The Gill Foundation, an LGBTQ Powerhouse, Dives Into Pro-Democracy Funding

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One of the country’s largest LGBTQ foundations has joined the ranks of pro-democracy funders with its early May announcement of a total of $4.3 million in grants to democracy nonprofits. The Gill Foundation, one of the top five foundations supporting LGBTQ communities, has already moved $1.1 million through members of the funder’s OutGiving network and is also disbursing an additional $3.2 million directly. These grants are on top of the funder’s ongoing programs and stem from the recognition that growing threats to voting rights and democracy this election year endanger the safety of LGBTQ Americans.

The new effort has been in the works for several months, Gill’s President and CEO Brad Clark said, adding that the idea originated with Gill Foundation founder and chair Tim Gill. In late winter and early spring, the foundation researched and selected potential grantees in concert with its OutGiving network of allied donors. As is usually the case, Gill relied on its own research and didn’t issue a call for applications. “Our emphasis was on identifying organizations that not only show proven returns on investment but also possess the capacity to scale rapidly,” Clark said. The foundation, he said, understands that “LGBTQ equality is intricately linked to the integrity of our democratic systems, fair elections, and a functioning policy process.” 

Notably, none of the listed grantees are primarily LGBTQ-serving organizations. Instead, their work ranges from journalism (Courier Newsroom and American Independent Radio, a project of The American Independent Foundation) to voter registration and encouragement (Voter Participation Center) and narrative change (Galvanize USA).

Cause-focused funders like the Gill Foundation have been backing wider democracy work in greater numbers over the past several cycles, a trend that our own reporting and a deep dive by the Democracy Fund both bear out. While what they’re funding is nonpartisan, the stakes of electoral contests for philanthropies backing particular causes — like LGBTQ rights, climate and K-12 education — have made a heightened civic engagement focus increasingly indispensable for many.

It’s not hard to see how the work of Gill’s latest grantees has the potential to benefit queer communities at the same time. Galvanize, for example, exists to “inoculate” its core audience of politically moderate women in suburban, small town and rural communities “against culture war issues being used to divide us, such as the noxious anti-LGBTQ+ narratives moderate women are being inundated with,” said Chief External Relations Officer Kelly Starr. The Gill funding will be used specifically to counter right-wing anti-LGBTQ attacks, she said. 

The Voter Participation Center, for its part, conducts “high-volume digital and direct-mail voter registration, vote-by-mail applications and get-out-the-vote programs” that are primarily aimed at people of color, young people and unmarried women, said Tom Lopach, VPC’s president and CEO. All of the groups targeted by Voter Participation Center include sexual minorities among their number, and Galvanize USA’s work may well result in more support for LGBTQ people outside the ballot box as well as within it.

Gill is a newcomer to the pro-democracy sector, but this is far from the first time the foundation has supported causes outside of the queer community. STEM education, community-focused journalism and consumer protection nonprofits have all received Gill funding in the past alongside the nearly half-billion dollars the funder has invested in LGBTQ equality since its inception in 1994. Among high-profile LGBTQ foundations, Gill is also not unique in supporting nonprofits outside of the “family”; the Arcus Foundation, for example, has a dual mission of supporting LGBTQ communities and preserving great apes. 

“The country is at a critical juncture”

Gill’s initiative is also far from the only effort of, by and for funders seeking to ensure as many people as possible are able to exercise their franchise this year. Between the All By April Campaign and ongoing calls, including here at IP, all hands are on deck to engage, persuade and inspire traditional and nontraditional funders alike that the time to open their checkbooks is now. Gill’s grants announcement sums up the reason why: “The country is at a critical juncture with core democratic institutions and values under siege.”

At the same time, cause-focused philanthropies like Gill need to contend with highly mixed messages about the ultimate direction of the upcoming election and its ramifications for the communities and positions they support. Democratic candidates have had strong down-ballot results since the Dobbs decision ended federal abortion protections, but both party’s presidential candidates are highly unpopular, leading to what may (or may not) be a historic level of disinterest in this year’s top race. Meanwhile, the Biden administration’s support of Israel’s war on Gaza hasn’t done him any favors with younger voters, particularly the sort of young activists who traditionally help drive others to the polls. 

In this environment, efforts by issue-focused funders — including newcomers with little or no history of pro-democracy giving — have a lot of potential to drive additional voters to the polls. Given all the uncertainties facing the country during this time of multiple internal and international crises, and the rise of antidemocratic norms and attitudes here in the U.S., pro-democracy and civic engagement nonprofits need all the help they can get.