Note: This guest post is adapted and condensed from Fundraising for Social Change, 8^th Edition, by Kim Klein and Stan Yogi. It explores how the LGBTQ+ rights movement generated funding and people power in San Francisco. Order your copy through your local bookstore. Thanks, Stan and Kim!

In the 1970s, lesbians and gay men from throughout the United States migrated to San Francisco, drawn to a seeming Shangri- La of acceptance that contrasted with the repressive small towns, isolated rural areas, and conservative cities in which they grew up.

Gay and lesbian entrepreneurs opened small businesses and formed a chamber of commerce, the Golden Gate Business Association (GGBA). In the late 1970s, GGBA had amassed a small budget surplus, and its board chose to donate money to two nonprofits helping lesbians and gay men. GGBA then decided to organize a casino- themed event, “22 on the Red,” to raise money and generate interest in members’ businesses.

The event, which spotlighted GGBA’s support of lesbian and gay nonprofits, was a success. GGBA produced another casino night and formed a charitable foundation through which the association would make small grants to community groups providing services and advocacy for gay men and lesbians.

When fundraising events aren’t enough

Demand for the Foundation’s grants far outstripped the money available. Some GGBA Foundation board members recognized that relying on a single fundraising event limited the organization’s effectiveness to raise more money and award more grants.

The GGBA Foundation board consequently decided to seek donations directly from individuals, in addition to producing its “22 on the Red” event. Two board members immediately resigned because they did not want to ask people for money.

The remaining board members reached out to their friends, family, and associates for contributions. As businesspeople, they were accustomed to networking and building contacts.

The need for individual donors

Generating resources from individuals was also a practical necessity. Even in liberal-leaning San Francisco, few foundations or corporations in the early 1980s would fund openly gay organizations. Government grants and contracts were also limited, given the lack of LGBTQ+ political representation in City Hall.

“When other avenues are closed, you have to go to paths you have access to,” explained Doug Braley, the Foundation’s first Executive Director.

Fundraising can change your identity

The Foundation underwent an identity shift. Rather than functioning solely as the philanthropic arm of a professional association, it evolved into a community foundation, generating funding from LGBTQ+ people to address LGBTQ+ community needs. The organization changed its name to the Horizons Foundation and adopted the motto, “Taking care of our own.”

Horizons board and staff diligently built the Foundation’s mailing list, not only through board members’ contacts but also by collecting names and addresses of people who attended the casino night events and stopped by the Foundation’s booth at Gay Pride festivals.

In an era before databases, board leader Cheri Bryant meticulously recorded donors’ and potential donors’ information on index cards so that Horizons could send them mail appeals, and board members could meet personally with people who had the financial means to make large gifts.

Asking works

Individual donor efforts proved successful, with contributions from individuals outstripping the revenue generated by “22 on the Red.”

After a few years, Horizons stopped producing the event, in part because of the intense labor and resources required, and in part because board members didn’t want to compete with potential grantees, especially AIDS organizations, that were using events as their main or sole fundraising strategy.

As a community foundation, Horizons wanted its board to represent the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community. Over time, many board members had little or no fundraising experience. Horizons trained them on individual donor fundraising and provided systems to ask people for financial support.

Giving equals participation and hope

Braley observed that making a financial gift to Horizons was for many donors a way of participating in the movement to dismantle discrimination against LGBTQ+ people.

During a time of intense homophobia and transphobia, when thousands were dying of AIDS, donating to Horizons was also an act of hope for a better future.

Contributing, however, was not without material consequences. In the 1980s and 1990s, donors could be fired or evicted if it became public that they supported LGBTQ+ organizations.

As LGBTQ+ people fought for their rights and made their lives more visible, Horizons secured modest foundation and corporate support. At the same time, it grew its individual donor base, planned giving commitments, and deep involvement in the community which helped secure its long- term viability, eventually becoming a recognized leader in nationwide LGBTQ+ philanthropy.

Takeaways

Things to consider from this story…

• Many successful social change movements – including the movement for LGBTQ+ rights – have been substantially self-funded. You don’t need rich strangers.
• Focusing on individual donors not only raises more money, it also builds power.
• Effective organizations, like the Horizons Foundations, respond and adapt. Successful fundraising supports that adaptation.