Fundraising for Social Change, 8th Edition

chapter FORTY‐FIVEFundraising for LGBTQ+ Equality and Justice

In the 1950s, lesbians, gay men, and bisexual, transgender, and queer‐identified (LGBTQ+) people were triply stigmatized: same‐gender sexual activity and cross‐dressing were widely criminalized; medical professionals considered homosexuality a mental disease; and religious leaders condemned homosexual acts as unforgiveable sins. Given this nearly universal excoriation, most LGBTQ+ people hid their sexual orientations or nonconforming gender identities.

Yet, beginning in the 1950s, organizations emerged in the United States for lesbians and gay men: the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB), started by four lesbian couples in San Francisco; the Mattachine Society, initiated by progressive gay men in Los Angeles; and ONE Magazine, a publication founded by lesbians and gay men in Southern California. They all educated the general public about homosexuality, advocated that studies be done of lesbians and gay men to counter inaccurate stereotypes, and provided much‐needed social and emotional support. Chapters of DOB and the Mattachine Society formed across the United States, and people throughout the country subscribed to ONE Magazine.

Like the Mattachine Society, DOB's initial efforts were driven completely by volunteers, who contributed food, beverages, and space at their homes for meetings and social gatherings. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, both organizations shared offices in New York and San Francisco. In 1956, when ...