Equity for All: Entry Points to Elevate LGBT Health

Cara Chervin Pearsall, Grantmakers In Health

Health funders have provided limited direct philanthropic support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) health. Many question whether LGBT issues should be integrated into mainstream systems and organizations or if they should be supported through targeted strategies. Since few health grantmakers are prepared to carve out a separate programmatic area focused on this issue, a growing opportunity exists for health funders to provide more purposeful support for LGBT health within existing grantmaking strategies to address health disparities and promote health equity. Potential entry points for addressing LGBT health discussed here include: implementing the Affordable Care Act, supporting cultural competency initiatives and policy, and reducing tobacco use.