Stonewall’s US funding severed as part of foreign aid freeze

Stonewall has reported that it is facing “tough choices”, after the US Government paused all foreign aid.

The US Department of State’s Global Equality Fund was the LGBT lobby group’s largest funder, providing over £500,000 between 2021-25. This had steadily increased each year to a peak of £233,583 in 2023-24.

The US Agency for International Development had also previously given the Edinburgh International Book Festival over £30,000 towards ‘gender identity’ seminars.

GCHQ

The news comes as UK intelligence agency GCHQ became one of the latest in a long line of organisations to leave Stonewall’s controversial ‘Diversity Champions’ scheme.

According to The Daily Telegraph, the agency removed its website statement that it was a “Stonewall Diversity Champion” following contact with the newspaper.

The scheme, which costs organisations a minimum yearly membership of £2,500 plus VAT, rewards employers for promoting LGBT ideology inside and outside of the workplace. In recent years, several public bodies such as the Crown Prosecution Service and the Government Equalities Office have also ditched the scheme.

However, the Foreign Office remains a major contributor to Stonewall, confirming that it gave £649,979 in 2024-25 to address ‘high-risk’ situations for LGBT people across the world.

Taxpayers’ money

Earlier this year, it was reported that UK Government funding for Stonewall has risen, despite weakening public support.

The pro-trans lobby group’s annual report revealed that “government sources” provided £618,757 to the year ending 31 March 2024 – an increase of more than eight per cent on the previous year.

Decreasing donations and legacies accounted for less than a quarter of its income, while funding from initiatives such as its Diversity Champions schemes also fell, from £2.9m to £2.4m.

Chief Executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance John O’Connell stated: “For years Stonewall has been attempting to drag swathes of the public sector into uncharted waters which most of the British public want to go nowhere near, yet it’s been receiving taxpayers’ money to further its demands.”