Philanthropic Advocacy

ASTRAEA'S REACH EXTENDS BEYOND DIRECT GRANTMAKING. A core tenet of our work includes leveraging resources and opportunities where they are most needed to abolish the inequities LGBTQI people experience around the world. We believe philanthropy must reflect equity in practice. Astraea engages in education, advocacy and collaboration to build a strong, cohesive, well-informed community of grantees, donors and funders. Just as we work to support the growth of organizations and projects, we also work to build relationships among social justice agents to increase our shared resources and knowledge. With a rich legacy in the field, Astraea is committed to shaping the next waves of philanthropy.

global philanthropy project:

Currently a program housed at Astraea, the Global Philanthropy Project (GPP) is a collaboration of several funders and philanthropic advisors, including Astraea, who work collectively to focus on expanding global philanthropy to support the human rights of LGBT people. Established in 2009, GPP is led by a Coordinating Committee that advocates to build the capacity of global LGBT movements, strengthens knowledge sharing between global LGBT funders, catalyzes new funding streams and supports research and documentation to advance funding for LGBT human rights globally. 

Position Statements:

Astraea has prepared a position statement on Gender Justice and Sex Worker Organizing in support of Astraea’s consistency and to encourage funding to organizations and projects based on harm reduction models led by LGBTI people involved in the sex trade, and to organizations that include sex work in their economic and gender justice organizing.

Regional Funding Partnerships:

Astraea was a partner in the historic Consortium of Latin American Women’s Funds’ lesbian, bisexual and transgender project as a guest fund based in the North. It is an effort to pool resources in a region-wide force for social and political transformation. Read more.

Panels and Presentations:

Membership in Philanthropic Networks:

Astraea is a founding and current board member of Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues. We also serve on the board of the International Network of Women's Funds, Grantmakers Without Borders, and The International Human Rights Funders Group. Astraea is a member of the Women's Funding Network and sits on its advisory committee for the Women Moving Millions program. We sit on the Human Rights Watch LGBT Program Advisory Committee and on the Steering Committee of the Global Philanthropy Project: Expanding Resources for LGBT People.

Four Funds Collaboration:

Astraea is engaged in partnership with three other funds: The Ms. Foundation for Women, the New York Women's Foundation, and the Third Wave Foundation.  Read more.