Issue Highlights
Six Questions We’re Asking Philanthropy After Trump’s Election Victory | Inside Philanthropy
But the challenges a second Trump administration poses to philanthropy aren’t just limited to left-of-center grantmakers. A reconfiguration of American government by far-right administrators and legislators might well spell the end of assumptions the entire sector takes for granted.
“We’ve got this. We’ve got us.” 70+ LGBTQ+ Orgs Sign Post-Election Solidarity Letter | Them
Signed by GLAAD, Lambda Legal, the Transgender Law Center, and many local chapters of PFLAG, the leader reads, in part, “Ours is a long history of never backing down from a fight for our rights.”
These LGBTQ+ Candidates Made History on Election Night 2024 | Them
there are downballot victories to celebrate, including historic LGBTQ+ firsts. Especially considering that many impactful policy decisions are often made on the state and local levels,
Beyond ballots: What global social justice movements teach us about democracy, power, and possibility - Alliance magazine
While election results matter, they are not the full story. Social movements worldwide remind us that democracy neither begins nor ends at the ballot box. It is about the right of people to make decisions over the everyday essentials that shape their lives – access to clean water, air, food, housing, and more. At the centre of these struggles are everyday people – farmers, peasants, Indigenous communities, women, and youth – who are working to dismantle oppressive systems and build new ones that meet their needs and dreams. True democracy is inherently interconnected, not confined by national borders; it requires creating just systems, not just passing policies; and it flourishes when people have space to come together, learn, and organize.
LGBTQ Social Justice
Botswana election results solidify LGBTQ rights in southern Africa
President-elect Duma Boko represented Botswana LGBTQ advocacy group Legabibo
Breaking the Silence: Growing Up Queer and Disabled in Kenya | by Mwenja | Oct, 2024 | Medium
For me, the journey involved learning to listen to my own experiences of queerness and disability, not as separate struggles, but as interwoven parts of my identity.
Uganda: Criminalization Shrinks Online Civic Space for LGBTQ People - Report. | Amnesty International USA
Online attacks against Uganda’s LGBTQ communities have drastically increased, owing to overly broad laws that criminalize various aspects of the lives of LGBTQ people and entrench discrimination, Amnesty International said in a new reportopens in a new tab today.
The reportopens in a new tab, “Everybody Here Is Having Two Lives or Phones”: The Devastating Impact of Criminalization On Digital Spaces for LGBTQ People in Uganda, details widespread patterns of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TfGBV) against LGBTQ people in Uganda.
US Anti-LGBTQ Groups Spending in Africa Soars, Report Says - Bloomberg
the Amsterdam-based Institute for Journalism and Social Change, which found that 17 American groups spent $5.2 million in 2022, up 47% from 2019, according to an analysis of the most recent US tax filings.
The organizations spent a combined $16.5 million in Africa from 2019 to 2022, the report’s authors said.
Global LGBTQ rights group suspends Israeli org, apologizes for even considering offer to host confab in Tel Aviv | The Times of Israel
“In response to these multiple concerns, the ILGA World Board held an emergency meeting and unanimously decided to remove the bid from The Aguda from consideration,” it says, claiming that this is to “ensure we fully uphold universal respect for human rights, equal representation, and the elimination of barriers to participation for all members – including in our conferences.”
These LGBTQ+ Grassroots Organizations Will Fight for Queer and Trans Life, Post-Election 2024 | Them
These organizations are often community hubs, helping queer and trans people access resources (healthcare, legal services, financial help, disaster relief) that are otherwise out of reach, either because of government bureaucracy, state neglect, discrimination, or some combination.
LGBTQ Rights Under Attack as US Companies Rework DEI Policies - Bloomberg
cultural conservatives have staked out aggressive positions on multiple issues, including sexual orientation and gender identity. Amid the backlash from the right over diversity, equity and inclusion, pockets of corporate America are edging away from public commitments to help level the playing field.
