Stonewall could be forced to cut up to half of its staff after President Trump’s decision to freeze foreign aid, The Times understands.
Workers at the LGBTQ+ charity were told on Thursday that restructuring would take place, and that only roles with dedicated funding would be safe.
Simon Blake, the chief executive of Stonewall, made the announcement in an office-wide Teams call, which was said to have left its 114 staff “shellshocked”.
Sources said they believed up to half of the workforce could be made redundant in the move, which they were told would “secure the future of Stonewall for the long term as a significant LGBTQ+ organisation able to deliver impactful campaigns and legislative change across the UK and further afield”.
Insiders believed the announcement was linked to decisions made by Trump over the provision of foreign aid. Blake has previously warned of the impact Trump’s move would have on Stonewall’s operations.
Funding from the US came to Stonewall through the Global Equality Fund (GEF), administered by the US state department, which has given the charity more than half a million pounds in the past three years. The GEF focuses on “advancing LGBTI rights around the world” and is a pooled fund with contributions from numerous countries and private businesses, but it has not published accounts since 2015.
In recent years the GEF has been Stonewall’s largest funder. Charity accounts show the GEF increased its funding for Stonewall year on year, handing over £137,254 in 2021-22, rising to £204,442 in 2022-23 and reaching £233,583 in the most recent set of accounts.
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Blake previously warned that Trump’s decision would affect Stonewall’s work in eastern Europe and the Caucasus, where it “supports communities and law enforcement agencies to respond to anti-LGBTQ+ violence, often providing vital services to victims”.
The GEF funds Stonewall’s Alliance Against Hate Crime project in Georgia, Romania and Bulgaria, which the charity said worked to “improve support for victims of hate crime, and to advance dialogue with police and law enforcement stakeholders on adapting their systems and victim support to be more sensitive to the needs of the LGBTQ+ community”.
It previously set up online platforms to allow people in those countries to report hate crimes and receive support.
The charity said the reasons for the restructuring were various butBlake previously said: “Many will be rightly fearful of the impact the US government decision to suspend all foreign aid will have, including for programmes supporting LGBTQ+ communities around the world.
“This latest decision signals a further rollback of rights and support for marginalised groups by the new administration and its impact will be detrimental to communities living in extremely challenging circumstances and environments across the globe.
“Stonewall’s work in eastern Europe and the Caucasus is enabled by many funders, including the US government, and supports communities and law enforcement agencies to respond to anti-LGBTQ+ violence, often providing vital services to victims.
“Programmes like this are crucial given the anti-LGBTQ+ laws and rhetoric being increasingly enforced in the region, but they need continued and committed support and funding to succeed.
“We are working hard with our partners to mitigate the impact of the US government’s decision and ensure that the communities and individuals we support aren’t also victims of a political agenda thousands of miles away.”
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Stonewall has also lost funding elsewhere. Its most recent accounts said it incurred a deficit of £858,000 in the 2023-24 financial year. This rose from £437,000 the previous year.
Income from fees, for example from its Diversity Champions workplace inclusion programme, fell between 2023 and 2024, as did income from other programmes.
The Times revealed last month that every major government department had left the Diversity Champions scheme after concerns about the level of influence on Whitehall’s internal policies.
It also made nine members of staff redundant in 2023-24.
However, the charity raised more money in individual donations and from events in 2024. The amount brought in from public bodies also increased to more than £600,000.
Stonewall said: “Hard-won rights are being rolled back for marginalised communities globally, and we are seeing an unprecedented political backlash against the principles of inclusion.
“Stonewall is adapting to ensure that it is fit for purpose and able to meet the challenges of this new political era.
“Over the last 35-plus years, Stonewall has often needed to be agile and adapt to a changing world — now is no different.
“We know that how we must work to be effective in the coming years will be different to what has gone before, and we are future-proofing with that in mind. The work to advocate for LGBTQ+ equality has never been more important and Stonewall is rising to meet the challenge.”
