Greater Good Blog

While spending a busy week in Oxford, UK at the Skoll World Forum, I was fortunate to meet Katie Hultquist (she / her), the Director of Leadership Giving at Outright International, at an event hosted by organizations focused on promoting the health and wellbeing of LGBTQIA+ folks worldwide Through our conversation, I learned about her organization’s work strengthening the capacity of the LGBTQIA+ human rights movement, documenting and amplifying stories of human rights violations against LGBTQIA+ people, and advocating for inclusion and equality. 

Change relies on respect, empathy, and identifying and managing differences in power, and Arabella Advisors is committed to expanding equity – including LGBTQIA+ rights – and strengthening our communities across the globe. We empower both large and small projects in our fiscal sponsorship work, offering a convenient and cost-effective alternative to forming a standalone 501(c)(3) or (c)(4) organization that can still mobilize LGBTQIA+ efforts. By providing infrastructure and operational support, fiscally sponsored projects can focus on what matters most: impact. 

Katie and I had a fascinating conversation about her work with donors to improve the lives of LGBTQIA+ people across the globe, particularly in this era of uncertainty. I’m honored that Katie spent some time unpacking Outright International’s new report to understand not only how funding cuts have negatively impacted people around the world, but also how the LGBTQIA+ community can stand together (as we always have). 

The conversation below is lightly edited. 

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Braden: Happy Pride! How great is it to have an organization like Outright International influencing so much progress with and for our community. Thank you. I’m wondering if you can help us understand the series of events that led to the publication of Defunding Freedom – Impacts of U.S. Foreign Aid Cuts on LGBTIQ People Worldwide. 

Katie: Happy Pride, Braden! Thank you so much for inviting me to share Outright’s work and the state of our global movement with you. Unfortunately, it is indeed a pivotal and extremely dangerous time for LGBTIQ people, communities, and organizations around the world. The global LGBTIQ movement has long been critically underfunded — especially when compared to the vast resources of those working to oppose us. However, the recent funding cuts by the U.S. government  — and others like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom  — threaten to undo decades of progress and put the lives of LGBTIQ people around the world in grave danger. More than $105 million in funding for our movement has already been eliminated; we estimate 30-40% of the total annual support for LGBTIQ organizations around the world has been lost.  

Right after the U.S. announced its funding freeze in January, Outright launched a research initiative to understand and share the impact of these cuts on our partners in the Global South and East. We heard truly devastating news and stories from LGBTIQ activists in 59 countries and published this research, along with recommendations for policymakers, funders, media, and other stakeholders in our Defunding Freedom report. Our goal was to use this research to uncover and amplify the experiences and voices of local leaders to sound the alarm about what is happening to LGBTIQ people and inspire swift action and support. 

At the same time, authoritarian regimes have seized the moment to intensify repression, with some further restricting rights or fully criminalizing LGBTIQ identities and activities (i.e. Hungary’s recent ban on public Pride celebrations or Trinidad & Tobago’s re-criminalizing same-sex intimacy). Taken together, these developments are a catastrophe for our global movement and communities. 

Braden: The report outlines some devastating data that describe the outcomes of federal funding freezes on NGOs supporting LGBTQIA+ people, particularly in the global South and East. Can you share with us what is happening on the ground? 

Katie: As a result of the U.S. funding cuts, Outright was forced to terminate grants to 130 local partners in more than 50 countries, which supported violence prevention, healthcare services, protection from arbitrary detention and torture, legal reform, and economic security for LGBTIQ communities. We believe that many organizations providing lifesaving services to LGBTIQ people may be forced to shut down their programs, as very often groups have limited access to financial support and cannot raise funds locally due to criminalization and social stigma. 

Here are a few examples of the immediate impact, shared by our partners: 

• In Uganda, LGBTIQ people cannot safely seek care in government hospitals due to the 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act. An organization providing free quality health services relied on U.S. funding but now, “our landlord is chasing us out of his building.” 
• The U.S. froze $100,000 to one Ukrainian organization supporting LGBTIQ soldiers and veterans. Among the activities halted was a medical fund for wounded LGBTQ+ veterans in need. 
• In Myanmar, U.S. funding allowed an organization to document human rights violations by the military dictatorship and provide legal aid services for LGBTQ individuals who were arbitrarily arrested and tortured. “Without funding, we are unable to provide emergency assistance to those facing immediate threats.” 
• In Malawi, where same-sex intimacy is criminalized, an organization ran a safe house to provide temporary shelter to homeless LBTI women who were facing evictions by parents and landlords or high levels of violence in their communities. Due to the funding cut, “we were forced to close one of our safe houses and to turn people out onto the streets.” 

