Numbers prove LGBTIQ+ funding falls short
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
A new report on LGBTIQ+ funding in Australia has been released by OurCommunity and LGBTIQ+ collective giving group The Channel.
The report details how much funding is being distributed to LGBTIQ+ communities across Australia, providing the first comprehensive snapshot of the flow of dollars from government, philanthropy and direct donations to this cohort.
The findings, published in the form of an interactive data graphic, paint a bleak picture of the state of funding for rainbow communities. Using data collected by Our Community's SmartyGrants platform, the report reveals that only 0.07 percent of federal government grants are going towards LGBTIQ+ causes. This number is similarly low for local and state governments—0.37 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.
This problem of underfunding persists across the philanthropy sector too, with only 0.4 percent of philanthropic dollars going to LGBTIQ+ community groups.
As a result, these groups are working with tiny budgets and inadequate resources to address the ongoing needs of LGBTIQ+ people in Australia.
General Manager of Community and Social Investments at Perpetual Limited and Director at The Channel, Caitriona Fay, explained why this is an issue:
"LGBTIQ+ communities experience homelessness at almost double the rate of the general population, they are more likely to endure bullying and exclusion at school, where discrimination against LGBTIQ+ students and teachers on the basis of religion is still sanctioned, and harmful practices like gay conversion therapy are still occurring legally in many states," she said.
"All of these things can have a significant impact on educational and ultimately life outcomes of people who are LGBTIQ+.
"With LGBTIQ+ communities making up an estimated 11 per cent of our population, our failure to support better outcomes for them means we miss an opportunity to have real impact in fighting homelessness, improving education outcomes, supporting human rights and building healthy and thriving communities."
The Channel is now calling on funding institutions and the general public to step up and participate in giveOUTday—Australia’s first-ever national day of giving to LGBTIQ+ communities. With $35,000+ set aside for donation matching, The Channel and partners, Reichstein Foundation and Masto Foundation, will be matching donations dollar for dollar. Head to giveoutday.org.au to donate now or register your LGBTIQ+ community group or project.
The Funding to LGBTIQ+ Causes in Australia report was produced as a result of the inaugural collaboration between OurCommunity’s Innovation Lab and community partner, The Channel. OurCommunity recognised the community sector’s lack of capacity to use big data to pursue its mission, and more great projects like this are on the horizon for their Data Science team.
See the full Funding to LGBTIQ+ Causes in Australia report here.
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