Author Archives: Marin

by | March 27, 2020 · 3:36 pm

We have the skills, the spirit, and experience to survive this…

Dear friends, family, and community,

TJFP is holding you, our community, and family in our minds and hearts during this particularly challenging moment.

These are indeed scary times, as the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the world to a screeching halt.  The world looks very different today than it did even a week ago.

For many of our grantees, applicants, and community, there has never been a busier time.

Many of us are grappling with how to keep going and providing answers and solutions with urgency. Our communities–which often include those we consider family–are in great need of support, connection, healing, shelter, mutual aid and resources. The deep sense of worry is real.

TJFP is also concerned about the well being and livelihood of individuals, organizations and those most marginalized and isolated.

There is so much we are all holding collectively and there is so much we do not yet know.

But here’s something we do know…

While the phrase “We’re all in this together” has quickly become a popular hashtag and is a sentiment shared widely in the media, knowing the value of caring for our communities has been a commitment, a practice and a way of life for our communities for a long, long time.  “We’re all in this together” is a politic many of us have been forced to commit to or have chosen to believe in before COVID-19.  Some of us are experts in surviving so much, that it’s been passed on to us by our ancestors and remains alive in our very own DNA.

Grassroots organizing, and the individuals that make them what they are, show up constantly to fill the gaps and failures our systems have left us with. Below, we’ve provided important links to efforts organized and supported by TJFP’s 2019 grantees. As much as they need us to show up for them, we need them for our collective survival.  Grassroots movements are essential.

TJFP will remain committed to showing up for our folks without burdening them.

We will continue to move money directly to grassroots, trans-led groups across the US, with as few strings attached as possible, as we have always done.

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, we will be moving more money in 2020 to trans justice groups than originally planned, while also supplying our TJFP community-led grantmaking fellow alumni with an emergency fund.

TJFP has also joined an emergency response effort with the Third Wave Fund, Borealis’s Fund for Trans Generations, Funders for LGBT Issues’s Grantmakers United for Trans Community, and Wellspring. More information about that fund will be released early next week.

It is with great hope that you will be patient, kind, and generous with each other during these tender times. The load will be heavy and the loss will be significant and yet we will find a way. For those of you wondering how you can help, we ask you to please support grassroots efforts however possible.

Friends, family, and beloved community, we have the skills, the spirit and experience to survive this. For those of you who can, please check in on your people.  Extending love, grace, appreciation and authentic support is what will get us through.

With gratitude and great care,


 

 

Arkansas Transgender Equity Collaborative
Little Rock, AR
Donate to community relief giving circle

No Justice No Pride
Washington, DC
Requesting food, cleaning/hygiene supplies, volunteers for patient advocacy, funds for emergency microgrants, instacart giftcards

Black & Indigenous Transgender Safehaus (B.I.T.S.)
Washington, DC
Donate to support trans students

Trans Women of Color Collective
Washington, DC
Donate to survival fund

Unity Coalition|Coalicion Unida
MIAMI BEACH, FL
Donate to support fund for folks in hospitality industry in South Florida

Brave Space Alliance
Chicago, IL
Volunteer for food pantry
Donate to food pantry

Louisiana Trans Advocates
Baton Rouge, LA
Donate to TGNC Crisis Funding Circle Louisiana
In lieu of gatherings, send letters against anti-trans legislation

Metro Trans Umbrella Group
St. Louis, MO
Donate food and disinfectant

Trans Queer Flat STL
St. Louis, MO
Donate food and supplies

Black Trans Media
Brooklyn, NY
Donate food, supplies, or money

Colectivo intercultural TRANSgrediendo / CITG
Jackson Heights, NY
Donate to Transgender Emergency Fund

Black Queer & Intersectional Collective
Columbus, OH
Donate to BQIC Emergency Fund

Hearts on a Wire
Philadelphia, PA
Be a pen pal for an incarcerated LGBTQ individual

sisTers PGH
Pittsburgh, PA
Donate to Pittsburgh LGBTQIA Emergency Relief Fund

Latinas Trans Austin
Houston, TX
Donate to Houston LGBTQI Latinx fund

Trans Pride Initiative
Dallas, TX
Volunteer to provide mutual aid

Nationz Foundation
Richmond, VA
Donate to food pantry

Trans Women of Color Solidarity Network
Seattle, WA
Donate to Trans Women of Color Solidarity Network Fund

 

 

 

Unity Coalition|Coalicion Unida
MIAMI BEACH, FL
Apply for hospitality industry fund

