Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice was founded in 1977 by a small group of diverse women to increase funding for human rights of lesbian women and women of color, based on lesbian feminism.[1][4]
Activities
Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice works to connect the LGBTQI community to philanthropists and activists around the world.[1] They solicit and invite grant proposals from individuals and organizations in the United States and internationally working on LGBT advocacy – especially around areas of the arts as well as racial, economic, social, and gender justice.[1][4][5]
For example, from 1992 to 1994, Astraea helped fund Esto no tiene nombre, a magazine created (in part by tatiana de la tierra) to explore and provide a platform for discussion about Latina lesbian culture.[6] In 2012, the organization awarded 152 grants totaling US$1,310,624 to 113 organizations and 16 individuals across 36 countries.[4]
The organization also promotes philanthropy and capacity building.[1] Their policy of "Philanthropy of Inclusion" is founded on their concept of including people from all socioeconomic strata in philanthropic activism.[1] They have both a domestic fund and an international fund, which they distribute to organizations coming from places including Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and the Caribbean.[7]
^De La Tierra, Tatiana. "Activist Latina Lesbian Publishing: esto no tiene nombre and conmoción." I am Aztldn: The Personal Essay in Chicano Studies, ed. Chon A. Noriega and Wendy Belcher (Los Angeles: UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Press, 2004) 172.