Editorial: A rare win for LGBTQ nonprofits

In the face of relentless attacks by the Trump administration on the LGBTQ community over the last six months, it’s nice to celebrate a win. Last week, the community got a victory when Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund announced that the federal government had restored $6.2 million in funding to nine LGBTQ organizations that had filed suit against President Donald Trump for rescinding their grants. In addition to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, the lead plaintiff, two other local nonprofits are involved: the San Francisco Community Health Center and the GLBT Historical Society.

The restoration of funding is critically important so that the nonprofits can continue their work. In the case of SFAF, which just announced the elimination of 34 staff positions in order to address a $5.71 million deficit, the news is welcome indeed. As Lambda Legal noted, the restored funding follows a ruling in June from the U.S. District Court for the Northern California District of California granting a preliminary injunction blocking three of Trump’s executive orders. The court held in San Francisco AIDS Foundation v. Trump that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in showing that multiple provisions of two anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion orders and an anti-transgender executive order are unconstitutional.

Specifically, as we reported online last week, the suit challenges executive order No. 14168, which states that, “It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female,” and defines sex as “an individual's immutable biological classification” and not a synonym for gender identity. This order on gender identity also prohibits federal contractors and grantees from recognizing and respecting their identities or advocating for their civil rights. The lawsuit also challenges executive orders Nos. 14151 and 14173, which terminate equity-related grants and prohibit federal contractors and grantees from employing DEI and accessibility principles in their work.

In addition to the San Francisco nonprofits, the other plaintiffs are the Los Angeles LGBT Center, Prisma Community Care in Arizona, the New York City LGBT Community Center, the Bradbury-Sullivan Community Center in Pennsylvania, Baltimore Safe Haven in Maryland, and FORGE in Wisconsin.

“We have confirmed that our plaintiffs – LGBTQ+ organizations providing critical services to their communities – have seen their threatened funding restored,” stated Jose Abrigo, a Lambda Legal senior attorney and HIV project director. “When we fight, we win. We know the battle is far from over and there will be setbacks along the way, but the cause is too important, and the need too great, for us to lose heart.” 

While the court case continues to proceed, it’s good news that the federal money has been restored.

Roberto Ordeñana, a gay man who is executive director of the GLBT Historical Society, stated to the B.A.R., "The GLBT Historical Society was previously notified that a National Endowment for the Humanities grant awarded to support critical archival storage had been canceled. Following the court’s preliminary injunction, that cancellation notice has been rescinded, and we now anticipate receiving the remaining available funds before the grant term ends."

We have seen some federal courts serve as the last line of defense against some of the Trump administration’s hideous orders and policies. Unfortunately, other federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have given the president everything he wants. Recent orders from the high court allow Trump to proceed with dismantling the Department of Education and fire other federal workers.

The Supreme Court last month upheld a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care for trans minors. In its next term, the justices will hear arguments about trans women and girls playing on female sports teams. So, by no means can the LGBTQ community count on the courts to protect it during this absolutely dismal period of attacks on our democracy. However, some federal judges have shown they will follow the law, and that’s what has happened so far in San Francisco AIDS Foundation v. Trump.

Nonprofits are critical to American society, as they provide services that either supplement public services or replace them. For the LGBTQ community, that means programs and services that serve our own, which is important in this age of MAGA voices trying – and in many cases succeeding – to gut funding. In terms of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, back in the 1980s the “San Francisco model” saw nonprofits spring up when the federal government did nothing. Thankfully, that has changed with federal programs such as the Ryan White CARE Act, but those dollars are not enough to serve everyone, hence, the need for nonprofit organizations, which also receive private donations, grants, and funding from state and local governments.

In the first six months under Trump, we have also seen HIV prevention dollars drastically curtailed, which is a shame since there are effective prevention strategies such as PrEP that could dramatically reduce transmission of the virus. Federal money for the Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS has also been decimated in the One Big Beautiful Bill that Trump signed July 4.

While the restoration of federal dollars among the nine plaintiffs in Lambda Legal’s case isn’t nearly enough, it does send a message to Trump that not all of his baseless executive orders stand up to legal scrutiny. As Lambda Legal indicated, there will be other setbacks along the way, some of them likely severe. But, for the moment, we’ll take this win and the federal funding that was appropriated to the nine nonprofits in the first place.