The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund has announced that it will wind down its LGBT equality program over the next two years.

When the fund committed to supporting LGBT equality work in 2000, no U.S. state allowed same-sex couples to wed, openly gay people could not serve in the military, and a majority of the American public opposed marriage equality and believed gay and lesbian relations were morally wrong. After investing more than $105 million over that time, the Haas, Jr. Fund will provide grantee partners with transitional support, including unrestricted general operating grants and capacity-building support for fundraising and other priorities.

“We know that the work of the LGBT movement is far from over,” Robert Joseph, vice president of programs, wrote in a blog post. “LGBT people, particularly transgender Americans, are once again a target in the nation’s ‘culture wars,’ with an unprecedented number of anti-LGBT bills being introduced and passed in state legislatures. Furthermore, 31 states that are home to the majority of LGBT people and LGBT people of color still lack basic statutory nondiscrimination protections in housing, employment, public accommodations, and other areas.”

Going forward, the Haas Fund will focus on several revised priorities, such as building a fairer, more representative democracy in California; advancing more humane approaches to immigration and expanding opportunities for immigrant youth and families in the state; and making higher education more affordable for lower-income California students.

(Photo Credit: Getty Images/Cristina Moliner)