In June 2014, the agreement establishing the LGBTQ Fund at the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham was signed — a first-of-its-kind Field of Interest Fund at the Community Foundation, with a mission to cultivate one community that supports lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning individuals and families with the belief that all people should be treated with equal respect and dignity in a welcoming and affirming community.
Since then, the Fund has grown to $1.4 million and given away nearly a half million dollars in grant funding to LGBTQ-led organizations and projects, as well as other initiatives that benefit the Greater Birmingham LGBTQ community.
“I don’t want to drop too many facts about how shockingly prolific the LGBTQ Fund has been in only 10 years — we’re going to be celebrating all year! — but we have plenty to be proud of,” said Meg Ford, program officer.
Who better to kick off the festivities than Genie and George Taylor, who have been closely involved with the Fund since the beginning? Having worked with youth and child welfare and mental health systems across the country, Genie and George saw an opportunity to improve youth outcomes on a local scale through philanthropy, particularly the severely underserved LGBTQ+ youth of the South. They even made one of the earliest contributions to the Fund’s endowment.
Ever invested in the sharing of stories, Genie became the Fund’s first Advisory Committee Chair, sharing stories of LGBTQ communities and advocating for inclusivity. She is a member of the Fund’s President’s Circle. George served as a member of the Steering Committee in the earliest days of planning, setting the Fund up to elevate LGBTQ voices in central Alabama for decades to come. He currently serves on the Fund’s Advisory Committee.
We asked the Taylors about the Fund’s origins, its impact, and what the future holds.
How and when did the LGBTQ Fund begin?
The obvious need for continued funding for the LGBTQ community – especially beyond exclusively HIV services – predated the formal founding of the Fund. Earlier work by the Magic City Acceptance Project began to bring together a group of community members and allies concerned with improving the life outcomes for the wide span of LGBTQ individuals and their families. This group wanted to better understand both the strengths and needs of a widely diverse community. The group quickly became aware of the existing limitations on both available funding and often exclusive categories of funding.
As a part of this earlier work, we self-funded attendance at regional and national LGBTQ organizations to explore possible resources. In these meetings, we met leaders who informed us of coming opportunities arising from growing awareness of the grossly inequitable funding for LGBTQ communities in the South, compared to funding available in other regions. This presented a timely opportunity for potential national funding for emerging local (Southern) initiatives. We saw an opportunity and approached the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham to explore establishing a fund that might attract important national support. With the support of a long-time community investor and activist who helped us approach the Community Foundation, we had our first meeting on November 19, 2013. The formal establishment of the Fund followed a series of meetings after the introductory meeting.
What’s the significance of cultivating one community that supports LGBTQ+ individuals and families in our service area and at the Community Foundation?
This was partly informed by our prior national consulting work in child welfare and mental health systems that strongly indicated the importance of encouraging systemic changes rather than isolated single-focus initiatives. It was also informed by the growing awareness of the impact of intersectional issues like race, income inequality, education, and the challenges presented by siloed agency funding and areas of responsibility.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank for the LGBTQ Fund’s continued success?
The Fund’s continued success has been overwhelmingly a team effort by contributors, the whole Advisory Committee, and the Community Foundation’s attentive leadership and staff. It has never been “one person’s baby” and has been consistently a team enterprise. Contributors have ranged from relatively large donors to a growing team of smaller, but very faithful monthly or quarterly donors. It would be a mistake to try and single out individuals as we have been blessed with an extended family of supporters.
As we enter its 10th anniversary, what is your hope for the Fund? What’s your hope for our wider LGBTQ+ community?
We hope that one day — beyond our lifetimes — there will no longer be a need for such a specialized fund. Until then, we hope that the Fund will work collaboratively with the Community Foundation to serve the entire community and help to ensure that no one is left behind. As the Fund endeavors to improve life outcomes for members of the LGBTQ community and their families, working closely within the Foundation’s vision of building “A just, prosperous and unified region where every person is empowered to reach their full potential” will deepen our work. If we help build a community where everyone can truly feel safe, prosper, and find happiness, that will fulfill the Fund’s vision as well.
What advice would you give to someone seeking to make transformative change in their community through philanthropy?
The overarching advice would be “Settle in for the long haul.” Enduring transformational change will not happen in a year, a decade, or perhaps even a lifetime — but it is definitely possible. We are old enough to have seen things change we could only imagine 10, 20, or 50 years ago. Celebrate small victories, build partnerships, and build for the long run.