Mobilizing Resources for the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People: Challenges and Opportunities

Funding for work to advance the human rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) issues across the globe is surprisingly scarce. Approximately $10 million USD was spent in total on LGBT issues in the Global South and East in 2005, compared to $336 million to support 48 LGBT rights organizations based only in the United States in the same year. Ninety-three percent of funders who do not currently support LGBT human rights work in the Global South and East acknowledge the human rights community's responsibility to help advance it. This report is intended to help mobilize additional funding for LGBT human rights work by identifying obstacles to increased funding among human rights funders, exploring the implications of those obstacles and surfacing approaches to mitigate or overcome them