Resources
African American Messaging Report Released by Arcus Operating Foundation
In 2007 and 2008, the Arcus Operating Foundation commissioned extensive quantitative and qualitative research to articulate the complex intersections of sexuality and race with the goal of determining how this information can help activists create greater public support and message effectively when speaking to African American audiences. Written by Donna Victoria and Cornell Belcher for the Arcus Racial Justice, Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity Program, the report offers new insights into the attitudes and perceptions of African Americans on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality issues and how communications can be strengthened between the LGBT movement and African American communities.Read the report: LGBT Rights and Advocacy: Messaging to African American Communities
The Arcus Operating Foundation was established in 2007 to support the work and mission of the Arcus Foundation, which was founded in 2000 by Jon L. Stryker, through convenings and conferences, capacity and leadership development, research, publications and projects to increase philanthropic engagement. The Arcus Foundation's Racial Justice, Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity Program works to increase the power and influence of LGBT people of color organizations and leaders, and strengthen the LGBT movement's commitment to racial justice.
New International LGBT Funding Report Released
Written by Liz Galst for the Arcus International LGBT Rights program and published through the Arcus Operating Foundation, the report details how increased funding support for organizations that advocate on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people can help advance vital development priorities, including protecting minorities, promoting the rule of law, reducing poverty, strengthening civil society, increasing economic opportunity and promoting health, in some of the world's poorest and most politically unstable countries.Read the full report or the executive summary brochure.
Arcus reports on International LGBT Rights funding
There is urgency in the situation facing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people around the world. High levels of violence, discrimination, persecution and social exclusion adversely affect millions of individuals whose sexual orientation and gender identity are seen as non-conforming, particularly in the Global South and Global East. Arcus provides three reports to help funders understand the dire issues facing LGBT people in the Global South and East, and the challenges and opportunities in funding LGBT rights.
Expanding Global Philanthropy to Support the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People, written by Sue Simon.
Mobilizing Resources for the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay,Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) People: Challenges and Opportunities, written by Marcie Parkhurst and Amber Johnson of FSG Social Impact Advisors.
Giving Out Globally: A Resource Guide of Funding Mechanisms to Support Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights in the Global South and East, written by Julie Dorf.
See "Sexual Orientation and Housing Discrimination in Michigan", a report by Michigan's Fair Housing Centers
Resources for Faith Leaders on LGBT issues
Bookswww.churchpublishing.org
- In the Eye of the Storm: Swept to the Center by God
by Bishop Gene Robinson
- A Time to Seek: Study Guide on Sexual and Gender Diversity
by Timothy Palmer and Rev. Debra W. Haffner - And God Loves Each One (Dios Nos Ama Por Igual)
by Ann Thompson Cook - Silent and Undecided Friends: Motivating Greater LGBT Rights Advocacy Among Clergy and Congregations
by Rev. Steven Clapp - Taking a New Look: Why Congregations Need LGBT Members
by Rev. Steven Clapp
- Heterosexism in Contemporary World Religion: Problem and Prospect
by Marvin Mahan Ellison (Editor), Judith Plaskow (Editor)
- Sexual Diversity and Catholicism, Toward the Development of Moral Theology
by Patricia Beattie Jung, Editor; with Joseph A. Coray
Videos
www.forthebibletellsmeso.org
For the Bible Tells Me So offers healing, clarity and understanding to anyone caught in the crosshairs of scripture and sexual identity.
www.ajihadforlove.com
A Jihad For Love travels the many worlds of this dynamic faith, discovering the stories of its most unlikely storytellers: lesbian and gay Muslims.
Web sites
www.religiondispatches.org
Religion Dispatches is a daily online magazine dedicated to the analysis and understanding of religious forces in the world today, highlighting a diversity of progressive voices and aimed at broadening and advancing the public conversation.
"Pulse of Equality" Poll Shows Majorities of U.S. Adults Favor Legal Protections for LGBT Americans
A new survey commissioned by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and conducted by Harris Interactive in the wake of the passage of and protests against California's Proposition 8 reveals that majorities of Americans favor a broad range of policies and legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. Download the report here.
Grantmaking to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) communities in the Global South and East more than doubled between 2005 and 2007, though the majority of dollars came from a small group of funders, according to a report just released by Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues (FLGI), a national philanthropic group based in New York City."A Global Gaze: LGBTI Grantmaking in the Global South and East" describes the amount and type of grantmaking for LGBTI populations in the Global South and East. It also examines the character of organizations and projects addressing populations in these regions. Read the report.
The Yogyakarta Principles In 2006, in response to well-documented patterns of abuse, a distinguished group of international human rights experts met in Yogyakarta, Indonesia to outline a set of international principles relating to sexual orientation and gender identity. The result was the Yogyakarta Principles: a universal guide to human rights which affirm binding international legal standards with which all States must comply. They promise a different future where all people born free and equal in dignity and rights can fulfill that precious birthright.
Download the report pdf here or visit www.yogyakartaprinciples.org to read more about the Principles.
