Funders for LGBTQ Issues, a group that advocates for institutional funding of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities, has released the 2012 Tracking Report: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Grantmaking by U.S. Foundations. Released in late 2013, the report indicated that domestic foundation funding for LGBTQ issues exceeded $100 million for the first time, while overall LGBTQ funding was largely stable in 2012.

The report is the most comprehensive study of its kind, capturing data on 4,068 grants awarded by 399 foundations in order to identify gaps, trends and opportunities in  LGBTQ philanthropy.

The study reported that foundation funding of LGBTQ issues totaled $121.4 million in 2012. This represents a slight decrease from the 2011 record high of $123 million, which is attributed to a temporary pause in LGBTQ funding’s overall trajectory of rapid expansion in recent years.

With this year’s report, the substance and format has been revamped to maximize its usefulness for the philanthropic field and the LGBTQ movement. Here are some of the key findings:

• The top five funders in 2012 were: anonymous donors, Ford Foundation, Gill Foundation, Arcus Foundation and the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, which collectively provided 45 percent of all LGBTQ funding for the year.
• Corporate funders increased their grants by 26 percent; public funders increased their grants by 20 percent.
• Children and youth were the top-funded subpopulation in the United States, receiving $20.4 million in funding.
• Twenty-five percent of recipient organizations in the  U.S. were not exclusively LGBTQ-focused; the other 75 percent were.
• New York received $11.7 million, the most local and statewide funding of any state.
• International funding for LGBTQ issues totaled $20.2  million in 2012, down from the record high of $27  million in 2011.
• Refugees, asylees and migrants were the top-funded  subpopulation for international funding, receiving  $3.4 million.
• Of funding devoted to international LGBTQ issues, 43 percent — or $8.8 million — went to organizations based in the U.S. The second most-funded region was Sub-Saharan Africa, which secured $3.4 million.

“This report documents how funders are responding to a range of issues and needs in LGBT communities, from marriage equality and gender identity rights to safe schools and HIV/AIDS,” said Ben Francisco Maulbeck, president of Funders for LGBTQ Issues. “It also helps us identify gaps and serves as a barometer for our progress toward engaging more funders in LGBTQ issues.”