Horizons Foundation is a San Francisco-based grantmaking organization that supports predominately LGBT and left-of-center social causes. ¹ Originally founded in 1980 as the philanthropic arm of the Golden Gate Business Association, the organization became the Horizons Foundation in 1988. ² Horizons Foundation is the longest-standing LGBT community foundation ³ and is the tenth-largest funder of the broader LGBT movement, according to Funders for LGBT Issues. ⁴

Horizons Foundation advocates for LGBT pride and the critical race theory-inspired concepts of social justice and equity. ⁵ The Horizons Foundation “unequivocally” supports abortion through its Global Faith and Equality Fund (GFEF) ⁶ and encourages donations to pro-abortion organizations including the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), National Abortion Federation (NAF), NARAL Pro-Choice America, NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation, and the National Network of Abortion Funds. ⁷ Horizons Foundation also supports the far-left Black Lives Matter movement ⁸ and the left-of-center organization Stop AAPI Hate. ^{9 10}

In 2020, Horizons Foundation issued $5,896,576 in grants which included six-figure contributions to Outright Action International, ACLU Foundation of Northern California, NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation, National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Openhouse. ¹¹

History and Leadership

Horizons Foundation was originally founded in 1980 as the philanthropic arm of the Golden Gate Business Association. Its first grants included the Lesbian Rights Project, which became the National Center for Lesbian Rights, ¹² and grants to support AIDS service providers in 1982. ¹³ In 1988, the organization became the Horizons Foundation. ¹⁴ According to Inside Philanthropy, the Horizons Foundation is the longest-standing LGBT community foundation. ¹⁵

Tim Murray and Dipti Ghosh are co-chairs of the Horizons Foundation. ^{16 17}

Activities and Funding

Horizons Foundation is a left-of-center LGBT-focused nonprofit that advocates for LGBT pride and the critical race theory-inspired concepts of social justice and equity. ¹⁸ The Foundation is predominately engaged in grantmaking activities to support LGBT pride and left-of-center social causes. According to Funders for LGBT Issues, Horizons Foundation is the tenth-largest funder of the broader LGBT movement. ¹⁹

Grantmaking

As a part of its grantmaking, Horizons Foundation operates the Community Issues Funding Program, which provides general operating support of up to $15,000 to LGBT-interest nonprofit organizations with an annual budget of $1 million or less. ²⁰

The foundation also operates the LGBTQ Community Endowment Fund to support various LGBT causes. ²¹ Horizons Foundation funding as a part of these programs has supported gender-reassignment surgery; Spanish-language LGBT-themed plays; efforts for minority LGBT youth in middle and high schools in West Oakland, California; and LGBT senior centers in California. ²²

In 2020, Horizons Foundation issued $5,896,576 of grants. These grants included: $228,730 to Outright Action International;  $182,500 to ACLU Foundation of Northern California; $120,000 to NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation; $113,600 to National Center for Lesbian Rights; $103,583 to Openhouse; $95,500 to Women’s Foundation of California; $92,250 to Frameline; $63,300 to Planned Parenthood Federation of America; $55,800 to Oasis Legal Services; $54,000 to left-wing Movement Strategy Center;  $52,500 to the Point Foundation; $51,200 to the left-of-center Proteus Fund;  $50,000 to the Ocean Cleanup North Pacific Foundation; $47,500 to National LGBTQ Task Force; $45,000 to Ipas; $42,000 to San Francisco LGBT Community Center; $40,000 to Yes In My Back Yard; $38,079 to Tides Foundation; $37,950 for Equality California Institute; $36,400 to Chinese for Affirmative Action; $32,750 to Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC); $28,400 to Project Open Hand; $26,419 to Our Family Coalition; $26,000 for Voter Participation Center; $25,500 to Ryse; $25,500 for Freedom for All Americans Education Fund; $23,611 to Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice; $20,750 to American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Foundation; $20,000 to the Trevor Project; $20,00 to Community Initiatives;  $19,8000 to Keshet; $19,500 to Compassion Without Borders; $18,500 to Turnout; $17,000 to National Center for Transgender Equality; $15,000 to Media Matters for America (MMfA); $15,000 to Freedom for All Americans; $14,750 to Social Good Fund; $13,251 for Human Rights Campaign Foundation; $13,250 to the Actors’ Fund of America; $11,500 to Thousand Currents; $11,000 to Amnesty International USA; $10,250 to Human Rights Watch; $10,250 to Political Research Associates, a left-wing “social justice think tank”; $10,500 to United States Association for UNHCR; $10,000 to Integrity First for America; $10,000 to Literacy for Environmental Justice; $10,000 to Voting for America; $10,000 for National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance; $8,800 to Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest; $7,750 for Startout; $7,000 to Doctors Without Borders USA; and $5,500 to Take Back the Court Foundation. ²³

