EL*C’s Strengthening the Lesbian Movement grant-making programme is more than a funding line; it is a collective investment in our communities’ power, creativity and resilience across Europe. From festivals and archives to policy advocacy and self-defence trainings, the programme shows what happens when lesbians resource each other on our own terms.
Lesbian-led work is still one of the most under-resourced parts of European civil society, even as lesbophobia and anti-gender attacks intensify across the region. With this programme, EL*C set out to change that imbalance by resourcing organisations that are often small, volunteer-run and invisible to mainstream donors, yet deeply rooted in local communities. The goal was simple but ambitious: to build a stronger, more connected lesbian movement able to shape policy, shift narratives and create safer spaces for all lesbians, including those most marginalised.
Through the Strengthening the Lesbian Movement programme, EL*C supported member organisations to grow their advocacy capacity, increase political influence and advance the rights of lesbian communities in their own contexts. Financial support was paired with mentoring, capacity development and opportunities for coordinated advocacy and transnational collaboration, so that grants not only fund activities but also long-term organisational growth.
From Funding to Change on the Ground
Since its launch, EL*C has supported 43 organisations, distributing 850,000 Euro to strengthen lesbian movement infrastructure across Europe. In the first regranting cycle (December 2023 – December 2024), 31 projects received 550,000 Euro, followed by 12 projects with 300,000 Euro in the second cycle (June 2025 – December 2025), reaching lesbian communities in more than 20 countries.
Together, these projects organised over 20 events and festivals for more than 2,000 participants, delivered 100+ workshops, reached over 1,000 people with advocacy and well-being trainings, engaged 1,000+ respondents in community research, and amplified lesbian visibility to over 1 million people via media and social channels.
The programme’s grantees reflect the diversity of lesbian realities across the EU and neighbouring countries: from large cities to rural areas, from long-established NGOs to new collectives led by young activists. Many initiatives focus specifically on those at the intersections of multiple forms of oppression – racialised lesbians, refugees, rural communities, older lesbians, disabled lesbians, trans and non-binary lesbians – making sure that “strengthening the lesbian movement” also means widening who is seen, heard and centred.
Alongside cultural and community work, many grantees stepped more firmly into advocacy and watchdog roles. Some projects systematically monitor lesbophobia in public discourse or in access to services like healthcare, using their findings to challenge discriminatory policies and to train professionals. Others focus on legal counselling or policy proposals that target gaps such as the recognition of lesbian parents, protection from gender-based violence, or inclusion of lesbophobia in national equality strategies.
Across Europe, through community events, workshops, advocacy initiatives and safe spaces, the programme has helped grantees to bring lesbians together, build local networks and respond to the specific challenges faced in their regions. At the same time, cross-country exchanges, shared advocacy tools and moments of collaboration have helped connect these local efforts into a broader European lesbian movement that is increasingly visible, coordinated and ready to respond when rights are under attack. The result is not just a list of funded projects, but stronger grassroots communities and a growing sense of shared purpose and solidarity – a movement that knows its own power, documents its herstories, and claims space in politics, culture and everyday life.
