A new report has revealed the devastating impact of the 2025 US funding cuts on LGBTIQ+ organisations and movements around the world, with almost half at risk of closure.
Breaking Point: The urgent need to invest in global LGBTIQ movements was released by Outright International on Thursday and is based on a survey of 229 LGBTIQ+ organisations in 94 countries, as well as 24 in-depth interviews.
Alarmingly, it found that 203 of the groups surveyed had lost funding, often hitting vulnerable LGBTIQ+ communities with the greatest needs the hardest.
Unprecedented US Funding Cuts Hit LGBTIQ+ Groups
Just hours after being sworn in as president in January 2025, Donald Trump issued an executive order immediately freezing US aid funding around the globe.
In South Africa and many other countries, LGBTIQ+ people and other key populations suddenly lost access to organisations they relied on for HIV prevention and treatment services.
By July, his administration had officially ended or drastically slashed funding for programmes including USAID, the Global Equality Fund, PEPFAR and others that had played a key role in supporting LGBTIQ+ groups and targeted HIV services for key populations in more than 100 countries.
In a media briefing for the release of the Breaking Point report, Neela Ghoshal, Senior Director of Law, Policy and Research at Outright International, said the cuts came at a particularly challenging time.
“The US has not been the only funder to walk away from or reduce its support for LGBTIQ movements during this period. Some other governments, corporations, and foundations have also pulled back,” she said.
“Organisations are working in a context of growing anti-gender organising, where the gains that we’ve achieved over the last several decades, which were already fragile, are increasingly at risk,” added Ghoshal.
Organisations Lost More Than Half Their Funding
According to the report, 49% of the organisations surveyed lost more than half of their total budget after the US funding cuts, while 75% lost more than a quarter.
It also highlighted that those most affected work in areas where needs are most urgent, living conditions are harshest and discrimination is most widespread.
Trans, non-binary and gender-diverse people (71%) and lesbian, bisexual and queer women (61%) were named most frequently among those bearing the deepest impacts.
Half of the organisations cut health services, with 45% reducing or discontinuing HIV prevention, treatment or care. Sixty-three percent can no longer respond to emergencies involving violence, arrests, displacement or urgent relocation.
Many organisations said they may not survive the next 12 months, with 40% describing themselves as at severe or immediate risk of closure. Only 3% described their organisation as stable.
“Much has already been lost. Shelters and offices have closed, specialized staff have been let go, and organizations describe community trust shaken by services they could no longer deliver,” say the authors.
LGBTIQ+ Movements Already Received a Fraction of Global Aid
The report notes that even before the funding cuts, LGBTIQ+ movements already received minimal funding from global funders.
Between 2023 and 2024, LGBTIQ+ communities received just four cents out of every US$100 in official international development assistance.
The report recommends that governments, donor agencies and philanthropists consider five urgent actions:
Provide immediate emergency funding: Donors should act outside standard grant cycles to provide rapid bridge and emergency funding before more LGBTIQ+ organisations are forced to close.
Commit to flexible, multi-year support: Funding should cover staff, operations and reserves, helping organisations withstand sudden funding shocks and reducing dependence on individual governments or donors.
Restore community-led health services: Urgent investment is needed to rebuild HIV prevention and treatment services for key populations, particularly where LGBTIQ+ organisations provide the only safe and accessible care.
Directly fund protection and emergency responses: Dedicated resources should support shelters, safe houses, emergency assistance and relocation.
Prioritise the communities hardest hit: Resources should particularly reach trans and gender-diverse people and lesbian, bisexual and queer (LBQ) women.
Report Urges Companies Not to Abandon LGBTIQ+ Support
The Trump administration’s right-wing anti-LGBTIQ+ policies did not only affect government funding; it also targeted and penalised corporate diversity and inclusion policies and support for LGBTIQ+ movements.
In response, the report calls on the corporate sector to reconsider funding decisions made under political pressure, pointing out that waiting for the political climate to shift will prolong damage that is already measurable.
It acknowledges that public association with LGBTIQ+ causes may be too risky for some companies in the current environment, but argues that businesses can still provide consistent funding, match employee donations, support trusted intermediary funds and continue partnerships behind the scenes rather than withdrawing altogether.
“Companies should offer grants that do not depend on logos, public campaigns, events, or promotional recognition. In hostile environments, low-profile support may be safer, more useful, and more responsive to what organisations actually need.”
A Call for a More Resilient Global LGBTIQ+ Funding Model
The Breaking Point report concludes that there is an immediate need not only to address the damage caused by recent funding cuts, but also to build a stronger, more resilient and sustainable funding model for global LGBTIQ movements.
“The goal should not be to recreate the funding landscape that existed before January 2025. It should be to build one that is larger, more diverse, more flexible, and able to reach organisations operating where LGBTIQ people face the greatest barriers,” say the authors.
Read the full report here.