In 2022, Community Issues Grantee Partners included grants of $10,000 to the group Amor Para Todos to “cultivate more gender and LGBT affirming environments for our youth”; $15,000 for API Equality Northern California; $12,500 to RYSE Center for critical race theory-inspired social justice programming for individuals aged 13 to 21; and $15,000 to San Francisco Transgender Film Festival to promote critical race theory-inspired trans and gender justice. ²⁴

Horizons Foundation “unequivocally” supports abortion through its Global Faith and Equality Fund (GFEF) ²⁵ and is in a funding partnership with the Rights, Faith and Democracy Collaborative (RFDC), an initiative of the left-of-center Proteus Fund. ^{26 27} Horizons encourages donations to pro-abortion organizations including the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), National Abortion Federation (NAF), NARAL Pro-Choice America, NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation, and the National Network of Abortion Funds. ²⁸

Horizons Foundation supports the far-left Black Lives Matter movement and encourages its supporters to donate to Black Lives Matter; the San Francisco Bay Area’s Transgender, Variant and Intersex Justice Project (TGI Justice Project); National Black Justice Coalition; and the Center for Black Equity to support the Black Lives Matter movement. ²⁹

The foundation also supports the left-of-center Stop AAPI Hate organization, which is an initiative of AAPI Equity Alliance and Chinese for Affirmative Action. ^{30 31} As a part of this advocacy, Horizons urges its supporters to support the left-of-center LGBT advocacy organization Lavender Phoenix through an ActBlue donor portal, ³² San Francisco Community Health Center, and Chinese for Affirmative Action. ³³

Horizons Foundation also encourages donations to left-of-center transgender-related advocacy organizations including Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, Transgender Law Center, Gender Spectrum, and GLSEN. ³⁴

In March 2023, it was announced that Horizon Foundation would donate $549,000 to roughly 42 affiliated organizations within the San Francisco Bay area through the Community Issues Funding Program. The purpose of the grants were to assist affiliated organizations in promoting new LGBTQ initiatives including building up the transgender community, recovering the role of “Two-Spirit people”, supporting LGBTQ youth and elders, and preserving LGBTQ art and culture within the area. ³⁵

Financials and Funding

Horizons Foundation receives its funding from grants and individual contributions. ^{36 37} In 2020, Horizons Foundation reported revenue of $8,229,616 and expenses of $8,339,812. In 2019, the organization reported revenue of $1,803,117 and expenses of $2,589,040. ³⁸

In 2020, the foundation received $30,000 from the left-of-center San Francisco Foundation. ³⁹ The group also received $37,450 from Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco in 2015 ⁴⁰ and $50,000 from Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors in 2013. ⁴¹

According to its 2021 990 form, during the Fiscal year 2021 the Horizons Foundation reported a revenue of $8,470,990, expenses at $7,069,099, and total assets at $41,480,128. The Foundation also reported total contributions and grants that year at $6,810,617. ⁴²

Leadership

Roger Doughty is the president of the Horizons Foundation as of 2023, serving in the role since 2002. Prior to joining the Foundation, Doughty was the executive director of Chicago-based LGBT social services group Horizons Community Services. In addition, he served as the Director of Programs for the Los Angeles LGBT Center, worked at law firm Heller Ehrman, was the president of the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance in Washington, D.C., and was Associate Director of the Coro Foundation. He is on the board of Northern California Grantmakers and is the Board Chair of LGBT advocacy group OutRight Action International. ⁴³

