As part of Pride month, we wanted to shine a spotlight on not only the impact that has been achieved through grants made to the extraordinary LGBT+ organisations we have in Ireland but also on the LGBT+ philanthropists who are giving back to their communities on a global level.
In 2017, Mel Heifetz announced on social media that he would expand the GLBT Fund of America, which is a Donor Advised Fund at the Philadelphia Foundation – a similar organisation to The Community Foundation for Ireland. The gay real-estate investor donated $16 million to the local LGBT fund.
“I hope that others will be inspired in their own generosity, especially in support of the GLBT community,” said Heifetz in 2017.
Heifetz previously established the GLBT Fund of America in 2007 to support the community in the areas of social justice, health needs and civil rights. In 2005 he paid off the mortgage of the William Way LGBT Community Center and he has participated in the development of a 30-unit LGBT-friendly residency with Project HOME.
Pride and Philanthropy in Ireland
Closer to Ireland philanthropy supporting LGBT groups tends to be associated with two foundations – Atlantic Philanthropies and The Community Foundation for Ireland. Atlantic Philanthropies is now closed but gave significant support to LGBT+ organisations including GLEN and others.
Grants given to the area of LGBT+ through The Community Foundation for Ireland now total almost €1 million and due to our endowed fund we will be grant making long into the future.
While we have been providing grants in the area of LGBT+ since 2001, we recently established a dedicated LGBT+ Fund. To date while, no individual donors have donated to our dedicated LGBT+ Fund, a small but growing number of people have included the fund in their will, showing a great sign of strategic giving for the LGBT community.
Changing Face of the LGBT+ Community
The type of grants that The Community Foundation for Ireland has awarded have changed dramatically over the years, reflecting the changes in society.
The first grant was for €1,000 to Dublin Lesbian Line Collective – to help advertise the helpline, on a regular basis, countrywide, to reach a much larger body of women, ensuring those who needed it could access the helpline.
In 2018 Dublin Lesbian Line secured a grant of €5,000 for a research project to address the sexual harassment experienced by lesbian, bisexual and trans women. Also in 2018, Identity, facilitated by LGBT Ireland, got a grant of €7,500 to support LGBT asylum seekers who are living challenging lives in Direct Provision centres in Ireland. The funding was used to provide:
- monthly peer support group in Dublin
- advocacy sub-group + platform
- social events/activities to connect with LGBT community and wider Irish community
The types of grants that are needed to support communities and individual issue areas change on a continual basis, which make long-term grant making organisations such as The Community Foundation for Ireland essential as they have strong connections with communities and can be responsive to the issues of the day.
LGBT+ Philanthropists
Returning to the USA, an American software entrepreneur and philanthropist, Tim Gill started the Denver, Colorado-based Gill Foundation in 1994. The foundation is dedicated to advancing equality by supporting nonprofit organizations that serve lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and allied individuals, as well as people with HIV/AIDS.
Since its inception, the Gill Foundation has invested more than $345 million in programs and nonprofit organizations throughout the USA. This is a phenomenal level of giving.
So, looking to the future and at Ireland’s wealth, only a handful of people on e.g. The Sunday Times Rich List are openly gay. In 2014 according to Forbes just seven or 0.4%, of the globe's then 1,645 billionaires openly identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.
With a combined net worth of nearly $16 billion, the select group of LGBT ten-figure fortunes included media mogul David Geffen, PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel and Hyatt hotel beneficiary Jennifer Pritzker, one of the Pritzker family’s 11 billionaires.
In August 2013, Jennifer became the first and only transgender billionaire in the world. In 2016, through her Foundation, Pritzker gave a $2 million donation to create the world's first endowed academic chair of transgender studies, at the University of Victoria in British Columbia.
Philanthropy- only for the elite?
Community foundations worldwide are all about grassroots philanthropy. People can contribute to a common grassroots fund – The LGBT+ Fund - and make a real difference to address current and future needs. This can be through giving while living, or, as others have done, by including a gift in one’s will. The first step is writing a will, something many Irish adults have not done, but is a very important step.
If you would like to learn more about The LGBT+ Fund, you can contact Niall O'Sullivan, Fund Development Advisor at The Community Foundation for Ireland. He is working to generate new support for The LGBT+ Fund to help ensure there is a source of funding long term for LGBT+ projects in Ireland.