By Elise Colomer-Cheadle | Project Contact
Funding Our Freedom: Progress and Possibility
In a year of deep uncertainty for global LGBTIQ communities, Outright International has stayed the course, positioning ourselves shoulder to shoulder with partners around the world to defend equality, dignity, and safety. While the Funding Our Freedom campaign remains in its silent phase, we’ve already raised nearly 40% of our goal, an important first step toward building lasting resilience for the movement. Early support has allowed us to respond quickly to devastating shifts in U.S. foreign aid policy, which left countless organizations in crisis. Thanks to the generosity of those who stepped forward in 2025, Outright has already directed $1 million in emergency funds to sustain critical work in the Global South and East, ensuring that local organizations could keep their doors open and their communities supported when it mattered most.
At the same time, 2025 has been a year of profound accomplishment and impact. Outright published Queering Democracy: The Global Elections in 2024 and How LGBTIQ People Fared, documenting the experiences of LGBTIQ people across 60 countries and the EU. We have awarded 86 grants to 77 groups in 47 countries, with more planned before year’s end. Our team has produced 11 major reports and comprehensive overviews for 193 countries, implemented 18 training programs that have strengthened the advocacy and leadership skills of more than 9,000 activists, and supported 45 UN experts and 30 advocates to bring LGBTIQ perspectives to global decision-making spaces. These are tangible outcomes that demonstrate what’s possible when courage and commitment come together.
As we move into the next phase of Funding Our Freedom, we invite you to join us in deepening this impact. Your support – whether renewed or new – can help Outright expand its emergency grantmaking, document the ongoing effects of aid cuts, and strengthen the global infrastructure of LGBTIQ advocacy for years to come. This is a pivotal moment: your involvement can turn early progress into lasting change. Together, we can ensure that the fight for LGBTIQ equality doesn’t just endure—it prevails.
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