Here’s some good news for global feminist donors, particularly those focused on giving for LGBTQ issues. The Thomson Reuters Foundation – the charitable arm of the global news and information provider – has won funding for more media reporting on marginalized populations, as an award from the People’s Postcode Lottery, a UK-based organization that devotes “a minimum of 32% from each subscription” to charities and causes in Great Britain and around the globe.
The Foundation has received a £400,000 ($523,560 US Dollars) grant from the Postcode Heroes Trust, to expand its reporting on social justice issues related to labor and sex trafficking and other forms of modern slavery, as well as LGBTQ rights. These funds will be particularly focused on increasing media coverage of these topics in Southeast Asia and Eastern Africa.
“By raising awareness of these critical issues, the Foundation’s world-class journalism aims to shed light on the hidden plight of vulnerable communities, to ensure these topics remain on the global news agenda, and to educate and empower those working to promote equality and diversity and advance human rights around the world,” said a press release announcing the award. Reuters news stories reach “up to one billion people a day,” according to the press release.
Because feminist philanthropy takes a particularly inclusive lens, this new funding represents an advancement for donors who are pushing for social change for those at the margins of society. Feminist philanthropists were some of the first funders of LGBTQ rights, and they continue to invest in this work as a way to increase inclusiveness and recognize the non-binary nature of gender and the way in which people who do not conform to rigid gender norms are often discriminated against.
As a corporate Foundation, Reuters is well-positioned to play a leading role in expanding media coverage for marginalized populations. The foundation has the capacity to collaborate with its own corporation — which describes itself as “the world’s leading news and information company” — to change the way news is gathered and disseminated.
Reuters Foundation also supports another important service that needs more funding — the practice of legal pro bono. Reuters Foundation has created initiatives that connect people to free legal help, which can be of enormous importance to LGBTQ populations and those who are being abused in labor markets. The Foundation also runs the Trust Conference, an annual human rights forum working to find solutions to “fight slavery, empower women, and advance human rights worldwide.”
People’s Postcode Lottery is a subscription lottery raising money for charities, based out of Great Britain. Subscribers to the lottery are eligible to win cash prizes and revenue from the lottery is given to charitable organizations.