Intersex LGBTQ+ Youth Have Higher Rates of Suicidality Than Their Non-Intersex Peers, New Study Finds | Them
While the sample size was small, researchers say the data highlights the need for greater protections.
The ‘Nightmarish’ Voting Hurdles Faced by Transgender Americans
Transgender Americans deal with additional obstacles to obtaining ID as well as discomfort at the polls. Recent surveys show they are also more concerned about violence than most voters.
The trans teens of GenderCool Project are changing America
the trans youth fighting to change narratives about their lives want you to know one important thing: they’re just kids.
Great Apes & Gibbons
Study finds bonobos more diverse, and more vulnerable, than previously thought
diversity in the species is far deeper than previously thought, with bonobos separated into three distinct geographic groups. Genetic analysis shows that these groups have been split from each other for millennia, that they do not mix, and that there is little gene flow across the groups. The researchers say these results indicate a higher vulnerability to extinction and highlight the need to attend to the bonobo substructure “both in terms of research and conservation.
Will a forest in Borneo be gutted for 'green' energy? - YouTube
Mongabay traveled to North Kalimantan province, where a coal company seeking to pivot to green energy is negotiating with villagers for the rights to clear thousands of hectares of their land — much of it forested — for a biomass plantation
Philanthropy
Even in an Era of Trust-Based Philanthropy, Grantees Can’t Trust Funders
Wellspring’s recent announcement of winding down is the latest example of sudden donor pivots harming grantees and perpetuating power imbalances.
Funders’ Role at a Promising Yet Precarious Moment for the Global LGBTIQ Movement | Inside Philanthropy
at least five of the largest donors of international LGBTIQ rights are either shifting away from funding the field entirely or severely contracting support — all at the same time. Unless others step up, this could have a devastating impact on LGBTIQ organizing around the world precisely when our movement has the potential for tremendous progress, but is under increasing attack as a well-funded opposition gains strength.
Facing Democracy Threats, Tides Foundation Aims to Stay Responsive | Inside Philanthropy
“The main thing our grantees have in common is that they have a year-round program focused on base-building and organizing in communities that have historically been pushed to the margins,” Huang said. “They’re trusted messengers operating in communities that elected officials don’t always reach.”
Talking the Good and Bad of Philanthropy with Vu Le | Inside Philanthropy
Readers — and funding leaders — may not agree with everything he says, but his voice is a needed check on influential and increasingly wealthy foundations.
This Funder is Providing a Lifeline for Rural LGBTQ+ Youth | Inside Philanthropy
A $5 million award from the Helmsley Charitable Trust to help The Trevor Project deploy a mental health awareness and support campaign for rural LGBTQ+ youth. The campaign will include advertising, public service announcements and social media messages. It will also support trainings for youth-serving organizations by The Trevor Project’s training team.
Report Shows Increased Diversity Among Foundation Leaders and Professionals | Inside Philanthropy
according to data in an October report by the Council on Foundations. The 2024 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Report found that people of color comprised 34% of grantmaking staff in 2024, up from 29% in 2021 — as well as 17% of CEOs, up from the 12% who led foundations in 2021. The percentage of women in the funder workforce remained relatively stable — and high — at 76%, and the majority of foundations were also helmed by women, with 63% of CEOs being female, making the foundation world a rare standout in a national senior leadership landscape that continues to be overwhelmingly male.
To lead in DEI: Disrupting inequality requires disrupting culture
An in-depth look at our policies and practices through a DEI lens highlighted opportunities for improvement and confirmed the need for a dedicated DEI program.
Nonprofit Sector Workforce Still Struggling with Low and Poverty Wages, Studies Show | Inside Philanthropy
The results of NCN and Fed surveys, taken together, point to a sector that is struggling to meet increasing needs in the face of increasing costs and that remains unable to hire sufficient staff. It doesn’t take a quantitative survey to realize that understaffing can lead to untenable workloads, which then create or add to the burnout of existing employees, leading still more of them to quit.