Philanthropy's role in the fight for marriage equality: A literature review and historical investigation for the Open Philanthropy Project

Abstract

Philanthropic support had a significant role in achieving marriage equality in the United States by the mid-2010s. Two philanthropic funds, the Gill Foundation and the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, were especially generous with their giving, as were a handful of individual donors including Tim Gill, Jonathan Stryker, and Paul Singer. Philanthropy reinforced the efforts of LGBT activists and pressure placed on politicians by constituents. In 2001, a poll revealed a majority of Americans opposed same-sex marriage. Philanthropic dollars funded outreach and education campaigns to shift public opinion. In 2010, polls showed majority support. Additionally, funds were allocated to litigation. Lambda Legal, the ACLU, GLAD, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights combined their resources and efforts to overturn various state laws prohibiting same-sex marriage. In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that barring same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. – AI-generated abstract.