In the historic Obergefell v. Hodges ruling in June 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court found bans on marriage equality unconstitutional and that marriage is a fundamental right for all. To put this monumental victory for LGBTQ people in context, let’s rewind to 12 years ago.
The LGBTQ movement suffered a startling setback in the wake of securing equal marriage in Massachusetts. Among the 2004 wreckage, voters in 13 states banned same-sex marriage, bringing the number of states with such amendments to 17. A Pew research poll found that 61 percent of the U.S. population opposed same-sex marriage. This was a debilitating defeat for our community and it appeared only a small fraction of the population would ever have their same-sex relationships recognized under the law.
Around that same time, with the law and public opinion seemingly at odds with social justice, the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund became the first foundation to publicly support marriage equality as a major priority. They made a $2.5 million investment into Freedom to Marry’s national campaign for marriage equality. And in the few years since that initial gift, their insight about marriage equality has helped to deliver profound positive change and has provided equally profound lessons on effective grantmaking.
In the years leading up to the Supreme Court marriage ruling, nearly every large LGBTQ organization began working on marriage and hundreds of millions were spent in support of the issue ($44.1 million in California against Proposition 8 alone). In the same short period of time, public support turned in favor of marriage, and roughly 60 percent now support same-sex marriage.
The outpouring of resources and public support that energized the movement was not happenstance. Like many social movements, our LGBTQ movement owes much to the relatively few foundations that stood up for the fledgling initiative and made big bets on smart strategy. To that end, much credit is due to the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund. Their support came at a time when few would publically support marriage equality, let alone put money behind it.
Due to the investment by the Haas, Jr. Fund and others, our community was able to study why we were losing at the ballot box. Studies showed that to change the public opinion on marriage, we needed to change our messaging and communicate our shared values: love, family and commitment. These findings led the movement to portray itself in a new light and win dramatic gains in public support.
The Haas, Jr. Fund ultimately contributed $39 million to marriage equality and inspired other funders to contribute to the cause. Leading advocates credited the fund’s trailblazing support for the state-by-state and then national movement as pivotal in achieving our Supreme Court victory. Their investment paid off. And they aren’t finished.
Social change can move fast, but it can also take generations. Although marriage equality was achieved relatively quickly, history is replete with examples of religion being manipulated to provide a “moral” cover story for the most appalling actions. Recently our community has seen a swift and dramatic backlash from those who use “religious liberty” to take liberties with faith and cherished constitutional rights, all in the cause of legalizing discrimination. More than 100 of these anti-LGBTQ laws were introduced in state and local legislatures in 2015 alone. This tactic from the opponents of equality has done immense harm to the LGBTQ community, and it is time for the LGBTQ community to reclaim faith.
The Haas, Jr. Fund recognized early the fallacy and dangers of the “God vs. Gays” divide advocated by our opponents. In fact, “coming out” can be a profoundly spiritual journey. The Haas, Jr. Fund is one of the first foundations to focus on turning faith and religion into one of our community’s most valuable assets, investing in mobilizing LGBTQ and allied people of faith. Its support has been critical to the Task Force’s ability to build a vibrant, faith-based network for LGBTQ equality that will continue to shift public opinion and increase support for LGBTQ people of faith and against broad religious exemption legislation. With the Haas, Jr. Fund, our Faith Organizing program works to ensure that needs, expertise and resources of faith communities are respected and well-integrated into larger state-wide efforts.
Philanthropy is in a unique position in that their ability to make big bets can raise awareness and give legitimacy to otherwise invisible opportunities. Philanthropy is well-suited to work within the movement-building field, but it is an opportunity that many funders are not seizing. For example, Bridgespan Group reports that 80 percent of the country’s biggest givers articulate a powerful social change goal as a primary philanthropic objective. However, only a modest proportion of their biggest philanthropic gifts are focused on these types of social change initiatives. Between 2000 and 2012, only 20 percent of their giving was social change giving. The other 80 percent of large gifts largely went to institutional giving, primarily to schools, hospitals and cultural institutions.
We readily admit that making big bets on social change is a hard process that is often painful. They require a great deal of patience, trust and profound vision. For that, the Task Force is thankful for partners like the Haas, Jr. Fund. Our partnership is largely based on trust, and trust has been shown to almost always be the most important currency of any big bet. It has required the Haas, Jr. Fund to know us thoroughly and deeply; a relationship built over years. This kind of ongoing relational support is necessary because it may take years, if not decades, to see a gift’s full effects.
Sustained trust and longevity can give nonprofits and movements flexibility to experiment, fail, reflect, build on success and seize “movement moments” when the time is right. Such understanding is how philanthropy can serve movement building in a way that utilizes its resources to address systemic issues most effectively, respectfully and responsibly.
It is a rare gift to find funders who are unequivocally committed to challenging the pervasive negative attitudes toward society’s most marginalized groups. The Haas, Jr. Fund is one of those treasures that prove that philanthropy can play a key role in transforming social movements – and thus the world.
We wholeheartedly congratulate the Haas, Jr. Fund for its 2016 Impact Award and for achieving what so many initially thought was impossible.
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Image by Elvert Barnes, used under Creative Commons license.
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