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Horizons Foundation

Annual Giving
$7.6M
Grant Range
$3K - $0.1M
Decision Time
1mo

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $7.6 million (2023)
  • Total Assets: $67 million+
  • Decision Time: Approximately 1 month from deadline
  • Grant Range: $2,500 - $100,000 (varies by programme)
  • Geographic Focus: Nine-county San Francisco Bay Area

Contact Details

Website: https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/
Email: grants@horizonsfoundation.org
Address: 155 Sansome St Ste 650, San Francisco, CA 94104-3605
EIN: 94-2686530

Overview

Founded in 1980, Horizons Foundation is the world's first community foundation of, by, and for LGBTQ people. With total assets exceeding $67 million, Horizons awarded $7.6 million in grants to LGBTQ non-profits in 2023, supporting 776 organisations through 1,380 grants. Under President Roger Doughty's leadership since 2002, the foundation has dramatically expanded its grantmaking capacity and assets. Horizons operates with a participatory grantmaking model where community experts deeply inform funding decisions. The foundation received a Four-Star rating from Charity Navigator in 2023, demonstrating excellence in financial management and programme delivery. Horizons' strategic focus centres on doubling annual community grantmaking while prioritising six populations with the greatest needs: transgender people, LGBTQ people of colour, bisexual people, LGBTQ youth, LGBTQ elders, and LGBTQ refugees and asylees.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programmes

Community Issues Funding Program (Flagship programme)

  • 2024: Up to $20,000 per grant (awarded $753,372 to 44 organisations)
  • General operating support and project-specific grants
  • 45% of grants are multi-year awards
  • Application method: Letter of Interest (LOI) followed by invitation to full proposal

Trans POC Initiative

  • Up to $100,000 per year for up to three years
  • Multi-year, transformative infrastructure grants
  • 2024 recipients: Miss Major Alexander L. Lee TGIJP Black Trans Cultural Center, El/La Para TransLatinas, The Transgender District, Lavender Phoenix
  • Total commitment: $1 million over three years

Safety and Security Fund

  • Maximum award: $2,500
  • Rapid response small grants programme
  • Decision within 10 business days of completed application
  • Addresses anti-LGBTQ threats and hate crimes

Donor Engagement Program

  • Spring 2024: $52,000 to 13 organisations
  • Fall 2024: $60,000 to 11 organisations
  • Supports fundraising activities for larger LGBTQ organisations

Priority Areas

Horizons funds vital work across diverse service areas including:

  • Youth services
  • Advocacy and civil rights
  • Arts and culture
  • Community building and leadership
  • Health and human services
  • HIV/AIDS services
  • Transgender rights
  • Communities of colour initiatives

Strategic Priority Populations (six populations with greatest needs):

  1. Transgender people
  2. LGBTQ people of colour
  3. Bisexual people
  4. LGBTQ youth
  5. LGBTQ elders
  6. LGBTQ refugees and asylees

What They Don't Fund

  • Organisations located outside the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma counties)
  • Organisations without 501(c)(3) status or documented fiscal sponsorship
  • Private foundations (Section 509(a))
  • Repair costs for damages occurring before the date of an anti-LGBTQ incident (Safety and Security Fund specific)

Governance and Leadership

Key Leadership

Roger Doughty, President/Executive Director (Since 2002)
Native of Chicago, attended Williams College, earned JD and MPP from UC Berkeley. Previously executive director of Chicago-based Horizons Community Services. Served as president of the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance in Washington, D.C. Doughty announced his planned retirement from the role, effective November 2026.

Key Quote from Doughty: "A moral vision is essential, but it only takes Horizons and our community so far. Our movement, our community, needs a strategy that answers this chronic funding shortage for the whole community for the long term."

On Trans POC Initiative: "Trans-led organisations are a vital part of the vibrant and diverse LGBTQ community, and this initiative reflects our deep commitment to ensuring not just the survival, but the strength of these organisations."

On legacy giving opportunity: "Today's LGBTQ community, especially right here in the Bay Area, is the single-best legacy giving demographic in human history."

Senior Staff

  • Amie - Chief Financial Officer
  • Francisco - Vice President of Grants, Programs, and Communications
  • Jeremy Rye - Chief Philanthropy Officer
  • Joshua Delfin - Senior Program Officer

Key Quote from Joshua Delfin: "These grant awards strengthen our LGBTQ community by providing essential funding to support their ongoing work."

