Global Philanthropy Project (GPP) is a collaboration of funders and philanthropic advisors working to expand global philanthropic support to advance the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people in the Global South and East.
As philanthropy pivots and adjusts to the unprecedented challenges facing the world from COVID-19, we are seeing how marginalized communities, including LGBTI communities in the Global South and East, will be particularly hard hit. Global Philanthropy Project is committed to supporting our global LGBTI grantmaking community to develop well-coordinated and high impact responses to the needs of our communities in the time of this evolving pandemic.
This hub, set up to provide resources for organizations dedicated to mobilizing the resources needed to improve the lives of LGBTI people in the global south and east, will feature links to COVID-19 related funding calls, COVID-19 fundraising appeals from our members, updates on the evidence that GPP and partners are producing, as well as statements from GPP members, other funders, and policymakers about COVID-19.
We will update this page continually with new resources. If you have any feedback or suggestions, please contact GPP.
In September 2020, Global Philanthropy Project conducted a second-phase survey of the leading government, multilateral, and philanthropic funders of global LGBTI issues, receiving responses from a group of funders who account for just under half of all global LGBTI funding. The findings from that survey, as well as a review of COVID-19 global humanitarian response funding, inform Where are the Global COVID-19 Resources for LGBTI Communities?
The report found that in 2020, many LGBTI organizations across the world responded by shifting from human rights-focused programs to providing local humanitarian relief. Despite this, LGBTI communities have been largely excluded from COVID-19 humanitarian resources. The report outlines the potential long-term implications of the pandemic on global LGBTI movement resources.
FOREWORD
Dear Friends and Colleagues:
At the time of the publication of this report, more than 2 million people around the world have died from COVID-19, with more than 96 million documented cases.1 Untold economic and social hardship and political unrest have ensued, placing marginalized communities, including LGBTI people, at even greater risk. In the face of the ongoing pandemic, I am eager to share with you the second report in GPP’s commitment to monitor LGBTI-specific COVID-19 responses by philanthropic, humanitarian, and donor government institutions.
This report confirms what many in the sector have discussed anecdotally:
1. Governments, donors, and service providers have largely failed to acknowledge or address the specific needs of LGBTI people in response to COVID-19;
2. LGBTI organizations have mobilized to fill this void out of necessity, providing for basic needs, support, and protection for their communities; without sufficient support from traditional development agencies.
3. Philanthropic support for LGBTI communities has remained stable, with funders offering flexibility to meet the moment; however, this results in significant human rights-focused funding being redirected to humanitarian service provision.
The report analyzes 4,467 recorded COVID-19 resource mechanisms and finds that only one explicitly described funding to support LGBTI communities. None of the almost 3,000 recorded resource mechanisms tracked to the UN’s Global Humanitarian Response Plan (GHRP) explicitly described funding to support LGBTI communities.
The risks to LGBTI rights and well-being have been multiplied and enabled by the pandemic. Yet the exclusion of LGBTI communities as a priority population within COVID-19 response plans and public statements of the world’s largest humanitarian donors and implementing agencies suggests that humanitarian resources are not systematically or directly targeting or addressing the needs of LGBTI communities.
These findings offer an opportunity to break down the invisibility of LGBTI issues within the international humanitarian system.
Many LGBTI organizations, with the flexible support of their funders, have shifted programmatic focus in 2020 to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and address the humanitarian needs of their communities.
In our survey of the top LGBTI funders, who account for just under half of all funding for LGBTI issues outside of the U.S., we found that most respondents indicated plans to continue their support, and many will slightly increase their LGBTI funding in 2021. While we celebrate this ongoing commitment, we also note a dangerous funding gap emerging. As already overburdened LGBTI organizations and their funders shift to support the urgent needs of LGBTI response to COVID-19, the work—and funding—of ongoing campaigns for essential LGBTI human rights and other longtime priorities will be dangerously under-resourced.
The July 2020 update of the COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan made clear that LGBTI persons are an at-risk group whose needs should be considered in humanitarian responses. This explicit acknowledgment provides some framework, a mandate, and a space for global leadership.
For humanitarian donors and implementing agencies reading this report, the needs of LGBTI communities must be acknowledged and addressed within the global COVID-19 response and more broadly within the international humanitarian system. Lack of focused and timely humanitarian action will lead to greater suffering among LGBTI communities and will impact the capacity to advance human rights and respond to anti-rights attacks. For funders currently supporting LGBTI organizations, we encourage you to stay the course. Maintain or increase funding and remain flexible with grantee partners as they adjust to emerging on-the-ground community needs. Importantly, advocate. Join GPP in efforts to mobilize LGBTI-specific inclusion in humanitarian funding mechanisms. Addressing humanitarian needs may require new skills and relationships for both LGBTI groups and funders as well as humanitarian actors.
Only by working together can we make the critical systemic and structural changes needed.