Executive Commentary for Diversity in Philanthropy Website
Michael Seltzer
Equal Opportunity for All?
It is a sad commentary that many of the civil rights struggles of the last century still mar the fabric of American democracy. Nowhere is that more evident than in the battles still raging across the country around the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender men and women to marry. There are over 1,100 protections and responsibilities conferred on married couples by the federal government including access to health care, parenting and immigration rights, social security, veterans and survivor benefits, and transfer of property—and that doesn't include at least several hundred state and local laws, and employer-provided benefits, or the intangible security, dignity, respect, and meaning that comes with marriage. Excluding committed same-sex couples from marriage means shutting out families from the safety and security created by these protections and responsibilities. Ground zero is the state of California where by a narrow margin of 5 percent, the state's residents passed Proposition 8 last year, which disallowed marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples.
Historically, a number of foundations and corporations have been in the forefront of providing the necessary resources to advance the civil rights of constituencies that have not traditionally benefited from the promise of the American dream. With immigrants' rights, LGBT rights is the newest frontier for organized philanthropy, although, of course, neither issue is new to the U.S. scene.
LGBT issues and openly-identified individuals certainly were not at the philanthropic table for many years. It was not until well after the Stonewall riots in 1969 that a few grants even began to appear on foundation grantee lists. In fact, in the mid-1970's, the well-meaning staff of a local foundation even masked the identity of two lesbian and gay organizations in their docket descriptions so its trustees would not know the true identity or purpose of the grants.
The philanthropic closet was also jammed shut. I recall when what was known as the Working Group For Gay and Lesbian Issues showed the groundbreaking documentary, The Word Is Out, at a Council on Foundations Annual Meeting in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia. The turnout was sparse, but what was most remarkable was that those few in attendance made sure to leave the room before the lights went back on so as not to be seen.
Many foundations and corporations have come a long way since those days. However, our earlier absence meant that there were few resources available for organizations to engage in vitally-needed research, polling, public education and other related efforts to help advance the cause of understanding LGBT people. The Fund for Human Dignity, the earliest national organization committed to educating the general public on LGBT issues, folded due to the lack of funding support in 1990. Would the outcome of today's Proposition 8-style debates have been different if foundations and corporations had been at the table earlier?
The point, however, is not to bemoan what could have been but to address what can be.
Here are some concrete suggestions for the philanthropic community:
1) Award grants within your grantmaking priority areas to relevant LGBT efforts and organizations.
2) Do outreach through appropriate media outlets when job openings occur to reach possible LGBT candidates.
3) If you have not done so already, include the phrases “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” in your employment non-discrimination policies.
4) Make efforts to affirm that your work environment is “gay-positive” through internal and public statements and policies.
5) Make sure that your health insurance policies cover the partners of your LGBT employees.
6) Speak out publicly in forums on LGBT civil rights.
7) Financially compensate your LGBT employees who have partners to cover the loss in benefits that do not accrue to them as a result of the lack of recognition of “gay marriage.”
Whether through these steps or others, foundations and corporations can lead by example and lend their public voice to help expand equal opportunities for all here in the United States and around the world. Philanthropy, long a leader in other social justice efforts, cannot delay. As the continuing debate over Proposition 8 illustrates, the struggle for equal opportunity under the law continues and the time to act is clearly now.
Michael Seltzer was a founder of both Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues, and Funders Concerned About AIDS. He was the first chair of the Council on Foundations Committee on Affinity Groups. In addition, he served as the president of the New York Regional Association of Grantmakers and was the first full-time program officer responsible for advancing organized philanthropy worldwide at the Ford Foundation. He and his partner Ralph have been together for more than 27 years.