OVERVIEW: Astraea funds “lesbian-and trans-led organizations and cultural media projects that directly address the depth and complexities of lesbian and trans issues.” Its areas of focus in grantmaking include anti-criminalization and freedom from violence, arts and cultural activism, economic justice, racial justice, trans human rights, network-building, and anti-discrimination protections. Astraea’s international grantmaking addresses the oppression of sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression. The foundation also supports rights organizations that advance racial, economic, and gender-related justice.
IP TAKE: Astraea is both well-funded and quite accessible to initial grantseekers, even those of modest name recognition. This is an approachable funder that favors smaller organizations that have a more difficult time securing grants. Newer organizations in the LGBTQI space should take note that while Astraea is open to providing support, it requires that new organizations demonstrate longer-term sustainability and impact.
Apply online and explore this foundation’s transparent list of grantees.
PROFILE: The New York-based Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice was established in 1977 to address the general lack of “a women’s movement that prioritizes the needs of lesbians and women of color.” Billing itself as “the only philanthropic organization working exclusively to advance LGBTQI human rights around the globe,” Astraea seeks to “fuel local and global movements that shift power to LGBTQI people and organizations pursuing social justice and human rights.” Despite being publicly funded, Astraea is a power-house LGBTQI funder that supports LGBTQI people by funding organizations, philanthropic advocacy, communications, and capacity-building. It funds four separate LGBTQI-related programs.
Grants for LGBTQ, Racial Justice and Criminal Justice
Astraea exclusively funds LGBTQI issues across all of its four grantmaking categories. The U.S. Fund supports organizations led by “LGBTQ people of color working to advance racial and economic justice.” Astraea’s U.S. Fund currently prioritizes “anti-criminalization” efforts to combat “laws, policies and practices that criminalize LGBTQ people’s lives, dignity and livelihoods,” as well as “migrant justice” programs that seek to “build a strong base of LGBTQ migrant leaders and allies, fight harsh immigration enforcement policies, and increase visibility of the impact of the criminalization of LGBTQ immigrants.”
The International Fund supports groups that are “working for progressive social change, addressing oppression based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity and expression, and advancing work for racial, economic, and gender justice.”
The Intersex Human Rights Fund supports organizations, projects, and campaigns “led by intersex activists working to ensure the human rights, bodily autonomy, physical integrity and self-determination of intersex people." The Fund seeks to address the “invisibility, stigma, discrimination and violence” faced by intersex individuals and reduce the impact of “normalizing, non-consensual, harmful surgeries and other medical interventions.” The Intersex Human Rights Fund accepts applications in English, Spanish, and French through its online portal; it accepts applications in Mandarin, Arabic, and Russian by email. Grantees include Black and Pink, the Gender Expansion Project, BreakOUT, and EMERGE.
The Global Arts Fund “showcases and connects impactful art by LGBTQI people and organizations that are using art as a tool for social transformation and have limited access to resources.”
Grants for Global Human Rights
At the global level, Astraea’s International Fund supports progressive social justice efforts “led by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex communities.” This funder values giving to projects that are intersectional and “have a commitment to address other forms of oppression based on class, race, ethnicity, age, physical and mental ability, gender, national identity, and religious affiliation.” Geographically, Astraea currently accepts applications from organizations based or operating in the nations of Jamaica, Belize, Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname. It does not support “organizations based in the Global North proposing projects with partners based in Astraea’s funding regions.” Past grantees include Trans Mreža Balkan, Trans Aid, and Institute Transfeminist Initiative TransAkcija.
Grants for Arts and Culture
Astraea conducts grants for arts and culture through its Global Arts Fund, which supports art by LGBTQI people and organizations that use “art as a tool for social transformation and have limited access to resources for this critical work.” Grants typically adhere to a theme which changes with each funding cycle. Past themes include migration, criminalization, and “the construct, concept & culture of Blackness.” It awards grants to art across all forms of media, including but not limited to “video, film, poetry, fictional prose, photography, painting, performance, dance, theater, music and other interdisciplinary expressions.” It accepts applications from individual artists as well as arts nonprofits.
Grants for LGBTQ Immigrants and Refugees
While Astraea directs some grants to organizations that address immigration and refugee issues across most of its programs on a small scale, it predominantly conducts LGBTQ migrant justice work through its U.S. Fund. The fund primarily works to advance "LGBTQ people of color” who are “working to advance racial and economic justice.” Amongst it’s anti-criminalization initiatives, Astraea’s U.S. Fund also invests in “migrant justice” programs that seek to “build a strong base of LGBTQ migrant leaders and allies, fight harsh immigration enforcement policies, and increase visibility of the impact of the criminalization of LGBTQ immigrants.”
Guidance for Grantseekers
Grants generally range from $10,000 to $150,000. The Astraea Foundation is welcoming to new grantseekers and has a stated preference for nonprofits that have never applied for or successfully secured grant funding before. Apart from its U.S. Fund, all of Astraea’s giving programs operate internationally, though only in select regions.
The Astraea Foundation accepts letters of interest for its International Fund between January and June and awards grants twice per year; the Intersex Human Rights Fund accepts applications for one grant cycle per year. Applications for the U.S. Fund and Global Arts Fund are by invitation only. Astraea provides detailed application guidelines on its website.
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