Board Members

  • Linda Scaparotti, Esq. - Owner, Law Offices of Linda M. Scaparotti, one of the longest-standing firms devoted to the LGBT community in the San Francisco Bay Area
  • Chris Lim - Founder, Climb Real Estate
  • Kathryn Clubb - Chief Executive Officer, BTS
  • Dr. Shilpen Patel - Executive Medical Director, Mirati Therapeutics
  • Nadir Joshua - Chief of Staff, Atlassian Customer Engineering
  • Kathleen Quenneville - Non-profit Volunteer, Donor and Activist

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

Community Issues Program:

  1. Submit a Letter of Interest (LOI) through the online portal
  2. If approved, receive invitation to submit full proposal
  3. Applications accepted only when grant cycle is open

Eligibility Requirements:

  • 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status or documented fiscal sponsorship by a 501(c)(3) organisation
  • Based in one or more of the nine SF Bay Area counties
  • LGBTQ-primary organisations of any budget size, OR LGBTQ-focused programmes with annual programme budgets of $1 million or less from non-LGBTQ-primary organisations

Application Cycles: Contact grants@horizonsfoundation.org for current cycle information

Safety and Security Fund: Rolling basis with rapid response

Decision Timeline

  • Spring Cycle: Grant decisions made in late May
  • Fall Cycle: Grant decisions made in late November; notification in early December
  • Application to Decision: Approximately 1 month
  • Safety and Security Fund: Notification within 10 business days of completed application

Success Rates

Specific success rate data is not publicly available. However, context indicates:

  • 2024: 44 organisations received Community Issues grants from $753,372 available
  • Foundation maintains "Open Door" policy welcoming applications from a wide range of LGBTQ non-profits
  • Multi-year funding approach: 45% of all grants funded in recent cycle were multi-year awards

Reapplication Policy

Specific reapplication policy for unsuccessful applicants is not publicly documented. Organisations are encouraged to contact grants@horizonsfoundation.org for guidance on reapplication.

Application Success Factors

What Horizons Values (Foundation-Specific Guidance)

Community-Led Organisations: Horizons emphasises "supporting organisations that are based in their community and led by LGBTQ people." The foundation proudly reaffirms its commitment as a community foundation to an "Open Door" policy.

Priority Population Alignment: Applications serving the six strategic priority populations (transgender people, LGBTQ people of colour, bisexual people, LGBTQ youth, LGBTQ elders, and LGBTQ refugees and asylees) align with the foundation's strategic plan to address populations with "the greatest and most disproportionate needs."

Trust-Based Philanthropy: Horizons practices trust-based philanthropy with a systems-based grantmaking model reflecting commitment to sustainability, equity, and responsive support for the SF Bay Area LGBTQ non-profit ecosystem.

General Operating Support Preference: The foundation favours general operating support grants for LGBTQ-primary organisations, recognising that unrestricted funding provides organisational flexibility.

Participatory Grantmaking: Community reviewers guide award decisions. Applications are evaluated through a participatory grantmaking process where community experts and partners deeply inform funding decisions.

Successful Grantee Examples

2024 Community Issues recipients demonstrate the range of work Horizons supports:

  • LGBTQ Connection: Queer youth-focused programme for Napa and Sonoma County residents
  • LGBT Asylum Project: San Francisco's only organisation exclusively dedicated to legal representation for LGBTQ asylum seekers
  • Castro Country Club: Safe and sober community centre for people recovering from addiction

Strategic Context to Understand

Funding Gap Reality: According to the 2019-2020 Funders for LGBTQ Issues Tracking Report, LGBTQ non-profits receive just $0.23 of every $100 awarded in U.S. foundation grants. This context informs Horizons' commitment to expanding resources.

Growing Investment: Horizons is actively increasing grant amounts year-over-year (from $15,000 maximum in 2023 to $20,000 in 2024), demonstrating commitment to meaningful support.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Geographic Requirement is Strict: Your organisation must be based in one of the nine SF Bay Area counties (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma). No exceptions are made.

  • LGBTQ-Led Organisations Have Advantage: Horizons explicitly prioritises organisations "based in the community and led by LGBTQ people" with an "Open Door" policy. Highlight LGBTQ leadership in your application.

  • Align With Priority Populations: Applications serving transgender people, LGBTQ people of colour, bisexual people, LGBTQ youth, LGBTQ elders, or LGBTQ refugees and asylees align with the foundation's strategic priorities for doubling grantmaking.

  • Multi-Year Funding is Increasingly Available: With 45% of recent grants being multi-year, organisations should position themselves for longer-term partnerships rather than viewing Horizons as one-time support.

  • Start With Letter of Interest: The two-stage process (LOI then full proposal) means your initial letter must be compelling enough to secure an invitation. Focus on clearly articulating community need and your organisation's unique capacity to address it.

  • Consider Multiple Programmes: Beyond Community Issues, explore whether your organisation qualifies for Trans POC Initiative (up to $300,000 total over three years), Safety and Security Fund (rapid response), or Donor Engagement Program.

  • General Operating Support Available: If you're an LGBTQ-primary organisation, request general operating support rather than limiting yourself to project-specific funding. Horizons values organisational sustainability.

References

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