Report into Rainbow Philanthropy in Aotearoa shows strong growth in giving for Rainbow causes

The Rule Foundation and Rainbow New Zealand Charitable Trust (RNZCT) are pleased to release a report on the state of Rainbow Philanthropy in Aotearoa. Conducted between August 2019 and April 2020, the report sourced data from some of the largest grant makers in Aotearoa, as well as a large number of Rainbow community organisations. In total, an analysis of the grants made/received by 42 organisations was completed, covering 2016 to 2019.

The Chair of the Rule Foundation notes that prior to this report there was little visibility of Rainbow philanthropy in Aotearoa:

“Visibility will always be an important part of promoting and protecting the human rights of our Rainbow community. Visibility enables us to come out to ourselves and our families, to find each other, to express ourselves freely and to share in our delightfully rich diversity. Yet given the importance of visibility to us, the lack of visibility on the extent of philanthropic funding to support rainbow community organisations seems surprising.” Joy Liddicoat – Chair, Rule Foundation

The report uncovered areas of strength in Aotearoa, including: Rainbow community organisations have diverse sources of funding; A strong trend of increasing giving to rainbow causes; and the percentage of giving to rainbow causes in Aotearoa is comparable to the global average.

However, a number of areas to work on are also highlighted, including: that Licensing, Energy and Gaming trusts are a tiny source of funds for Rainbow community organisations, yet represent a third of all philanthropic giving; that 72% (13) of Rainbow community organisations operate on less than $100,000 per year;  and Rainbow is not commonly listed as a priority area for mainstream funders.

“We have been pleased to see the support already given by Lotteries, COGS and Regional community trusts to the Community, many of which we were not aware of till now.  It’s a great start but clearly many more resources could be provided as a matter of course. … The Trust is confident that this research will help other funders to make better informed decisions about funding Rainbow causes.” – Gresham Bradley – Chair, RNZCT

A full copy of the report is available here.

Watch a recording of the launch here.