Brave Space Alliance
Chicago, IL
Request food or other supplies

Metro Trans Umbrella Group
St. Louis, MO
Food and supplies available for pickup, home donations also available

Trans Pride Initiative
Dallas, TX
Contact to access food pantry

Stonewall Youth
Olympia, WA
Organization is offering to purchase supplies for youth 12-24

 

 

 

Masjid al-Rabia
Chicago, IL
Online support groups and prayer services

Portland Outright
Portland, ME
In person programming has moved online

Transformations
Kansas City, MO
Support groups now online, see Facebook page for specific groups
TDOV Virtual Resource Fair

Tranzmission
Asheville, NC
Support groups now moving online

QTPoC Mental Health
Portland, OR
Collection of helpful links and online community

Borderland Rainbow Center
El Paso, TX
Teletherapy and virtual support groups available, see Facebook page for specific options

Nationz Foundation
Richmond, VA
Call the office to access support group

Out in the Open
Brattleboro, VT
Join rural LGBTQ virtual hangouts

 

 

 

QLatinx
Orlando, FL
Healing through community storytelling

Transcend the Binary
Ferndale, MI
Quarantine and Chill queer film streaming

House of Pentacles
Durham, NC
Offered free virtual healing gathering

Transgender Assistance Program of Virginia – TAPVA
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA
Digital TDOV celebration

Out in the Open
Brattleboro, VT
Submission requests for QuaranZine

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by | January 1, 2020 · 10:31 am

Entering a new year with new staff at TJFP!

Images left to right: Cathy Kapua and Mattee Jim, 2017 TJFP Community Grantmaking Fellows; Micky Bradford, Úmi Vera, Zakia McKensey, Sammie Ablaza Wills, Priyank Jindal, 2019 Community Grantmaking Fellows; Demian Yoon at 2019 Philly Trans Wellness conference.

We are pleased to introduce Cathy Kapua and Demian Yoon as TJFP’s newest staff members, and Zakia McKensey as part of our brilliant facilitation team!

In 2017, Demian arrived at our office eager to volunteer and help in anyway he could. Even though we weren’t yet set up to handle volunteers, Demian proved to be patient and dedicated. He showed up week after week to assist with admin related tasks, quickly becoming an invaluable teammate. We are so lucky to have him onboard as the new Administrative Assistant!

That same year, former grantee Cathy Kapua joined the 2017 Community-led Grantmaking Fellowship crew. After completing her Fellowship, Cathy enthusiastically agreed to work with us a contractor helping us welcome and provide training as well as one on one support to our grantmaking fellows in 2018 and 2019. Cathy already came to TJFP with a long  track record of devotion and care for trans communities and trans justice. We’re overjoyed Cathy said yes to us one more time, and we’re honored to have her vision and leadership as our new Deputy Director!

Over the course of several years Cathy and Demian have given so much of themselves to make TJFP what it is today, and we can’t imagine doing this work without them.

Passing the Torch!

When TJFP was brand new and just starting to get up and running, we realized we would need an experienced, talented facilitator to help create a space for our community-led panel to make difficult and thrilling decisions selecting grantees and their award amounts. Having seen Nico Amador in action while facilitating for the Leeway Foundation’s artist and organizer funding panels it was obvious to us that he was ‘the one’! And he’s been facilitating TJFP from the very beginning! At first he facilitated solo before Andrea Jenkins and Glo Ross joined the facilitation team.

And now as we move into our 8th year Nico will be working closely with Cathy Kapua and 2019 TJFP Community Grantmaking Fellow Zakia McKensey, onboarding them and passing the torch to our new TJFP facilitation team! What a legacy of brilliant and fiercely dedicated facilitators!

Zakia has been a long time powershouse in Richmond, Virginia as founder and executive director of Nationz Foundation. Zakia is also a former grantee of TJFP and we can’t believe she said yes to joining us. We’re still fanning ourselves!

We invite you to celebrate this fabulous news with us by welcoming this dynamic team  Zakia, Cathy, and Demian to TJFP! We couldn’t be more proud to continue trusting and centering the leadership of Black, Indigenous, Brown, people of color who are trans, gender nonconforming, and non-binary! 

 

Cathy Kapua, Deputy Director

Cathy has worked with the transgender community since 2003, first starting off as a Peer Educator at Kulia Na Mamo, then eventually moving on to become the Transgender Service Manager at the Hawaii Health & Harm Reduction Center. Cathy is proud of her academic accomplishments in the University of Hawaii- West Oahu where she received a B.S. in Public Administration and continues to use these skills to help her Native Hawaiian community. She has been successful in advocating for transgender programming and providing culturally competency trainings throughout the nation but prides herself mainly on being a role model for younger transgender women in Hawai`i.

