ANNUAL REPORT 2018 Dedicated to the Idea That People Can Live in Harmony
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ANNUAL REPORT 2018 Dedicated to the idea that people can live in harmony 2 Letter from Jon Stryker with one another and 3 Letter from Annette Lanjouw & Jason McGill the natural world LGBTQ SOCIAL JUSTICE 8 Challenges Mount Against U.S. Rollback on Trans and Immigrant Rights 10 “I Want the State to Recognize Who I Am” 12 LGBT Africans Push for Acceptance 14 2018 Social Justice Program Grants GREAT APES & GIBBONS 22 Mountain Gorilla Conservation at a Crossroads 24 Borneo Indigenous Leader Boosts Security for Orangutans and Neighbors 26 Infrastructure Projects Pose Risks for Guinea’s Chimps 28 2018 Great Apes & Gibbons Program Grants 30 Financials 32 Board & Staff arcuslink/mission Dear Friends, we are part. There is a tremendous amount of promise in the Dear Friends, These pressures interact with and reinforce each other even as As we were finalizing this report, World Pride 2019 was getting integration of social justice, and environmental justice, and more On behalf of everyone at Arcus, we are pleased to share with you they weave themselves through both our streams of work. They under way in New York. We gathered Arcus staff, Board, and a people are beginning to talk about it. our 2018 Annual Report. also negatively affect the safety, opportunity, and inclusion of many few friends to celebrate and reflect upon the 50th anniversary of other marginalized populations, including women and girls, the The voices of human rights and environmental justice have risen At this writing, some of our team members are headed to separate the 1969 uprising at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, a seminal poor, immigrants, and others. well above a whisper—urging, warning, and even shouting, some destinations in Africa to engage with Arcus partners in the raising of voices in protest considered by many the beginning of the might say. The newly elected president of Mexico pronounced programs and work that we lead respectively for the Foundation. The Social Justice and Great Apes & Gibbons Programs each LGBTQ movement. that his country must extend full rights to its LGBTQ citizens and Now in our third year as co-executive directors, we continue to work on several interconnected fronts to build resilience and Oddly enough, what came to my mind were whispers. similarly, over the past two years, the Vatican and the United marvel at the many ways in which our programs converge, not resources for the movement to respond: Nations have joined their voices with those of conservationists— only geographically but also in the factors and threats that weigh n Offering multiyear, general operating support to as many long- I was thinking about where we stand in the journey we are on— clearly amid controversy. on our prospects for success in advancing LGBTQ rights and ape term grantees as we can. adding up victories and subtracting setbacks in a strange sort of conservation. A constantly changing landscape is the greatest n Providing recurring opportunities for grantees to work together math—and my mind went back about 20 years to conversations in Whether the question is which rights should be extended to challenge that we share; even as we and our partners pursue on mid- and long-term coordination. public places in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where I often met with Arcus’ LGBTQ people or how to balance human economic needs with well-formulated strategies, shape-shifting threats routinely require n Building partnerships with other funders and grantees to focus first executive director to plot the project that would eventually conservation of non-human animals and the environment, these adaptive refinements to our programmatic responses: on the role funders can play in movement building, capacity become the Foundation. Whenever we said the words gay or great, public conversations are promising—if painful—signs that n The declaration by the Republic of China that it will pursue its building, and power building. lesbian, we felt it necessary to whisper. We had so thoroughly together, we are transcending whispers and our messages are “Belt and Road” initiative, in alignment with sustainability goals. n Defining with grantees meaningful indicators and related data internalized the idea that it was controversial and even dangerous being heard. History tells us these debates can be gateways to The initiative will link country markets and energy reserves from that we can use to measure our success in advancing near- and to speak those words in that time and place. Later, after adding the change—toward the moment when we all see ourselves as part of the Arctic to the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans through long-term strategies and to determine the need for changes to ape conservation work, we would discover that it can be just as nature and make the choice to love and preserve it and ourselves 7,000 infrastructure and extractive industry projects via roads, those strategies. controversial or dangerous to speak about conservation in some because the fact is that diversity and biodiversity are all that there railways, and ports funded, in part, by China. Many of the spaces and places. is. The initiators of many of these conversations are partners or You will see these approaches and our dual focus on populations grantees of Arcus, like the inspiring actors featured in this report. projects are in economically stressed countries and pose threats and individuals evident in the stories shared in this report. It can be confusing to assess what has changed for the better since They give me hope and inspire me to use my own voice and to both non-human animals and to the poorest among local then because each day brings a mix of conflicting and sometimes The dynamic nature of our movements and work requires a long- resources to amplify those of others until we one day realize our human populations. surprising signs. We have just witnessed the legalization of same- n term commitment to learning. We take that commitment seriously, dreams of justice, peace, respect, and harmony. A pattern of authoritarian governments in resource-strapped sex marriages in Taiwan and same-sex relationships in Botswana, economies scapegoating LGBTQ people—criminalizing their and this report is in part an invitation to you to learn with us and but we have also seen the United States move to erase trans I created Arcus to make possible more of the kind of work our sexuality or gender identity, and exposing them to violence. to get or stay involved in this important work. The individuals health benefits from its healthcare law. We’ve seen the U.S. step partners do, and I could never do that well without the support, n Strong and growing opposition to civil society organizations featured within are among our away from environmental protections while the number of wealthy expertise, and commitment of the Foundation’s amazing whether working in social or environmental justice—and best teachers and models for Chinese nationals committing resources to conservation is growing. co-executive directors, staff, and Board members, who do more to political dissent in general—in places like Uganda and action. We hope they and their and engage more deeply in the work with every year that goes by. Honduras, making it harder to collaborate. stories affect you as they do all Recently, the United Nations warned that a million species are I can’t thank them enough or too often. I thank you, too, for your n An aggressive rollback by the U.S. administration of policy of us here at the Foundation— accelerating their approach to extinction. Its report stated it interest in Arcus and any related work you are doing. I truly hope gains won by transgender Americans, including coverage of enriching you, inspiring you, and perfectly: “The health of ecosystems on which we and all other you find this report both instructive and inspiring. transgender health needs under the Affordable Care Act of 2010. feeding your resolve to push species depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever. We are n The promotion of mountain gorillas from critically endangered boundaries and make change. eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food In Partnership, to endangered, signaling progress but not victory toward our security, health and quality of life worldwide.” In Partnership, longer-term goals of sustained populations, a decision that risks There are multiple layers of truth in that stark statement. The complacency and a relaxation of measures that have brought negative part is obvious, but the statement acknowledges, too, a about the moderate growth in this gorilla population. much-ignored connection between people living in harmony with Annette Lanjouw & Jason McGill, Co-Executive Directors one another and people respecting the natural world of which Jon L. Stryker, President and Founder 2 LETTERS ARCUS FOUNDATION ANNUAL REPORT 2018 3 SOCIAL JUSTICE We work in regions where we believe we can have the greatest impact with our finite resources. We focus on advancing policy, protections, and social change to ensure the physical safety, acceptance, and inclusion of those most marginal ized because of their sexual orientation, gender iden- tity, or the intersection of these with their age or status as people of color. arcus.link/lgbtq The letters of the acronym LGBTQI—referring to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/ Questioning and Intersex persons—appear in various forms and combinations on the following pages depending on their use by the individuals or the organization referenced. 4 Endnotes indicated in the following