The most pro-LGBTQ federal administration in U.S. history prioritized LGBTQ protections from day one, several states extended protections to their LGBTQ citizens through interpretation of the Supreme Court’s Bostock ruling, and governors in the Midwest stepped up to limit the discredited practice of conversion therapy.
Still, opponents of LGBTQ equality launched an aggressive, coordinated effort to advance anti-LGBTQ policies and narratives in the states, reminding us of the challenges and work ahead. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, a case challenging the constitutional right to an abortion – with concerning implications for LGBTQ rights as well.
The Gill Foundation went through an exciting transition when Scott Miller, our former co-chair, stepped down from his position to accept President Biden’s nomination to serve as Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein in December 2021.
Gill Foundation grantees leveraged decades of work building relationships, educating the public and decision-makers, and advocating for the LGBTQ community in court to help advance protections for more than 1.8 million LGBTQ Americans. Scroll right to learn more.
On President Biden’s first day in office, he extended the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bostock ruling across the federal government through executive order, protecting approximately 129,600 LGBTQ people from discrimination in federal employment.
Nearly 1.5 million more LGBTQ people in Florida, Kentucky, and Ohio are now protected through the application of Bostock to the interpretation of their states’ nondiscrimination laws.
Following robust legal and public education campaigns by GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders and National Center for Lesbian Rights, the Biden administration repealed the ban on transgender people serving in the military, allowing approximately 15,000 to openly serve their country again.
Photo courtesy of Alyssa Schukar, The New York Times.
State grantees in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin worked with their governors to pass administrative policies that banned or restricted the cruel and discredited practice of conversion therapy, protecting more than 187,000 LGBTQ youth.
Gill Foundation grantees were instrumental in advancing the conversation about lived and legal equality for all LGBTQ Americans – from the halls of Congress, to the world of tech, to the C-suites of business.
In the midst of steadfast public education efforts and growing support for nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people, the Equality Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives in a bipartisan vote for the second time. And in a series of firsts, Stella Keating became the first transgender teen to testify in front of the Senate when the Equality Act received its first-ever hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Teens like Stella and the Champions at grantee GenderCool are receiving national attention for their grace, optimism, and vision for a country where all are treated equally under the law.
To slow and prevent the harmful spread of misinformation about LGBTQ people online, grantee GLAAD launched a first-ever baseline industry standard for LGBTQ safety on social media, which found that all platforms are unsafe for LGBTQ users and identified 22 policy recommendations for improvement. The report sparked immediate changes, including Twitter adding explicit protections for LGBTQ users to its content policy and TikTok addressing misgendering in its internal content moderation guide.
Grantees like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce know that LGBTQ equality is good for business, and they were essential in engaging small and midsize business leaders to further grow support for LGBTQ nondiscrimination. These efforts led to activating more than 400 businesses to support nondiscrimination protections.
As schools moved back from online to in-school learning, mindSpark Learning worked to meet the fresh demand for computer science and robotics training. In 2021, mindSpark trained 455 teachers from 358 schools in 128 districts – reaching 81,400 students.
81,400The Colorado Office of Financial Empowerment was officially established in 2021, providing momentum to create a safer financial ecosystem. Stakeholders also hosted a kick-off for the Bank On Colorado program, which will provide nearly 990,000 unbanked or underbanked Coloradans access to low-cost services and products to meet their basic financial needs.
ACCESS FORTo help address continued COVID response and recovery efforts, our support to Care and Share Food Banks of Southern Colorado and Food Bank of the Rockies in 2021 provided more than 1.5 million meals to Coloradans in need.
1.5 MILLION| 1) Grants & Programs | 81% | $14,666,678 |
| 2) Management & General | 8% | $1,506,496 |
| 3) Grants Administration | 11% | $2,010,822 |
| Total | $18,183,996 |
| Grants & Programs | $14,666,678 |
| Management & General | $1,506,496 |
| Grants Administration | $2,010,822 |
| Total Operating and Grant Making Expenses | $18,183,996 |
| Cash | $2,340,815 |
| Property and Equipment | $2,026,333 |
| Investments | $222,164,797 |
| Other Assets | $577,718 |
| Total Assets | $227,109,663 |
| Liabilities | $2,806,326 |
| Net Assets | $224,303,337 |
| Total Liabilities and Net Assets | $227,109,663 |