Qnotes from Funders for LGBTQ Issues

Celebrating 30 years of mobilizing philanthropic resources for the LGBTQ community.

1982-2012

November 2012     

Our new president:
Ben Francisco Maulbeck 
 
We at Funders for LGBTQ Issues (Funders) are excited to welcome our new President on December 3, Ben Francisco Maulbeck, who will be the third leader in our 30-year history. Having served in the sector for several years, Ben is no stranger to Funders. He's served on several of our advisory committees, including, most recently, for our GBTQ Men and Boys of Color Initiative. As a Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) representative to the Joint Affinity Groups (JAG), he frequently worked in collaboration with Funders and our other affinity group partners. Other highlights of his work in our philanthropy and LGBTQ communities include...Click here for more on Ben. 

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Kevin Jennings Qnotes Profile:  

Kevin Jennings

Executive Director,  

Arcus Foundation

    

 

The first in a series of occasional interviews with LGBTQ grantmakers.  

 

Kevin Jennings joined the Arcus Foundation as executive director in September of this year. Prior to Arcus, he was CEO of Be the Change, a nonprofit that creates national issue-base campaigns on pressing problems in U.S. society. Before that, Jennings served as Assistant Deputy Secretary of Education, by appointment of President Barack Obama, where he headed the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools...  


After so many successful years in the non-profit world, what prompted your decision to move into the philanthropic sector?

 

First, I care deeply and passionately about the two causes that Arcus advances - LGBT equality and Great Ape conservation.  I have arguably devoted my life to the former, and I've long been passionate about animal rights, environmental conservation and the Great Apes. It's a match made in heaven.
 
Second, I had a positive grantmaking experience when I ran an office in the Obama administration that made more than $400 million in grants annually - roughly the same amount as Ford. I'm also committed to thoughtful philanthropy in my private life. In both contexts, I've seen how smart investments can make a huge difference, but I've learned first-hand how bureaucracy and partisan politics can sometimes slow down even the best-intended efforts to create change. Arcus affords me the opportunity to lead an organization where we can move nimbly and flexibly to make smart, timely investments...  
 
What is Arcus' strategy for advancing LGBTQ social justice in our society as we approach 2013? How is this different from past priorities?    

 

[Click here to read the full interview with Kevin Jennings, including his discussion of Arcus new funding strategy, his transition to the philanthropic sector, and his thoughts on LGBTQ issues and the Obama administration.]


 
OUR UPCOMING FUNDER BRIEFINGS
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Pushing Back Against Push-outs, Pipelines, and Profiling: Grantmaking for Impact among Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, & Queer Men & Boys of Color   

  

A Philanthropy New York Collaborative Program offered in partnership with Funders for LGBTQ Issues

Co-sponsored by Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy, Arcus Foundation, The Ford Foundation, Hispanics in Philanthropy, The Just and Fair Schools Fund, Native Americans in Philanthropy, North Star Fund, Open Society Foundations' Campaign for Black Male Achievement, The Paul Rapoport Foundation, and Stonewall Community Foundation

Wednesday, December 12th
9:00 - 11:00 am ET

at
Philanthropy New York
79 Fifth Ave., 4th floor, NYC


This briefing will explore issues of policing, safety, profiling, and school discipline policy as they relate to gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (GBTQ) young men and boys of color. 

 

This panel of advocates and philanthropic leaders will bring sexual orientation/gender identity (SOGI) and racial justice lenses to bear on the subject.  Click here for more information.  

 

Presenters:

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Election Day "Firsts": States Advancing Civil Rights and Democracy on the Ballot

 
Monday, December 3
3:00 - 4:00pm ET / 12:00 - 1:00pm PT

Telebriefing
 
November 6th marked several historic election-day "firsts" that will impact civil rights and democracy in states across the country for many years to come. Learn the keys to these successful campaigns from the leaders who helped drive them.  Click here for more information.
 
Moderator:
Speakers:

Click here to register 


The National Lesbian and Gay Community Funding Partnership (1993 - 2011) 
a project of Funders for LGBTQ Issues
A History
   

In 1993, the landscape of philanthropic resources for LGBTQ issues was dramatically different than it is today. Funders for LGBTQ Issues was then known as the Working Group on Funding Lesbian and Gay Issues, and LGBTQ concerns and communities were being addressed by very few philanthropic institutions. The Working Group published that year the first directory of LGBTQ grantmakers assisting LGBTQ organizations; it included 62 funders. That same year, The National Lesbian and Gay Community Funding Partnership (the Partnership) was launched, a pioneering partnership between the Working Group and a small group of national foundations, led by Robert Crane, president of the Joyce Mertz-Glimore Foundation. Over almost two decades, the Partnership provided invaluable support to community foundations' key role in helping donors support local LGBT interests and initiatives, and has proved critical to raising the visibility of LGBTQ issues in philanthropy. Click here to learn more about this groundbreaking project.
   

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Save the Date:
2013 Grantmakers Retreat 
Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort, Santa Ana Pueblo, NM
March 13 - 16, 2013 

 
Join us for four days of discussion, strategizing, and knowledge sharing at our annual retreat for grantmakers working on LGBTQ issues. Click here for more information or REGISTER TODAY.

