Weekly Reads—June 30, 2025

Enjoy PEAK’s weekly roundup of timely insights from the grantmaking community and beyond.

“In a time when it is easy to lose hope, we have so much to offer each other. Whether it’s funding our vibrant ecosystem of intermediaries, coordinating with institutional partners to center queer and trans justice in your grantmaking, or organizing with living donors and trustees — there are concrete ways we can resource our movements to win.” [more]
Saida Agostini-Bostic, Funders for LGBTQ Issues, for Inside Philanthropy

“It isn’t just about writing a check, it’s about expanding our universe [as a nonprofit organization] to include people who have connections in different areas. … We need to collaborate with our funding partners so that we’re not just asking for money, but we’re having more conversations and making it possible for them to see what we’re doing and how to help us grow.” [more]
Caryn Campbell, The Misty Copeland Foundation, for Flow with Dr. Durell Cooper

“And after a decade leading a foundation committed to advancing LGBTQ rights, here’s my deepest hope: that more of our movements—and more of our philanthropies—will return to what organizing has always known at its core: See people as neighbors, not opponents. That’s how real change happens.” [more]
Brad Clark, Gill Foundation, for The Chronicle of Philanthropy

“Philanthropic funding for LGBTQ communities and causes from foundations based in the United States totaled $209.4 million in 2023. This is a decrease of approximately $48.7 million or 19 percent from the total funding awarded for LGBTQ communities and causes in 2022. When adjusted for inflation, funding fell 22 percent from 2022 to 2023.” [more]
Alyssa Lawther and Sammy Luffy, 2023 Resource Tracking Report: LGBTQ Grantmaking by U.S. Foundations