Census Snapshot: Michigan,
September 2007
This research study released by the Williams Institute provides demographic and economic information for same-sex couples and same-sex couples raising children in Michigan. The study shows that 18% of the 22,000 same-sex couples in Michigan are raising more than 7,800 children. The study also shows that same-sex couples with children have fewer economic resources than their heterosexual, married counterparts.
The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law is a national think tank dedicated to the field of sexual orientation law and public policy. Read it
Transgender Legal Issues for the Non-Attorney is a publication of the ACLU of Michigan LGBT Project. Download the report here.
Organgutan Using Bridges to Cross Kinabatangan River
A recent study and photographs demonstrate how orangutans in Eastern Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, are using bridges to cross the Kinabatangan River there. Unlike monkeys, none of the great apes, including the orangutan, can swim. Construction of bridges funded in part by an Arcus grant to LEAP/Hutan, has reconnected two isolated orangutan subpopulations and prevented further fragmentation, while expanding their current habitat. Read the report and view photographs here.
Arcus' approach to halting the use of Apes in entertainment and private ownership
On February 16, 2009, a woman was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries to her face, neck and hands after a 15-year-old pet chimpanzee attacked her at a friend's home in Stamford, Conn.This serious incident was certainly preventable and resulted from ignorance, inadequate enforcement of legislation and lack of appropriate federal, state and local legislation and regulations.
The Stamford incident has illustrated the ignorance on the part of the general public and authorities regarding the character and needs of apes in captivity and the resulting dangers and psychological impact to apes. It also showed that the legislation in place in Connecticut was not enforced, as the state requires owners to register exotic animals and obtain permits to ensure they have the appropriate skills and tools to care for and control the animals. The inadequate and insufficient protective federal, state and local legislation also was highlighted. Laws that would prohibit keeping apes in captivity as pets, in private collections, circuses, and roadside and petting zoos could prevent such attacks from happening.
The Arcus Foundation works to improve respect for and recognition of the rights and value of great apes. To achieve this, the Foundation supports the efforts of nonprofits that educate the field and general public regarding effective legislation and the enforcement of existing regulations where they exist. This will ensure the provision of the appropriate care for captive apes and not allow inappropriate use. Improved legislation and enforcement of existing regulations would to a large extent prevent the keeping of apes by people who cannot care for them appropriately and who, therefore, allow these sorts of attacks to happen.
The Arcus Foundation also works to educate the general public through partnerships with the Jane Goodall Institute, Humane Society of the United States, New England Antivivisection Society and Primate Rescue Center, among others. We are focused on strengthening the enforcement of legislation through support to grantees that monitor the application of the law and strengthen public awareness on these issues. Finally, we support the efforts of our partners to engage in introducing new legislation. The Arcus Foundation recently commissioned the research of existing federal and state legislation regarding the keeping of apes in captivity, which can be found on the resource page of our Web site.
Arcus Foundation will continue to work alongside its grantee partners to improve respect for and recognition of the rights and value of the great apes.
Legislation to Protect and Ensure the Welfare of Apes
In 2008, Arcus Foundation consultant, Sandrella Morrisson, researched the existing federal and state legislation in place to protect great apes in captivity in the United States. A handful of federal laws exist such as the Animal Welfare Act and the Endangered Species Act, however, even when properly enforced, these laws do not adequately protect apes in captivity. Although legislation exists in some states to protect apes in captivity, many jurisdictions do not properly enforce these laws. Local restrictions governing traveling shows and circuses exist in fifteen cities but it is unclear if these are adequately enforced as well.Click here to view legislation in place in the United States.
The Arcus Foundation is pleased to offer our readers "The Moral Status of Animals", by Martha C. Nussbaum, Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics, University of Chicago.This essay originally appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education, February 3, 2006. Our many thanks to Dr. Nussbaum for permission to offer it here.
Follow the progress of the construction of the world’s largest sanctuary for chimpanzees, get acquainted with the individual chimpanzees whose lives are being changed forever, learn fascinating chimp facts and more at savethechimps.org
20 Grantwriting Tips by Cindy T. Rizzo, Director of Grant Making Programs, will help grantseekers prepare better proposals, not only for Arcus grants but for other foundations as well.
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Read about just some of our many grantees working to advance GLBT equality and conservation of the world's Great Apes.
Kalamazoo Community Foundation
International Primate Protection League (IPPL)
Soulforce Equality Ride
ACLU Foundation Lesbian and Gay Rights Project
The Ruth Ellis Center
Partner Profiles
Read about just some of our many grantees working to advance GLBT equality and conservation of the world's Great Apes.
American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan LGBT Rights Project
Kalamazoo Community Foundation
International Primate Protection League (IPPL)
Soulforce Equality Ride
ACLU Foundation Lesbian and Gay Rights Project
The Ruth Ellis Center
The Alliance for Justice is rolling out a new web-based state law resource that will provide comprehensive guidance on several key issues More