Top Reasons Queer People Aren’t Giving You Money
Dear nonprofits and fundraisers,
The LGBTQIA+ communities are an extremely loyal bunch. That is, when you can get them to trust you. Of course, any donor is going to want to trust the nonprofit to which they donate any size gift, but for Queer people, it’s a bit more nuanced than that. Let’s break it down nice and easy:
LGBTQIA+ people are majority underserved and underpaid
This first one starts off easy, because it’s not about you. The LGBTQIA+ communities are vastly underserved and underpaid. They make an average of 90 cents per dollar compared to their hetereosexual colleagues (and that disparity is greater for Transgender people and people of color). On top of that, they are an intersection of more underserved and underpaid communities like Transgender people, people of color, and people with disabilities, among others.
This puts them at a disadvantage to enjoy the luxuries of donating money to support a mission that they care about, because they are often trying to just get by. When you think about fundraising from LGBTQIA+ donors, you must take this into consideration with immense amounts of sensitivity.
Granted, there are wealthy Queer people or Queer people who can afford to simply give a little every year off the top. But, as fundraisers, we know that just because someone is wealthy, doesn’t make them the right prospect for your mission. Let’s chat about a few reasons why…You don’t serve LGBTQIA+ people
This one is pretty plain – your organization doesn’t serve the LGBTQIA+ communities. And I want to mention here that I’m using communities, plural, with an “IES” because of the many intersections and communities within the broader community. To pin down the LGBTQIA+ community to a single group should be considered impossible because we are all so different and our needs vary drastically (though we do share similarities).
But you’re not serving them at your organization. And this could be as simple as your mission simply doesn’t directly serve them, like the Humane Society, or climate change. Those missions don’t mention equity for LGBTQIA+ people. And they don’t have to. Those organizations serve everyone who loves animals and the Earth, which includes the LGBTQIA+ community, so it’s your job to make that connection with them.
It’s very common for Queer people to support our own, largely because we’ve been doing that for a really long time (read: HIV/AIDS crisis). It’s not that we don’t want to support puppies or disaster relief because we don’t believe in those missions, but there are a ton of other people who do support them and not a ton of people supporting LGBTQIA+ issues.
If you want Queer people to support your non-queer mission, your case for support needs to be both 1) urgent and 2) make a connection.You don’t show LGBTQIA+ people
What do I mean by that?? Show them what? Show them at all! You don’t contribute to the visibility of LGBTQIA+ people. You don’t include them in your marketing, you don’t include them in your staff or in your board (more details below on those), and you avoid any conversation on the topic of LGBTQIA+ people because it would be “too controversial” or it “doesn’t affect us.”
Well, it does affect you, and human rights shouldn’t be considered controversial. When more organizations are willing (and courageous enough, though I hate thinking of it like that), to make a stance with integrity and authenticity, LGBTQIA+ people notice and it makes a difference.
The simple fact is, if Queer people don’t see themselves in your mission, your organization, your progams, or your general efforts, they are going to see any sort of attempt to raise money or profit off them as tokenism and performative. Do better!You don’t have Queer staff
Like I mentioned, this is a serious problem. You want to serve LGBTQIA+ people but don’t have Queer people to run your programs? Who is making the decisions about the LGBTQIA+ programs? Good intentions only go so far, and the missing distance is like an eye sore to the LGBTQIA+ community – they will notice, and they will stay away.
You have to also consider what this says about your culture – is it even LGBTQIA+ friendly? Do you even know where to “find” Queer people? You need to take a close look at your employee culture and make some changes, and you can do so with the help of my previous blog post “Am I Ready to Hire Queer Here?”You don’t pay Queer people
Beyond just paying Queer staff, what about Queer consultants, performers, artists, contractors, trainers? This is a nice intersection of showing LGBTQIA+ people and paying them – because when you do pay them, this shows that 1) you are capable of finding and working with Queer people, 2) you are willing to show them on all levels in your organization (representation matters!), 3) they are willing to work with you – it goes both ways! – and 4) you allow them to make decisions within your organizations and you even listen to them!
Integrating them into the very fabric of your organization will be difficult and slow at first, but once you break through the ice, it will start to happen naturally and you won’t even notice it at some point.You don’t have Queer board members
If you want to raise money from Queer people, serve the LGBTQIA+ communities, or make any sort of decision that affects LGBTQIA+ people in your community, you absolutely need Queer people on your board. No exceptions. Point blank, period.
I talk about this extensively in a previous blog post (“How to Queer Your Board”), but the simple fact is: straight people should not be making decisions about LGBTQIA+ policies and programs and initiatives. Like I said, good intentions only go so far, but you need people who understand and relate to the community from inside the home in order to create effective change and impact – for good!You lack LGBTQIA+ cultural competency
This one is broad and could be a very large blanket that covers every single reason prior to this one. If you are a non-queer, majority straight-led organization, you simply won’t understand a lot of the history, nuances, rules, and information regarding any part of the LGBTQIA+ community.
You need to train your board, your staff – especially your executives and senior leadership, as well as community-facing employees – on basic comprehension of working with and living in the LGBTQIA+ communities. Cultural context is complicated and always changing, and so it is your responsibility to start, and don’t stop. Keep going. Keep learning. It will pay off.
Learn about Queer For Hire’s LGBTQIA+ Cultural Competency Trainings <here>.You aren’t asking them for money
These last two reasons are unrelated to your understanding of LGBTQIA+ cultural competency, phew! This one applies to any donor of any level and background – you just aren’t asking them for money. And maybe this is because you don’t know any Queer people, or you are scared of them, or you don’t know where to find any.
In order to ask them for money, you first need to understand where to find them, how to involve them in your mission, how to ask them (there are some key nuances to understand!), how to show them your gratitude, and how to keep them around for long-term sustainability and legacy planning. Luckily for you, you can download my Video Class on this exact topic (“Get Q’d In: Advance Your Mission By Engaging LGBTQIA+ Donors”) to start your journey today.You aren’t cultivating them properly
Asking Queer people for money may not be the best first thing to do when you want to ask them for money. Weird, right? For starters, maybe you have a lot of work to do based on this list, maybe you have one or two things to work on, (and you should absolutely work on those things before you are ready to ask LGBTQIA+ donors for money!) but what I mean here is maybe they aren’t ready to be asked.
Consider other ways to engage Queer people that don’t involve asking them for money. Earn their trust. Build a relationship with them. Understand their motivations and desires. Make them a part of your community. If you need support in cultivating this sort of connection, refer to my other blog post “8 Ways to Engage Queer People That Don’t Involve Asking For Money” or download the Video Class on the exact topic that dives deeper <here>.
Whew! You made it! That means you really want to take this seriously. Good for you! This list isn’t meant to scare you away from fundraising or serving the LGBTQIA+ communities – you absolutely NEED to do both. But if you’re wondering “Where is the Gay Money?!” then hopefully this list helps you begin the journey to reflect and dissect what you could be doing differently.
We WANT to support your mission. You just need to do a little better first.
Sincerely,
Queers
Queer For Hire provides fundraising support and LGBTQIA+ diversity training for nonprofits, professionals, and corporations.
Learn about our Fundraising Services <here> – we’ll lead or support your fundraising efforts, whether you need general support or want to focus on raising money from and for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Learn about our Fundraising Trainings <here> – we can coach your board, staff, and fundraising team on how to fundraise and how to engage LGBTQIA+ donors.
Learn about our other services <here> or our resources <here>.