Just added:  A pre-retreat meeting for LGBTQ Public Foundations. Click here for more information  

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NOW ONLINE: Philanthropy Insight: LGBTQ webinar  

A recording of our October 23rd webinar providing a live overview and demonstration of Philanthropy In/Sight: LGBTQ is now available online. Developed in partnership with the Foundation Center, our newest online resource is a special, custom edition of the Foundation Center's Philanthropy In/Sight� data visualization platform that focuses on the field of LGBTQ issues.
Click here to watch a video of the webinar.


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At the gathering our GBTQ Men and Boys of Color Symposium this past October, we premiered our series of video portraits of GBTQ men and boys of color from around the country, adding a personal dimension to our work on this marginalized population. Below is the second of the videos we will feature in Qnotes over the next few months.

Click here to listen to audio from the symposium, view related articles and resources, and find links to more videos.

Derwin
Derwin

Philanthropy Notes


Echoing Green
Black Male Achievement Fellows

Informational webinar:
3:00 - 3:45pm ET on November 29

Echoing Green in partnership with Open Society Foundations announces its application process for the 2013 class of Black Male Achievement (BMA) Fellows. The BMA Fellowship offers an 18-month leadership development experience, and $70,000 stipend, to 6-8 emerging leaders who are starting new organizations that improve the life outcomes of black men and boys in the United States. An informational webinar will take place from 3:00 - 3:45pm ET on November 29. Click here to register. Phase 1 of the application process (open to all eligible applicants) begins December 4th 2012. Click here for more information. 


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FCAA

 

AIDS Philanthropy Summit: Building Bridges

 

December 10, 2012   

Kaiser Family Foundation, 

1330 G Street NW, Washington, DC

 

Funders Concerned About AIDS hosts its annual AIDS Philanthropy Summit: Building Bridges, on December 10, 2012 at the Kaiser Family Foundation in Washington, DC.  The day's agenda will open with a special election analysis before diving into key issues for AIDS-related funders, including: health reform; linkage, access to, and retention in care; and social determinants of health and key populations. Registration is free and available online until November 30th: click here. 


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HIP logo


Investing in the Future of Latino Men & Boys:  

Effective Strategies for Achieving Meaningful Outcomes

 

Wednesday, December 19 
2:00pm - 3:30pm ET / 11:00am - 1:30pm PT 

 

This HIP Philanthropy Lab will convene experts in academia, philanthropy and community-based organizing on issues specific to Latino men and boys. Join us as we discuss current research on the state of Latino men and boys in the U.S. and the complexity with which Latino males navigate our society. Panelists include representatives from (i) philanthropic institutions, who will discuss the unique role that funders play and how they can maximize their impact, and (ii) a prominent Latino immigrant, community-led organization in Philadelphia, which advocates for the human rights of workers, parents, youth, and immigrants. Click here for more information


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April 4-6, 2013. Chicago, IL   

 

Registration is open for the 2013 Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP) National Conference and affordable early bird rates are available through December 31. Proposals are also being accepted for sessions through Sunday, December 23. Click here for more information.  


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Ford Foundation

Out for Change: The Future of LGBT Rights


Where are the next opportunities for progress for the LGBT movement? How do we achieve social justice that is inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity? How do we engage broad communities in securing basic rights for LGBT people? On November 28, 2012, the Ford Foundation
hosted a convening that brought together LGBT leaders and allies, artists, journalists, technologists, policymakers and funders to address these critical questions and affirm our collective commitment to building a more just world for all. Stay tuned to Qnotes for documentation made available of what took place. Learn more about Ford Foundation's Advancing LGBT Rights initiative here.

LGBTQ Notes


Jewish Organization Equality Index 
 
Earlier this month, a groundbreaking index on LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) inclusion within Jewish organizations in North America was released at the 2012 Jewish Federations of North America's General Assembly in Baltimore. Conducted by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and funded by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, The Morningstar Foundation, Stuart Kurlander and an anonymous donor, the Jewish Organization Equality Index (JOEI) survey is an innovative, first-of-its-kind effort to analyze and rate U.S. Jewish non-profits on their policies, practices and programs as they are pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees and members. The 18-month collaboration between the HRC Foundation and Jewish community organizations includes a survey to benchmark current practices, educational resources for improvement and a final report to highlight the advances made and the work still to be done. Read more about it in this article in World Jewish Weekly. To visit the index, click here.  

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TRANSGRESSIVE POLICING: Police Abuse of LGBTQ Communities of Color in Jackson Heights, Queens
     
After hearing numerous complaints of police abuse and misconduct against LGBTQ people in Jackson Heights, Queens, Make the Road New York (with help from the Anti-Violence Project) surveyed over 300 Queens residents about their experiences with police in the neighborhood. The survey findings and individual testimonies reveal a disturbing and systemic pattern of police harassment, violence, and intimidation directed at LGBTQ community members. The discriminatory use of "stop and frisks" in the policing of communities of color has been well documented - the 110th and 115th precincts that are responsible for policing Jackson Heights had 90%-93% rates of stop and frisk activity towards people of color in 2011. This survey reveals, however, that within this community, LGBTQ people of color are particularly targeted. 

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Resources available at lgbtfunders.org




Towards a More Responsive Philanthropy


40 Years of LGBTQ Philanthropy







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Racial Equity




Have an idea for QNotes? Please contact editor Bryan E. Glover at [email protected]

Funders for LGBTQ Issues seeks to mobilize philanthropic resources that enhance the well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities, promote equity and advance racial, economic and gender justice.