Community Issues Funding Program

Our flagship funding program, Community Issues, provides general-operating and project-specific grants in support of the LGBTQ community in the nine counties of the SF Bay Area, where our community still faces significant challenges, according to our 2018 LGBTQ Community Needs Assessment. Horizons invests in organizations and projects that create a world where all LGBTQ people live freely and fully.

To create the LGBTQ COVID-19 Response Emergency Fund, Horizons needed to reallocate a significant portion of funds originally earmarked for the 2020 Community Issues grant cycle. The remaining funds available for the 2020 Community Issues RFP came from Horizons’ regranting partnerships with other foundations, and these partnerships came with a specific funding focus on arts and culture.

The below information about eligibility and process is focused on the modified Community Issues cycle for 2020. Information about Community Issues in 2021 will be announced later this year. We are not accepting applications at this time.

We awarded over $400,000 to our grantee partners in our 2019 Community Issues cycle.

Meet 2019 Grantee Partners

Grantee partner Our Space

Grantee partner Oasis Legal Services

Funding Areas

Arts and Culture

Eligibility

Be a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization, or provide documentation that the organization is fiscally sponsored by an organization that has 501(c)(3) status
Be either an LGBTQ-primary organization (defined as an organization whose mission includes the LGBTQ population as the primary focus of the work; whose staff and board predominantly reflect the LGBTQ community; and which primarily serves LGBTQ people) focused on performance arts; a non-LGBTQ-primary organization seeking funding for an LGBTQ-specific performance arts program/project; or an LGBTQ artist seeking funding for an LGBTQ-specific performance art piece that is fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
Request support for an organization or program/project within one or more of these counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma. Priority will be given to applicants outside of San Francisco, Oakland, or Berkeley.

Please note that the following are not eligible for support:

Requests for costs incurred prior to the date of the grant award
Requests from government agencies
Requests for capital support, including construction and renovation
Fundraising event sponsorship (see our Community Event Sponsorship Program)
Projects that directly benefit an individual (performance art is considered a collaborative art and is therefore eligible)

Proposal Process

1. Learn more

First, read our proposal guidelines. Especially if you are a first-time applicant or at a non-LGBTQ primary organization, watch our introductory webinar and read through the slides.

2. complete Proposal

Address all sections of the proposal and submit application via email to grants [at] horizonsfoundation.org. We are not accepting applications at this time.

3. review and notification

Proposals are reviewed by staff and a community panel, and funding decisions will be announced afterward.

Read Proposal Guidelines

Download Application

Questions? Interested in discussing a potential proposal? Contact us at grants [at] horizonsfoundation.org.