About Rainbow World Fund

Rainbow World Fund's (RWF) mission is to promote peace, unity and hope by leading the LGBTQ+ movement to participate in humanitarian relief efforts.

Founded in 2000, RWF is the world's first LGBTQ+ based humanitarian aid organization. RWF works to help people affected by natural disasters, hunger, poverty, disease, oppression, and war by raising awareness in, and funds from, the LGBTQ+ and friends community to support relief efforts around the world. RWF provides a united voice, a significant, visible presence both in the United States and abroad, and a proven structure to deliver LGBTQ+ charitable assistance to the broader community. RWF is dedicated to providing aid wherever it is needed, regardless of race, religion, politics, gender identity, or sexual orientation. RWF has provided thousands of volunteer hours for projects such as educational programs, water access and food supply programs, and refugee assistance. RWF works in the LGBTQ+ and friends community, educating people about the world's needs.

Along with raising our community's consciousness, RWF raises funds to support humanitarian relief projects. RWF is all volunteer-run. Learn more at http://rainbowfund.org.

RWF has evolved into a national organization and is unique as the world's first and only LGBTQ+ based humanitarian aid organization. RWF currently supports projects focusing on water development, landmine eradication, hunger, childhood education, orphans, refugee resettlement, HIV/AIDS, and disaster relief in Africa, Asia, Central America, the Middle East, Central Asia, the Caribbean, and the United States. RWF works to raise awareness of the charitable contributions of the LGBTQ+ community and to establish connections with non-LGBTQ communities.  RWF programs strengthen our community by increasing LGBTQ+ visibility, serving as a platform for our community's compassion and concern, and changing how the world sees LGBTQ+ people by building bridges with the larger world community.

RWF’s philosophy is that we are all “One Human Family” and that we are living in a time when our survival on this planet depends on us all giving more to each other. We bring people together who believe that together we can heal the world.  We believe that LGBTQ+ people, like all people, have a unique role in world healing. RWF is part of that healing. We are working to change the separation consciousness that is underlying the disparity in the world – how people feel divided in the world today – by racism, sexism, homophobia, and so on. RWF is about reminding people that we are really all part of one big global family and that we need to help each other.

Rainbow World Fund has three primary goals: to provide humanitarian aid to communities in need around the world; to create awareness within the LGBTQ+ community of the need for these relief efforts; and to change perceptions of the LGBTQ+ community by putting our highest beliefs and values into action, demonstrating our compassion and caring for the world. RWF’s projects affect social change at home and abroad through education, networking, developing solidarity, fostering understanding, and building community.

RWF's Accomplishments

RWF has distributed over $11 million in humanitarian aid (supplies and grants) and provided more than 105,000 hours of volunteer service over the last 25 years. Examples of our work include: evacuating over 450 endangered LGBTQ+ refugees and human rights defenders for resettlement in Europe and Canada since 2023, providing food aid for Hurricane evacuees (including funding 1 million meals for Hurricane Katrina survivors), emergency supplies for the South East Asia tsunami, medical supplies and financial assistance to various projects in Guatemala, funding water projects throughout Central America providing safe drink water to hundreds, delivering thousands of pounds of medicine, medical supplies, and school supplies to communities in Mexico, launching of a landmine eradication project for Cambodia, an HIV/AIDS case management program in South Africa funding the monthly salaries of rural HIV peer educators, providing a computer lab to a Guatemalan middle school, producing a benefit concert for Haiti, leading 11 trips to Washington DC to advocate on Capitol Hill for development and aid issues, leading 21 humanitarian aid trips to Cuba, Guatemala, and Mexico delivering thousands of pounds of medical supplies and distributing thousands of stuffed animals to children in hospitals, schools and orphanages.

RWF was recognized for it's humanitarian aid by the California State Assembly following the tsunami and for helping Haiti recover from Hurricane Jeanne in 2004. RWF's founder, Jeff Cotter, was named to the OUT 100 List as one of the most intriguing people of 2005. San Francisco Mayor, Gavin Newsom and Speaker of the House, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, have also recognized RWF's work. RWF was honored as the 2007 Organizational Grand Marshal of the San Francisco Pride Parade.

The most visible bridge-building effort by RWF is the annual RWF World Tree of Hope project. The World Tree of Hope is a gift from the LGBTQ+ community to the world. The Tree is a symbol of hope and global unity. RWF creates the Tree to inspire hope, encourage people to really think about what they would like for the future of the world, and bring people from all over the world together to express those hopes and intentions communally. The Tree is a collaboration between members of the LGBTQ+ and Japanese American communities. Children and adults worldwide are invited to send their wishes for the future of the world to San Francisco. The wishes are printed on paper and are folded into thousands of origami cranes to decorate the RWF World Tree of Hope. RWF displays the Tree at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco from Monday, December 1, 2025, to January 9, 2026.

Other high-profile projects include RWF’s annual humanitarian aid journeys to Cuba and Guatemala, and The Bus of Hope aid trip to Tijuana, Mexico.

Learn more about Rainbow World Fund and how the LGBTQ+ and friends community is helping heal our world by visiting: www.rainbowfund.org

Questions? Please get in touch with us here.