By: Chloe Stuber, Hometown Organizing Project Director
While millions were marching on Saturday, we were in Philadelphia at Creating Change, engaged in lively discussion with folks from across the country about radical redistribution of resources in the South. Especially in the difficult times that lay ahead, it is our imperative to strategize how to best support and fund grassroots-led work.
Advisory Council Members Dr. S. Nicole Cathey and Femi Shittu, and CSE Staff Britney Nesbit, Hometown Organizing Project Coordinator, lead the group in a jeopardy game revealing surprising facts about Southern LGBTQ funding.
The majority of participants were from the South. Participants included a combination of funders, staff of non-profit organizations, and grassroots leaders.
The South is home to over ⅓ of the country’s LGBTQ population. LGTBQ people in the South are more likely to be poor, be people of color, and have fewer protections in employment and housing.
Yet, the South receives only 8% of total national funding for LGBTQ issues, nearly 50% of LGBTQ groups operate with only one or no full-time staff, and 20% of groups operate with an annual budget of $10,000 or less.
This mismatch between where funding ends up and where it is most needed is not only an issue on the national level, but within the South as well.
When we zoom in on the 8%, we learn that most of the funding in the South is centralized in metropolitan areas, like Houston and Atlanta. And despite the South being home to 55% of black people in the US, and ⅓ of the country’s transgender population, only ⅓ of Southern LGBTQ groups reported incorporating a racial justice framework and only 36 of about 750 groups report working primarily with transgender and gender non-conforming communities.¹
At Creating Change, we looked closely at these disparities and envisioned possibilities for a more powerful LGBTQ movement, where the grassroots leaders, and especially those queer and trans leaders of color, have the resources and the support to transform the South.
Here are some of the conclusions and ideas for action that came out of the small group discussions:
- The South is hella queer!
- The folks who are most disadvantaged by lack of funding in the South are trans leaders, poor folks, communities with no established organizations, rural folks, black and brown folks.
- Pay the people who are most impacted by these issues to do the work on the ground they are already doing.
- Rethink what leadership and expertise looks like in this work.
- Forge more intentional collaborations between the LGBTQ, economic justice and labor movements.
- Provide networking and mentorship to grassroots leaders specifically about gaining access to funds.
In response to this reality, in April 2015 the Campaign for Southern Equality launched the Southern Equality Fund, a grantmaking initiative designed to direct resources to Southern LGBTQ grassroots² groups and leaders that are isolated or under-resourced due to geography or demographics. More simply put, we are giving away a modest percentage of our budget to support the folks on the ground who need it most, and who are doing some of the most innovative and effective work. The Southern Equality Fund is only one example for how funders and other non-profits can help to challenge the status quo, and commit to investing in grassroots leaders.
Want to join this work? Already doing this work? We want to know! The more opportunities for grassroots funding and support we can exchange across the South, the stronger we become.
Note:
¹ Statistics shared in this post are pulled from a combination of Out in the South reports, data released by the Williams’ Institute, and the 2010 US Census.
² Our definition of grassroots, in terms of groups that are eligible for a Southern Equality Fund grant, are groups that operate with a budget of $50,000 or less. Groups do not need to have 501c3 status or a fiscal sponsor to apply. For more information about how to apply, click here.