Despite these challenges, we have also witnessed impressive determination and resilience from our colleagues and partners. When Outright started in 1990, no government supported us, and we and our partners are used to working in extremely harsh and repressive environments. LGBTIQ people have existed in every culture for thousands of years and no matter what, we will not be erased. We are not powerless, and we will keep pushing forward together. For Outright, that means documenting what is happening to our communities and movement; advocating with diplomats, funders, media, and other key stakeholders; and supporting activists on the ground. Since February, we have committed $1M in grants to help our local partners who are in crisis. 

Braden: We know that foreign aid cuts have impacted organizations working towards change in all sorts of issue areas, from climate to reproductive rights to democracy and more. Why should supporting the global community of LGBTQIA+ people be a priority for funders? 

Katie: Since Outright International was founded 35 years ago, there has been stunning progress to improve the lives and protect the rights of LGBTIQ people. 55 countries have decriminalized same sex intimacy. Nearly 40 countries have codified marriage equality. 20+ countries have banned abusive conversion practices. Almost 20 countries allow transgender people to self-determine their legal gender. These gains happened because activists, advocates, allies, and funders invested blood, sweat, tears, and resources to push forward. Yet this progress has not happened evenly or everywhere, and it is not complete. Millions of LGBTIQ people still face extreme persecution, discrimination, and violence every day.  

LGBTIQ organizations are already severely under-resourced, especially in the Global South and East — where more than 80% of the world’s population lives. Now, with the recent and alarming pullback in investment from some of the largest and longtime government and institutional funders of LGBTIQ groups around the world, our movement faces an existential crisis, and for many queer, trans, and intersex people, the stakes are truly life and death. To hold the line and accelerate progress where it is still possible, our coalition of supporters from every sector must grow, including new funders from other movements who must embrace and invest in LGBTIQ causes and communities.  

LGBTIQ movement leaders cannot and will not pause or abandon their work right when our communities need us the most. Yet we aren’t only protecting ourselves  – we are also defending democracy more broadly and everyone’s right to organize, speak out, advocate  – and to be themselves and have autonomy over their own bodies and their own lives. We invite donors who care about LGBTIQ lives, supporting civil society, protecting democracy, and ensuring that the most vulnerable and marginalized in our societies are not targeted and left behind to join us. LGBTIQ people are a part of every community and every issue – democracy, health, education, economic empowerment, gender equality, climate justice, and more – is a LGBTIQ issue. The good news is, there are thousands of experienced, smart, strategic, and determined queer changemakers all over the world. They are ready for us to show up.  

Braden: One of the things I love most about Pride is that we get to celebrate our authentic selves and show the world that we’re here and we matter. All that to say, we can never forget that Pride was born from protest. How do you like to celebrate Pride, and how can we, as a community, use this time of celebration to advocate for our civil rights and protections? 

Katie: You’re 100% correct – in addition to celebrating who we are and the diversity and strength of LGBTIQ communities, Pride was, is, and will always be a protest. I think it’s important for LGBTIQ people to remember that the progress we’ve made is not guaranteed, and that it has not benefited everyone in our global community equally. We need to pay attention, defend our rights, and protect and support all of our queer, trans, and intersex siblings. We also need our allies more than ever – please stand with us! On a personal note, I will be going to Trans Pride and Seattle Pride with my family this year.  

Outright kicked off Pride month with our 35th anniversary Gala, where we honored longtime partners and raised needed funds for our programs and local activists in the Global South and East. We’ve marched at World Pride and NYC Pride and connected activists and allies across the globe during our March For All campaign. We’ve launched our 5th annual Pride Around the World report, sharing our research on Pride events in 100 countries – where we’re making progress and where LGBTIQ organizing is under attack. And throughout Pride season, we’re working with partners and allies to share our Outright Proud “Stronger Together” campaign calling for global solidarity, resilience, and action. We invite everyone to join us in standing with frontline activists and communities working tirelessly for freedom, dignity, and equality everywhere. 

 

About Outright International: Founded in 1990, with staff in 15+ countries, Outright International works with the United Nations, regional human rights monitoring bodies, and civil society partners across the globe to strengthen the capacity of the LGBTIQ human rights movement, document and amplify human rights violations against LGBTIQ people, and advocate for inclusion and equality. 

About Katie Hultquist: Katie is the Director of Leadership Giving for Outright International, where she works closely with donors to improve the lives of LGBTIQ people across the globe. She has 25+ years of experience in nonprofit leadership, philanthropy, and activism and holds a Masters in Nonprofit Leadership from Seattle University and a B.A. in International Studies from UNC-Chapel Hill.