New Churchill report: How Australia can build community-led, resilient funding for LGBTIQ+ equality, inclusion and safety
From: Our CEO, Em Scott
Quicklinks:
Register for a briefing:
Sign up for the Sweat with Pride campaign, and get your workplace to sign up as a team
Make a tax-deductible donation to Rainbow Giving Australia
Help inspire community giving via matched funding (email em@rainbowgiving.org.au)
Sign up for future updates on this report
About
I’m excited to share that my Churchill Fellowship report Resourcing LGBTIQ+ Futures is now available.
In 2024, I applied for a Churchill Fellowship to explore what Australia could learn from the US and UK about increasing philanthropic funding for LGBTIQ+ communities.
By the time of my travels in late 2025, the global context had shifted sharply. Democratic backsliding, escalating politicisation, and rollbacks of hard-won gains created new pressures on the LGBTIQ+ sector, while institutional funding that had previously appeared stable began to retreat, just as it was needed most.
At a time when the LGBTIQ+ funding playbook was being edited — if not rewritten — my question evolved to: How can Australia build a community-led, resilient funding model for LGBTIQ+ equality, inclusion, and safety?
Over six weeks, I met with around 50 people across LGBTIQ+ and philanthropic sectors. Despite challenging circumstances, I heard many stories of generosity and resilience, and strong reasons for hope. Funders stayed the course, organisations adapted and collaborated, and community joy kept coming up as a practice of survival.
“Australia should interpret the lessons from this report as both a warning, to prepare and build resilience, as well as a real opportunity to forge a path that “meets the moment” and positions us as a global leader in LGBTIQ+ equality, generosity, and social cohesion.”
Who is this report for
The heart of this report is translating what I heard in these meetings to the Australian context. While this report contains insights relevant for anyone interested in strengthening democracy, civil society, and equality for all, the primary audience is:
The Australian LGBTIQ+ sector, to identify practical strategies to strengthen sustainability, improve impact, and prepare for an increasingly uncertain political (and therefore funding) environment.
Australia’s philanthropic ecosystem, to increase impact through more inclusive, intersectional, sustainable, and community-led approaches.
What this means for Australia
Australia should interpret the lessons from this report as both a warning, to prepare and build resilience, as well as a real opportunity to forge a path that meets the moment and positions us as a global leader in LGBTIQ+ equality, generosity, and social cohesion.
The LGBTIQ+ sector has repeatedly shown throughout history — from HIV responses (since 1980s) to marriage equality (2017) and hate-crime law reform (2025) — that it can meet any challenge, and turn limited resources into outsized impact, through effective community leadership and mobilisation, resilience, creativity, and advocacy.
What excites me most is the opportunity to grow individual giving and inspire LGBTIQ+ communities to give back to their ‘chosen family’. LGBTIQ+-led funders like Rainbow Giving Australia are uniquely placed to drive this growth, mobilising donations and building community-owned assets that can support our sector through an uncertain political and funding environment. Our recently awarded DGR1 Community Charity Trust status strengthens our ability to make this happen.
Key takeaways
Rights are precarious: LGBTIQ+ rights are precarious, and hard-won progress can be reversed faster than we expect. Sustained resourcing matters even during periods of apparent progress.
Diversify funding: Institutional funding is no longer dependable on its own. Diversification is now a core resilience strategy, not a nice-to-have.
Grow individual giving: Individual giving, especially legacy giving, is one of the most resilient and scalable long-term pathways to resource LGBTIQ+ communities. It is also a powerful way for communities to invest in their ‘chosen family’.
LGBTIQ+ community-led funders are essential: LGBTIQ+ community-led funders like Rainbow Giving Australia are stabilisers for the whole sector. They build community-owned assets that can support our sector through an uncertain political and funding environment, and move resources where they are most needed.
Network leadership multiplies impact: Network leadership and coordination can unlock impact even in scarcity, including by mobilising collective assets beyond money.
How you can help now
Register for a briefing:
Sign up for the Sweat with Pride campaign, and get your workplace to sign up as a team
Make a tax-deductible donation to Rainbow Giving Australia
Help inspire community giving via matched funding (email em@rainbowgiving.org.au)
Sign up for future updates on this report
Thank you
From sitting down with representatives from some of the world's largest foundations and LGBTIQ+ organisations, to meeting with community philanthropy fellows from across the world, to attending the Outright conference in New York and meeting with global LGBTIQ+ leaders, to being in NYC for the Mamdani election and New York City Marathon in one weekend. This was an incredible experience.
This Fellowship has been an extraordinary privilege, and it was made possible by the generosity of many people. Thank you to the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, Rainbow Giving Australia, and to everyone who met with me. Thank you for your candour and generous insights, often under challenging circumstances. As a result of this Fellowship, I feel connected to an inspiring and tenacious global community of advocates, practitioners, and funders.
To the queer elders: the rebels, dolls, dykes, and all the rainbow visionaries whose legacy teaches us how to advocate, dream, protest, care, party, and love. This is for you.
With pride,
Em Scott
CEO, Rainbow Giving Australia
