Every year on March 31, Trans Day of Visibility celebrates the global transgender community and raises awareness about the challenges faced by its members. We’ve compiled a handful of resources from our partners to equip trans people and their allies with media guides, history lessons, informational videos, and more.
Arcus today publishes a Request for Concepts, the initial step in a streamlined process for organizations to apply for Arcus funding to support LGBTQ social justice work. The deadline for responses to this open call is January 22, 2019.
Mounting pressures and threats have forced activists and funders alike to rethink how we work together more effectively. Like most in social justice philanthropy, we at Arcus have spent time to reassess and improve our capability to deliver support to grantee partners on the frontlines.
This year, a wave of states have passed and proposed laws that set back equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. A new North Carolina law forbids municipalities from protecting LGBT people from discrimination and requires that transgender people use the bathroom that matches their birth certificate rather than their gender identity.
“’Long shot,’ ‘street protests,’ ‘violence,’ ‘legislation,’ ‘elections’ – too many foundation executives, more concerned about avoiding controversy than achieving mission, shied away from these words.” – Freedom Funders: Philanthropy & The Civil Rights Movement 1955-19651 Any time we stand with those who are the most marginalized and who are often viewed as being controversial, we agree to take on a certain degree of risk. But if not philanthropy – which is largely free of the constraints that have afflicted our gridlocked public sector over these last few years – what other part of society is capable of supporting a risky venture that is initially perceived as being a long shot? Quite frankly, I can see no greater role for foundations than to be involved in the critical effort to, in the words of Martin Luther King, bend the “arc of history” toward justice.
Recently, I was invited to speak on a panel concerning the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) and Two-Spirit Native peoples at a grantmakers conference co-sponsored by for Funders for LGBTQ Issues and International Funders of Indigenous Peoples. When we entered the Q&A portion, someone in the audience stood up and asked, "Given that LGBT people are a small minority and Native Americans are an even smaller one, isn’t the population of LGBT Native Americans statistically insignificant?" The attendee then added, "Why would you say to a foundation that they should fund statistically insignificant populations when they want their funding to have a big impact?" It's a fair question.
