2023 Year in Review

Convenings

Webinars

Research

Advocacy

LGBTI Pathways Project

What is it? 

LGBTI Pathways is a global resource mobilization project coordinated by GPP and ILGA World, which was launched on August 2, 2023, at the Pan Africa ILGA Conference in Mauritius. 

The Project will develop credible, reliable, and accurate evidence on the needs, priorities, and funding landscape of the international and regional LGBTI movements. This evidence aims to inform and influence grantmakers to increase the amount and quality of resources directed toward improving the lives of LGBTI persons worldwide.

Objectives: 

• Engage civil society actors and funders in increasing and improving the quantity and quality of resources going to LGBTI movements globally.
• Develop credible, reliable, and accurate evidence on the needs, priorities, and funding landscape of the international and regional LGBTI movements.
• Ensure a smooth and productive working relationship between the partners of Pathways: ILGA World and GPP.
• Inform and influence grantmakers.

What have we done during the year? 

In September 2023, GPP and ILGA World called for donors and activists to join the LGBTI Pathways Global Steering Committee, to guide and advise the project over 3 years. We finalized the selection and are excited to plan the first in-person meeting in January 2024. We worked with a designer to launch the LGBTI Pathways logo and initial website landing page, and are working with web developers to launch a full website in April 2024.

In November 2023, we put out a call for Technical Lead Consultant(s) to shape the research questions and support the regions in their surveys and analyses. The consultant(s) will join the project in December 2023. We will also hire the second LGBTI Pathways staff member in January 2024, a Regional Officer hired by ILGA World, who will support each regional lead organization. 

2024 will be an exciting year for the project, with the first 4 regions kicking off and the project in full swing for the team. 

Australia steps up its foreign policy commitment to LGBTI issues

On 1 March 2023 at the Sydney WorldPride Human Rights Conference, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced Australia’s first dedicated fund for LGBTQIA+ rights in Asia and the Pacific, the A$3.5m Inclusion and Equality Fund. She also announced the development of a first-ever dedicated Australian LGBTQIA+ human rights in foreign policy strategy. 

This announcement followed advocacy and engagement by Global Philanthropy Project (GPP), Equality Australia, and a coalition of six regional LGBTQIA+ rights organizations: ASEAN SOGIE Caucus, ILGA Asia, Pacific Sexual and Gender Diversity Network, APCOM, Asia Pacific Transgender Network and Intersex Asia.

In the lead-up to Sydney WorldPride, the coalition published Partnering with Pride: Partnering with Pride: The Case for Australian Action on Equality in our region, with the report’s recommendations informing the government’s announcement. GPP continues to work with the coalition to ensure Australia fulfills its commitment as a leading funder to the LGBTI movements in Asia and the Pacific.

UK Government and Philanthropic Foundations Launch the Equal, Safe, and Free Fund

Following a number of years of strategic engagement with the UK Government, led by the GPP member, the Baring Foundation, and GPP’s Government Relations team, the Equal, Safe, and Free fund was announced in London in November 2023. The new £25 million fund will support LGBTI local and national organizations in sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands over the next four years. The fund is a partnership between the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and a number of private foundations and was created with technical advice and research support from the Global Philanthropy Project. 

Equal, Safe, and Free will increase LGBTI funding in its priority regions by as much as 25%. However, funding remains insufficient to meet the needs of LGBTI communities in these regions. This initiative exemplifies a collaborative model between a donor government and private philanthropy, setting a precedent that other committed donors could adopt to support the global LGBTI movement effectively. 

LGBTI Funding Gaps: Responding Together

Global Philanthropy Project initiated a unique project with the support of the Open Society Foundations Re-Assigned Grants Unit (OSF RGU) to analyze, address, and mitigate the specific gaps in LGBTI funding resulting from the foundation’s shift – by geography, population, and more.

GPP analyzed OSF giving trends for LGBTI organizations from 2013 to mid-2023, including groups that received “tie-off” funding in 2021 or 2022 and those that received OSF support in 2019 and 2020 but no subsequent renewals. The results of this research were shared with OSF leadership and GPP also presented a series of regional webinars for key funders focused on the most impacted world regions. This project will continue into 2024.

Task Forces

Government and Multilateral Task Force

GPP’s Government and Multilateral Task Force met throughout 2023 as the primary forum for GPP members to engage with and be updated on GPP’s donor government and field influencing strategy. Throughout 2023, GPP leadership and members engaged with a number of donor governments, advancing strategies to see countries such as Australia, the UK, Germany, and Canada increase the amount and quality of their LGBTI funding to the global LGBTI movement. In the first half of the year, GPP conducted a series of donor government-only webinars on key funding issues impacting the global LGBTI movement. In August 2023, at Pan Africa ILGA, GPP organized a first-ever donor government-only space as part of our donor pre-conference. 

