Since January 2025, government funding cuts have stripped $125 million from efforts advancing human rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ) people worldwide. Outright lost $10 million directly. Partners across 50+ countries have been forced to close programs, lay off staff, or scale back lifesaving services at the exact moment backlash is accelerating.
We’re raising $10 million to keep frontline organizations alive and strengthen the global advocacy that protects them.
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Planning a gift of $5,000+? Talk to our Donor Concierge.
The Funding Cliff is Real.
This is not a dip. The effect is clear: a movement is being starved while anti-LGBTIQ forces are pushing new laws, hostile narratives, and cross-border alliances designed to erase people’s lives from public policy.
What this means in practice
Programs shutting down midstream
Staff laid off and expertise lost
Community spaces closing
Legal defense, health support, and safety services disappearing when risk is rising
Outright was forced to suspend 120 grants in nearly 50 countries after the freeze. Many partners are still operating in emergency mode. Programs affected include safety services, legal defense, crisis documentation, community spaces, HIV-related support, democratic participation, and core organizational continuity.
Quote from Caribbean LGBTIQ activist
"More than funding has been taken away from us. Hope, belief, and a chance to pursue happiness was snatched away."
Quote from — Activist, African country experiencing armed conflict
When funding disappears, it doesn’t just slow our work—it puts people in danger.
One campaign. Two tracks that keep the movement resilient.
We’ve learned the hard way that frontline support without cover is fragile, and global advocacy without frontline truth is hollow. This campaign keeps both sides strong.
Why Outright, and why now.
Outright exists for moments like this: when local groups are targeted, when civic space narrows, and when power tries to isolate people into silence. We’ve spent 35 years working with partners across regions to support the work on the ground and push for change where rules are written.
We can move resources to organizations facing barriers that make direct funding difficult. We also protect partner safety—especially when visibility brings risk—by handling information with care and sharing details only with consent.
And when local access is blocked, we take evidence to the places governments can’t fully control: the United Nations, regional bodies, and diplomatic channels. That’s not abstract advocacy. It’s how pressure is built, norms shift, and protection becomes harder to roll back.
What Your Gift Makes Possible.
Examples below reflect the kinds of support this campaign enables. We shape every grant around risk, consent, and what partners say they need.
Safety and continuity
Emergency support so a partner can keep staff, maintain safe services, or respond to threats.
Rule of law
Litigation preparation, legal defense, and advocacy to challenge discriminatory laws and protect basic freedoms.
Civic space
Support for organizers facing bans, surveillance, or restrictions on assembly and speech.
Crisis documentation
Retaining staff to document violations, preserve evidence, and support targeted response.
Movement resilience
Convenings, strategy, and secure infrastructure that prevent isolation and burnout.
The movement is already responding.
More than 140 donors have pledged over US$5 million since we launched this campaign. We’re halfway there—but frontline partners can’t wait.
Join themPower the Movement
Every Cent Counts!
Give in the way that works for you. If you’re considering $5,000+, we can help you maximize impact and minimize fees.
- $50: Helps cover secure communications and safety coordination.
- $100: Supports rapid response when a partner faces an urgent threat.
- $250: Contributes to legal support and protection work.
- $1,200: Helps cover travel and participation so activists can bring evidence to decision-makers.
Your generous support provides crucial resources, training, support, and targeted programs to strengthen local leadership, advocacy, infrastructure, and more for our global LGBTIQ family.
Donate with your Donor Advised Fund, stock, or crypto.
FAQ
No. We can’t replace every dollar. This campaign is about preventing an ecosystem collapse—keeping cornerstone organizations alive and sustaining the advocacy that protects them while the wider funding landscape shifts.
Because survival and protection are linked. Frontline funding without cover can put groups at risk. Global advocacy without frontline reality becomes detached. This campaign keeps both sides strong.
All donors receive campaign updates and impact reporting. Donors giving $5,000+ can opt into more detailed, tailored updates.
Any amount beyond the goal strengthens longer-term movement resilience. The ripple effects of this crisis will last for years, and the need won’t end in June 2026.
Yes, Outright welcomes recurring gifts to this campaign, which can be made online here, or by wire, check and other ways to give. If you’d like to pledge and pay in installments, our Donor Concierge Team can help.
Your monthly gift is restricted to Outright's Funding Our Freedom campaign through June 30, 2026; after the campaign concludes, your ongoing monthly contributions will be automatically designated as general operating support unless you notify us otherwise.
Yes. You can choose to make an anonymous contribution.