The Lesbian Health Fund (LHF) is a program of GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality. It was established in 1992 with the goal of defining, studying, and educating both lesbians and other sexual minority women, as well as healthcare providers, about the specific health issues these communities face. Over the past three decades, LHF has remained committed to improving the health and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ women and girls through the funding of rigorous scientific research. LHF is the only research fund in the United States solely dedicated to addressing the unique health needs of LGBTQ+ women and girls.

The primary purpose of the LHF grant program is to support research that identifies and addresses health disparities affecting LGBTQ+ women and girls, including sexual minority women, gender diverse people assigned female at birth, and other underrepresented groups. For the 2025 funding cycle, the fund will prioritize proposals that generate pilot data to support early-career investigator grants or training grants. Special consideration will be given to projects focused on underrepresented subpopulations such as adolescents, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), bisexual people, gender diverse people, intersex individuals, older adults, persons with disabilities, rural populations, and people with military backgrounds.

The funding scope includes grants ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 each. Grant funds must be used to support new research projects, and funding will not be awarded for completed studies or projects already in progress. Funds can be used for costs directly related to the proposed research, but the specifics of eligible spending are not itemized in the provided information. Grant checks will be made out to the primary institution or organization listed in the application, and research may not begin until funding is formally received. Current grantees cannot apply for new funding until they submit a final report for their existing project.

Eligible applicants include graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, junior faculty, senior scholars, and nonprofit organizations. All applicants must be affiliated with an organization or institution that has a valid US tax ID. The research must directly focus on LGBTQ+ women and girls, which includes sexual and gender minority women, gender diverse people assigned female at birth, and others within these populations.

Applications should align with the priority areas outlined by the fund, including research on sexual and reproductive health, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, educational initiatives such as curriculum development, acute care experiences, healthcare access, lifespan health issues, and violence prevention. Additionally, projects employing community-based participatory research methods, trauma-informed frameworks, or intersectional approaches are encouraged.

The specific timeline for the 2025 cycle is not fully detailed in the provided material. However, the application cycle is officially open, and interested applicants are encouraged to sign up for the LHF newsletter to receive updates on key dates and deadlines. No pre-application deadlines, QA opportunities, or firm close dates are explicitly provided in the source. Contact information for inquiries is not included in the provided material, so further outreach to GLMA or LHF may be required to obtain these details.