Responding to Anti-Gender Ideology Task Force

The monthly Task Force for grantmakers is dedicated to strengthening and expanding philanthropic support for a robust, coordinated, and well-informed response to “anti-gender ideology” forces. In 2023, the Task Force focused on “foreign agent” laws; the increasing influence of anti-gender actors at the UN; the impact of anti-gender ideologies on intersex organizing; attacks perpetrated against lesbian families in Italy; and the aftermath of platforming Hungarian President Novak at the Women Deliver Conference. The Task Force also hosted events regarding anti-gender issues in partnership with GPP’s Task Force on Governments and Multilaterals and Trans and Intersex Funding Task Force. 

Looking ahead to 2024, GPP and the Task Force will focus on expanding networks and catalyzing resources through education, strategic conversations, and mobilizing key actors. Stay tuned for a new report on defining and mapping the progressive philanthropic response to “anti-gender ideology” that will help guide grantmakers where resources should be directed. We will also conduct research on mapping the opposition’s funding towards “anti-gender ideology” and the progressive philanthropic response in Asia. 

Trans and Intersex Funding Task Force

The Task Force on Trans and Intersex Funding continued its regular monthly meetings in 2023. The Task Force discussed issues such as legal reform processes against trans people’s human rights; anti-trans and anti-intersex forces at work at the UN; and the anti-LGTBI legislation in Uganda. The task force learned about new philanthropic initiatives and contributed to strengthening the collective efforts of donors working with trans and intersex communities. Additionally, we organized events in partnership with the GPP’s RAGI Task Force and meetings between intersex activists and donors at the OII regional Conference in Berlin and at the Pan Africa ILGA Conference in Mauritius. 

Looking ahead to 2024, we will focus our efforts on realizing the TF’s goal of increasing the prioritization of and quality resources for intersex and trans-led groups and movements. With the upcoming publications of the Global Resources Report, the State of Trans Organizing and State of Intersex Organizing, and the philanthropic response to anti-gender movements, we will have critical data and information to share with a range of stakeholders to achieve the TF goal of an increase in the amount and quality of resources reaching these movements. 

In addition, GPP will develop a training program for grantmakers, governments and multilateral agencies, private and public foundations, corporate foundations, and high-net wealth individuals with a focus on trans-inclusive grantmaking at a global level, or focused on regions or countries in the Global South and East. 

Regional Cafés

In 2023 GPP launched our fourth regional café on Eastern Europe and Central Asia.  All four regional cafés met twice a year per region – focused on West Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. These cafés provide informal spaces for regional grantmakers to share lessons, challenges, and trends in each region, discuss resource and research needs, and share information about grantee partners when needed. Learn more about GPP’s regional cafés here.

Regional café calls are important not only for connection but also for gaining more insights into the actual challenges in the regions.

Participant Eastern Europe and Central Asia Regional Café 2023 

Organizational Development

GPP Infrastructure Development

In 2023, GPP added three new staff members! In November, GPP hired Zhan Chiam as the Global Coordinator for the LGBTI Pathways Project. GPP will work closely with the Regional Coordinator of the LGBTI Pathways Project, Yuri Yoursky, based at ILGA World. In November 2023, Emilia Morales joined GPP as the Program Associate, Events, and Member Engagement. Emilia supports event organizing, communications, and managing GPP´s website and database. 

Through the year, GPP also hired several new consultants to support our ongoing work. As of October 2023, Jennifer Redner joined as the Gender Justice Advisor. Jen’s focus includes the GPP task force on Responding to Anti-Gender Ideologies and the task force on Trans and Intersex Funding. Elisa Slattery also joined the GPP team as a Research Consultant focusing on anti-gender ideologies. 

This year, GPP transitioned from a fiscally sponsored project (hosted at Community Initiatives) to an independent non-profit corporation based in Delaware. We are grateful to the pro-bono legal support from Debevoise & Plimpton LLP that facilitated our process towards 501(c)(3) status. GPP is currently in relationship with Hurwit & Associates to represent us in our next phase of operations. Celeste Smith, Operations Manager at GPP, was hired in 2022 to manage our transition and is now focused on solidifying our organization infrastructure tasks around people, culture, and operations. We conducted a series of vendor analyses across our transition and can provide recommendations to value-aligned partners via request.

As a part of our independence process, we worked with Amito Studio based in Berlin, to refresh the GPP brand and website. The new website has enabled us to better showcase our work and tell the GPP story. We are continuing to partner with Amito Studio for the build-out of the LGBTI Pathways web page. 

GPP Members