Nonprofit lgbtq grants

Applying for funding under the Open Grants Programme

Open Grants

Our Open Grants Programme funds capital costs that sustain the infrastructure needs of small- and medium-sized charitable organisations working with disadvantaged and marginalised people and communities.

We prioritise funding to organisations that are led by, or fully integrate in their decision-making, people with related lived exposure, and to projects that allow organisations to produce a big change to their reach, impact, or sustainability.

We fund both enormous and small projects.

The size of grant awarded will depend on a number of factors, including the size of your organisation and the cost and scale of your capital project. We do not fund projects of £15,000 or under for organisations with a turnover of more than £2 million. This means organisations with a turnover of more than £2 million cannot apply for a tiny grant.

In 2024, our application success rate was 47%.

In 2024 the success rates for eligible applications to our Open Grants Programme was 47%. To be eligible to apply, both your organisation and your project must be eligible.

Please read the communication on this page carefu

Funding and Capital Campaign Resources for Gay Nonprofits

To celebrate Self-acceptance Month, we’ve assembled this list of resources for Diverse nonprofits.

Many funders specialize in LGBTQ+ issues, and grants can play a key role in capital campaigns — by providing seed funding to kick-start the campaign, offering matching funds to incentivize donors, serving as major or leaders gifts to position the tone, presenting challenge grants to create a meaning of urgency, and lending credibility and endorsement from high-profile organizations.

Our thanks to all of the organizations cited below.

AFP’s List of Diverse Funders

AFP has compiled a list of LGBTQ+ foundations and LGBTQ+ friendly funders. We’ve provided some additional information about these organizations below.

LGBTQ+ FOUNDATIONS / FUNDERS

  • Arcus Foundation (Global): Advances LGBT rights worldwide and conserves fantastic apes and their habitats, primarily in Africa and Indonesia.
  • Astraea Lesbian Foundation For Justice (Global): Funds lesbian-led LGBTQI racial, economic, and gender justice activism around the world with a focus on the Global South.
  • Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (U.S): Raises funds for AIDS

    LGBTQ+ Grants for Nonprofits

    As we celebrate and uplift the LGBTQ+ community this Celebration Month, check out these grant opportunities for Diverse nonprofits. 

     

    The Arcus Foundation – is a prominent advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights and social justice. They present a range of grants to organizations working tirelessly to promote equality. From supporting LGBTQIA+ rights activism to funding health and wellness programs, the Arcus Foundation plays a crucial role in advancing the rights and well-being of the LGBTQIA+ community. 

    How to Apply: Currently, Arcus’ Social Justice Program makes grants through an invitation-only application process. 

     

    The Astraea Lesbian Foundationfor Justice is a global organization. Their U.S. Fund is dedicated centers the liberation of queer, gender non-conforming, two-spirit and intersex people of color and challenges the criminalization of 2SLBTQI BIPOC, migrants, women of color, mothers, sex workers and youth, among other constituencies who experience steep levels of violence and oppression. Their grant programs focus on critical issues such as transgender rights, reproductive justice, and intersectional LGBTQIA+ movements. By providing funding,

    LGBT+ people

    By 'LGBT+ people', we mean people who spot as lesbian, gay, attracted to both genders, and transgender people, as well as people with other gender identities and those questioning their gender identity or sexual orientation.

    Using the DEI Data Usual, we want to include a better understanding of who our funding is reaching and to aide us identify structural inequity in our funding exercise. This page shares initial analysis of data we gathered from organisations in our funding and applications we received during October 2021 to September 2022 in relation to LGBT+ people.

    Gender justice is one of our funding priorities in A Fairer Future, and trans and genderqueer rights is one of our long-term outcomes. We hope this data will help us make progress towards our goals alongside our commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion.

    LGBT+ people in our funding and applications

    Charts 1 and 2 show the percentage and number of organisations (in brackets) in our funding that we classify as 'LGBT+ people' for the three areas we asked organisations about: the communities the work supports, the organisation's leadership, and the organisation's mission.

    nonprofit lgbtq grants

    The Equality Fund

    BAGLY - Boston Alliance of LGBTQ Youth : $25,000
    BAGLY: The Boston Alliance of Homosexual, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth is a youth-led, adult-supported social support company committed to social justice and creating, sustaining, and advocating for programs, policies, and services for the LGBTQ+ youth community.

    GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, Inc. (GLAD Law): $25,000
    Through strategic litigation, common policy advocacy, and education, the GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law) works in Novel England and nationally to create a just society free of discrimination based on gender persona and expression, HIV status, and sexual orientation.

    LGBT Asylum Task Force: $25,000
    The LGBT Asylum Task Coerce operates under the umbrella of Hadwen Park Congregational Church’s Missions and Social Justice Committee. Our mission is to provide support to lesbian, gay, double attraction, transgender, and gender non-conforming (LGBTQ) individuals who are seeking asylum in the U.S. because of homophobic persecution in their home countries.

    LGBTQ+ Elders of Color: $25,000
    The mission of LGBT Elders of Hue is to strengthen LGBTQ+ older adults who identify as BIP