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Horizons Foundation

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

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 program)
  • 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 nonprofits in 2023, supporting 776 organizations 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 program delivery. Horizons' strategic focus centers on doubling annual community grantmaking while prioritizing six populations with the greatest needs: transgender people, LGBTQ people of color, bisexual people, LGBTQ youth, LGBTQ elders, and LGBTQ refugees and asylees.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Community Issues Funding Program (Flagship program)

  • 2024: Up to $20,000 per grant (awarded $753,372 to 44 organizations)
  • 2025: Expected average of $25,000-$30,000 per grant
  • 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 program
  • Decision within 10 business days of completed application
  • Addresses anti-LGBTQ threats and hate crimes

Donor Engagement Program

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

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 color initiatives

Strategic Priority Populations (six populations with greatest needs):

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

What They Don't Fund

  • Organizations located outside the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma counties)
  • Organizations 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. Helped found The (LGBT) Center on Halstead in Chicago and served as president of the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance in Washington, D.C. Recently celebrated his 20th anniversary with the foundation.

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 organizations 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 organizations."

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
  • Tracy - Chief Philanthropic 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 - Real estate entrepreneur, former President of Christie's International Real Estate
  • Kathryn Club - Head of Change and Transformation at BTS
  • Dr. Shilpen Patel - Radiation oncologist and researcher at Mirati Therapeutics
  • Nadir - Previously Board President of Frameline
  • Kathleen - Completed director certification programs from National Association of Corporate Directors and UCLA's Anderson School of Management

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) organization
  • Based in one or more of the nine SF Bay Area counties
  • For 2025: LGBTQ-primary organizations of any budget size, OR LGBTQ-focused programs with annual program budgets of $1 million or less from non-LGBTQ-primary organizations

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 organizations received Community Issues grants from $753,372 available
  • Foundation maintains "Open Door" policy welcoming applications from a wide range of LGBTQ nonprofits
  • 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. Organizations are encouraged to contact grants@horizonsfoundation.org for guidance on reapplication.

Application Success Factors

What Horizons Values (Foundation-Specific Guidance)

Community-Led Organizations: Horizons emphasizes "supporting organizations 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 color, 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 nonprofit ecosystem.

General Operating Support Preference: The foundation favors general operating support grants for LGBTQ-primary organizations, recognizing that unrestricted funding provides organizational 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 program for Napa and Sonoma County residents
  • LGBT Asylum Project: San Francisco's only organization exclusively dedicated to legal representation for LGBTQ asylum seekers
  • Castro Country Club: Safe and sober community center for people recovering from addiction

Strategic Context to Understand

Funding Gap Reality: According to the 2019-2020 Funders for LGBTQ Issues Tracking Report, LGBTQ nonprofits 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, with projected $25,000-$30,000 average for 2025), demonstrating commitment to meaningful support.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Geographic Requirement is Strict: Your organization 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 Organizations Have Advantage: Horizons explicitly prioritizes organizations "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 color, 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, organizations 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 organization's unique capacity to address it.

  • Consider Multiple Programs: Beyond Community Issues, explore whether your organization 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 organization, request general operating support rather than limiting yourself to project-specific funding. Horizons values organizational sustainability.

References

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