LGBT Nonprofits and Their Funders in a Troubled Economy

This report examines how the current economic downturn has impacted LGBT organizations and their donors. The report is based on anonymous survey responses collected in February 2009 from 93 national, regional and local LGBT organizations, which together account for about one-third of total LGBT movement revenue in the United States. The report also includes data from survey responses of 52 major individual and institutional donors who attended the Gill Foundation's March 2009 OutGiving conference.

Major findings include: 

• Nearly 60% of LGBT groups missed budget projections for the second half of calendar year 2008.
• The majority of LGBT organizations have little in the way of financial reserves.
• Organizations are seeing a clear increase in demand for health and social services.
• Organizations are taking a variety of operational and programmatic actions to cope with declining revenues.
• Nearly all groups say that funders can be of most help at this time by increasing the flow of general support dollars to organizations.
• Both organizations and donors appear confident of LGBT nonprofits' ability to weather the downturn.