Meeting the Moment
Today, 79 percent of Americans support laws that would protect LGBTQ+ communities, including 80 percent of Hispanic Americans. However, even with this growing support nearly 40 percent of Latinx LGBTQ+ adults live with a household income below $24,000 per year, and Latinx LGBTQ+ adults are more likely to be unemployed and experience food insecurity than Latinx non-LGBTQ+ adults. Additionally, 74 percent of Latinx LGBTQ+ adults report having experienced everyday discrimination, and more than 479 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced across the country.
Through our work, HF seeks to celebrate the rich contributions of the Latinx LGBTQ+ community to society and tackle these disparities, as well as the increasing number of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, with programmatic efforts and by funding and supporting organizations that have deep ties to the Latinx LGBTQ+ community. Below is just some of the work Hispanic Federation engages in to serve the LGBTQ+ community.
Hispanic Federation’s ACT initiative
Latinx LGBTQ+ nonprofits receive 3 percent of overall LGBTQ+ nonprofit funding. In response to this funding gap, Hispanic Federation launched The Advance Change Together (ACT) Initiative in 2022, a much-needed Latinx LGBTQ+ advocacy and capacity building initiative that empowers and supports organizations working on the front lines to protect and serve Latinx LGBTQ+ communities.
Through the ACT Initiative, HF has distributed more than $1 million to 31 Latinx LGBTQ+ organizations across the country and Puerto Rico.
As part of the ACT initiative, Hispanic Federation issued a report detailing the needs of Latinx LGBTQ+ nonprofits and innovative ideas on how the philanthropic community can empower these organizations.
Learn more about the ACT Initiative
Read our full ACT Initiative report where you can learn more about our inaugural ACT cohort and the work they lead to support Latinx LGBTQ+ community members.
Latinx LGBTQIA+ Federal Policy Advocacy
Since 2016, Hispanic Federation has emerged as an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ equality on several fronts, specifically in the areas of healthcare, discrimination, civil rights, education, immigration, and marriage equality.
Our Washington, D.C. team collaborates with national partners and allies to present the strong offense needed to achieve results at the federal level. HF is also a co-chair of the LGBTQ Task Force for the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, which positions the organization as a thought-leader at the intersection of LGBTQ+ and Latinx advocacy. With the help of our dedicated network of Latinx nonprofits and national partners, we’re able to project a powerful voice for pro-LGBTQ+ policies that protect the most vulnerable among us.
Most recently, Hispanic Federation was a key organization advocating for the passage and eventual signing of the Respect for Marriage Act, which embraces the LGBTQ+ community and ensures equality for same-sex and inter-racial couples who choose to marry.
Hispanic Federation is working to build off this progress by advocating for the Equality Act, which would further protect the LGBTQ+ community across the country from discrimination.
For more information about our LGBTQ+ advocacy work, contact us below.
Explore HF’s Policy and Advocacy Work
In addition to our Latinx LGBTQ+ advocacy work, HF leads policy and advocacy work that aims to advance Latino opportunity and equity across the country by focusing on three pillars: civil rights, justice, and equity and empowerment.
Fuerzafest LGBTQ+ Arts Festival
FUERZAfest, launched by the Hispanic Federation in 2016, is the first LGBTQ+ Latinx multidisciplinary arts festival in the Northeast. Its primary mission is to celebrate and uplift the vibrant Latinx queer community while addressing pressing issues that affect it.
Events have been held in various locations, including New York City, Hartford, CT, Orlando, FL, and Charlotte, NC. Each installment has created a location-specific platform to expand dialogue and raise awareness about the intersectionalities, systemic barriers, and threats faced by Latinx LGBTQ+ communities across the United States.
Through its multifaceted approach and understanding of the critical role that the arts play in telling stories that are often hidden – FUERZAfest serves as a catalyst for social change, nurturing a supportive environment for queer Latinx expression and advocacy. It fosters creative collaboration, artistic expression and honors the rich cultural legacy of Latinx queer artists. FUERZAfest aims to provide a culturally sensitive space that serves as a beacon of support and resilience against discrimination and violence.
Our hope is to spark a necessary conversation within our communities about who we are, what we value, and how we can stand together to fight injustice.
—–
For more information, please go to www.fuerzafest.org or contact Mario Colon, Vice President for Special Initiatives, at mcolon@hispanicfederation.org.
Proyecto Somos Orlando
On June 12, 2016, the city of Orlando, Florida faced an unimaginable crisis when a terrorist entered Pulse Nightclub, killed 49 patrons, and left dozens injured. Perhaps nowhere were the ripple effects of the shooting more strongly felt than in Orlando’s Latinx and LGBTQ+ communities.
In the immediate aftermath of the massacre, Hispanic Federation, through its Orlando office, joined forces with local Latinx-led institutions to create Proyecto Somos Orlando as a campaign to coordinate the city’s Latinx social services sector and provide survivors and families with high-quality, culturally competent assistance.
The days, weeks, months, and even years following were a time of healing for our nation, but especially for survivors and the families of those whose lives were taken. Proyecto Somos Orlando provided culturally competent and bilingual mental health services to survivors and families. Proyecto also enabled care to be delivered to those affected directly in the communities in which they live. Beyond emergency assistance, survivors and families were provided with case management, crisis intervention, mental health services, and other needs.
