJS) and coordinated by Mauro Cabral Grinspan (GPP).

Trans and Intersex Funding Task Force

The task force on Trans and Intersex Funding continued its regular monthly meetings in 2022. A key goal of those meetings was exploring philanthropic responses to the renewed challenges posed by the war in Ukraine and by the increasing attacks perpetrated by anti-gender movements against trans and intersex activists, communities, and organizations. In the context of that work, the toolkit on Trans-Inclusive Grantmaking was released, and two in-person meetings took place at the ILGA World Conference. Over the second portion of the year, an internal consultation process was carried out with the purpose of identifying the most pressing issues to be addressed in 2023. Thanks to several task force members’ collective effort, it was possible to ensure the forthcoming production of the third research/reports on the State of the Trans and Intersex Movements (to be completed in 2023), and a training program on Trans-Inclusive Grantmaking is being developed. The task force was co-chaired by Félix Endara (FJS) and Viviane Simakawa (ITF) and coordinated by Mauro Cabral Grinspan (GPP).

Regional Cafés

In 2022 GPP launched three regional cafés for members that met twice a year per region – focused on West Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The purpose of these cafés was for regional grantmakers to share lessons, challenges, and trends in each region, discuss research needs, and share information about grantee partners when needed. In 2023 we are adding the region of Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Organizational Development

GPP Infrastructure Development

In 2022, GPP added two new staff members! In January, Mauro Cabral Grinspan joined GPP as the Senior Officer for Gender Justice & Equity. Mauro’s focus includes the GPP task force on Responding to Anti-Gender Ideologies, and the task force on Trans and Intersex Funding. In June, Celeste Smith joined GPP as the Operations Manager. Celeste manages a number of areas supporting GPP’s growth and development including finances, human resources, and other infrastructure.

This year we also initiated the process to become an independent organization. With the generous pro-bono support of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, GPP has incorporated and filed for U.S. nonprofit status. We expect this transition to be finalized within Q3 of 2023.

Finally, in July 2022, GPP’s full team was able to meet in person for the first time in three years! We held a multi-day strategy meeting in Antwerp, Belgium.

Photos: (left) GPP staff at July 2022 retreat; (right) GPP staff and colleague at ILGA Asia convening.

GPP Members

Thank you to GPP’s 2022 Executive Committee for their support and partnership. 

Co-Chairs: Mukami Marete, Co-Executive Director of UHAI-EASHRI; and David Sampson, Deputy Director of the Baring Foundation.

Members: Francisco Buchting, Vice President of Grants, Programs, and Communications at Horizons Foundation; Rebecca Fox, Vice President of Programs at Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice; and Alli Jernow, Social Justice Program Vice President at Arcus Foundation.

Thank you to GPP’s 22 member organizations for your partnership in 2021 and beyond! American Jewish World Service, Arcus Foundation, Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, Baring Foundation, Dreilinden gGmbH, Ford Foundation, Foundation for a Just Society, Fund for Global Human Rights, Global Fund for Women, Hivos, Horizons Foundation, International Trans Fund, Initiative Sankofa D’Afrique de L’Ouest (ISDAO), Luminate, Mama Cash, Oak Foundation, Open Society Foundations, The Other Foundation, Sigrid Rausing Trust, UHAI EASHRI, Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights, Wellspring Philanthropic Fund.

Thank you also to Rockefeller Philanthropic Advisors and Wallace Global Fund for program support.

GPP is a fiscally sponsored program of Community Initiatives.

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