1. “Vision, Mission, and Values.” Horizons Foundation. Accessed May 10, 2022. https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/vision-mission/.
2. “Our History.” Horizons Foundation. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/history/.
3. “IP Briefing” What’s Going on with Philanthropy for LGBTQ+ Issues.” Inside Philanthropy. April 27, 2022. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2022/4/26/ip-briefing-whats-going-on-with-philanthropy-for-lgbtq-issues.
4. Kan, Lyle Matthew. “LGBT Philanthropy Since Stonewall: The Top Ten Funders of All Time.” Funders for LGBTQ Issues. June 27, 2019. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://lgbtfunders.org/newsposts/lgbtq-philanthropy-since-stonewall-the-top-ten-funders-of-all-time/.
5. “Vision, Mission, and Values.” Horizons Foundation. Accessed May 10, 2022. https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/vision-mission/.
6. “Global Faith and Equality Fund.” Horizons Foundation. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/funding-programs/global-faith-equality-fund/.
7. Doughty, Roger. “Standing on the Side of Reproductive Justice.” Horizons Foundation. May 5, 2022. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/standing-side-reproductive-justice/.
8. Doughty, Roger. “This Moment of Outrage.” Horizons Foundation. May 31, 2020. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/this-moment-of-outrage/.
9. Doughty, Roger. “No Room for Hate.” March 23, 2021. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/no-room-for-hate/.
10. Doughty, Roger. “No Room for Hate.” March 23, 2021. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/no-room-for-hate/.
11. “Horizons Foundation.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2020. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/942686530/202121349349304162/full.
12. “Our History.” Horizons Foundation. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/history/.
13. “Our History.” Horizons Foundation. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/history/.
14. “Our History.” Horizons Foundation. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/history/.
15. “IP Briefing: What’s Going on with Philanthropy for LGBTQ+ Issues.” Inside Philanthropy. April 27, 2022. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2022/4/26/ip-briefing-whats-going-on-with-philanthropy-for-lgbtq-issues.
16. “Horizons Foundation.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2020. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/942686530/202121349349304162/full.
17. “Board Members.” Horizons Foundation. Accessed May 10, 2022. https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/our-team/board-members/.
18. ^[1] “Vision, Mission, and Values.” Horizons Foundation. Accessed May 10, 2022. https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/vision-mission/.
19.  Kan, Lyle Matthew. “LGBT Philanthropy Since Stonewall: The Top Ten Funders of All Time.” Funders for LGBTQ Issues. June 27, 2019. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://lgbtfunders.org/newsposts/lgbtq-philanthropy-since-stonewall-the-top-ten-funders-of-all-time/.
20. “Community Issues Funding Program.” Horizons Foundation. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/funding-programs/community-issues-funding-program/.
21. “LGBT Community Endowment Fund.” Horizons Foundation. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/ways-to-give/legacy/lgbtq-community-endowment-fund/.
22. Butchting, Francisco. “Nearly $400,000 Awarded to Grassroots LGBTQ Nonprofits in SF Bay Area.” Horizons Foundation. February 23, 2022. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/over-400000-awarded-grassroots-lgbtq-nonprofits-sf-bay-are/.
23. “Horizons Foundation.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2020. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/942686530/202121349349304162/full.
24. “2022 Community Issues Grantee Partners.” Horizons Foundation. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/2022-community-issues-grantee-partners/.
25. “Global Faith and Equality Fund.” Horizons Foundation. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/funding-programs/global-faith-equality-fund/.
26. “Rights, Faith and Democracy Collaborative.” Proteus Fund. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.proteusfund.org/rfdc/.
27. Doughty, Roger. “Standing on the Side of Reproductive Justice.” Horizons Foundation. May 5, 2022. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/standing-side-reproductive-justice/.
28.  Doughty, Roger. “Standing on the Side of Reproductive Justice.” Horizons Foundation. May 5, 2022. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/standing-side-reproductive-justice/.
29.  Doughty, Roger. “This Moment of Outrage.” Horizons Foundation. May 31, 2020. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/this-moment-of-outrage/.
30. “Stop AAPI Hate.” Stop AAPI Hate. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://stopaapihate.org/.
31. Doughty, Roger. “No Room for Hate.” March 23, 2021. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/no-room-for-hate/.
32. “Donate to Lavender Phoenix!” ActBlue. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/lavenderphoenix.
33. Doughty, Roger. “No Room for Hate.” March 23, 2021. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/no-room-for-hate/.
34. “Twitter.” Horizons Foundation Twitter. Posted March 31, 2022. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://twitter.com/horizonsfdn/status/1509634720161804300?cxt=HHwWmMC5vfKxpvMpAAAA.
35. Doughty, Roger. “Over $549,000 Awarded to Grassroots LGBTQ Nonprofits in SF Bay Area.” Horizons Foundation, Accessed March 31, 2023. https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/over-549000-awarded-grassroots-lgbtq-nonprofits/
36. “Make a Gift to Horizons Foundation.” Horizons Foundation. Accessed May 10, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/204698227.
37. “Horizons Foundation.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2020. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/942686530/202121349349304162/full.
38. “Horizons Foundation.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2020. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/942686530/202121349349304162/full.
39. “San Francisco Foundation.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2020. Schedule I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/10679337/202141369349301959/full.
40. “Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco the Peninsula Marin and Sonoma.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2014. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/941156533/201611329349304101/full.
41. “Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors INC.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). 2013. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133615533/201442269349301739/full.
42. Horizons Foundation, Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax, 2021. Part I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/942686530/202231349349301918/full
43. “Staff.” Horizons Foundation, Accessed November 30, 2023. https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/our-team/staff/