 

Zakia McKensey, Community Grantmaking Facilitator

Zakia is a native of Richmond, Virginia. She has been an active member of the LGBTQ community. For many years Zakia was a national performer and pageant competitor. She is a former Miss Gay Black America,  Miss Black National, Miss International Supermodel, Miss Godfrey’s and Miss Virginia Capitol Pride. She has worked for Fan Free Clinic where she was instrumental in creating the Transgender Clinic as well as Richmond City Health District, where she was a Disease Intervention Specialist and also the 1st African American Transgender Women to ever work for the health district.

October of 2015 she opened the Nationz Foundation a 501C3 organization that provides advocacy for transgender individuals as well as offering HIV/STI testing, Food Pantry, Emergency Housing and other supportive services to the Greater Richmond Metropolitan Area. Recently she acquired an RV to create a mobile testing unit to offer her services in communities where transportation is a barrier to access testing or safer sex items and food.

Zakia also works for the Virginia Anti-Violence Project where she serves as the Transgender Advocate, assisting individuals who have experiences of violence. She was named a 2018 Outstanding Virginian, by Equality Virginia. Zakia was honored with a Firework Award by Virginia Pride in 2018. In her free time she enjoys time with family and friends, traveling, competing and attending pageants, cooking and spending time with her dog Japan.

 

Demian Yoon, Administrative Assistant

Demian Yoon received his BA in English and minored in Religion at Haverford College. Since then, he’s worked in education (both indoor and outdoor) and currently splits his time between roles as an Administrative Assistant at Trans Justice Funding Project and a Trust & Safety Assistant at DonorsChoose. He is a New Yorker born and raised, now living in Brooklyn, and enjoys science fiction, educational podcasts, hiking, and spending time with his loved ones.

 

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by | December 27, 2019 · 1:55 pm

Applications are open for 2020 grants!

It’s that time again! Time for grassroots, trans-led, trans justice groups to apply for funding and for those of us who can, to donate what we can to support their work.  Please help us spread the word! The application is currently available in English and Spanish.

Please make sure to read our guidelines first to determine if your group is eligible.


 

Is Your Group Eligible for a TJFP Grant?

  • Are you a group?
  • Are you a grassroots, trans justice group run by and for trans people?
  • Is your group’s total budget less than $250,000?
  • Are you located in the United States or a U.S. territory?
  • Are you centering the leadership of trans people organizing around their experiences with racism, economic injustice, transmisogyny, ableism, immigration, incarceration, and other intersecting oppressions?
  • Are you meeting the needs of different local communities and using organizing and/or providing services to help bring people together?
  • Do you see your work as part of a bigger picture of trans-led work that seeks dignity and justice for all people?

* TJFP does not fund individuals.
* You do not need to be a 501c3 non-profit or have a fiscal sponsor to apply!

How Much Money is TJFP Giving Away?

Grants range in size and the more money we raise by May, the more we can give away! Every penny we raise goes to our grantees with no restrictions and no strings attached because we truly believe in trusting and supporting trans leadership. Our 2020 goal is to give away at least 750,000 dollars with grant sizes of $2500, $5000, and $10,000.

Deadline

The deadline to apply is February 15th, 2020 by midnight Eastern Standard Time. Decisions will be made at the end of May 2020, so you can expect to hear back from us by early June 2020.

Translation & Accessibility

The application is currently available in English and Spanish.

Please email us at admin@transjusticefundingproject.org by January 15th if you need a translated version in another language of the application.

We aim to make this process as accessible as possible, so please let us know about any other needs you have and we will do our best to meet them.

¡Las solicitudes ya están disponibles para las subvenciones del 2020 del Proyecto de Financiamiento de Justicia Trans (TJFP)!

TJFP es iniciativa comunitaria de financiamiento fundada en 2012 para apoyar grupos comunitarias de justicia trans dirigidos por y para personas trans. Hacemos becas anualmente por organizar un comité de seis activistas de justicia trans de todo el país para revisar cuidadosamente cada solicitud que recibimos.

¿Es elegible su grupo para una beca de TJFP?

  • ¿Es un grupo?
  •  ¿Es grupo comunitario de justicia trans dirigido por y para personas trans?
  • ¿El presupuesto total de su grupo es menos que $250,000?
  • ¿Está ubicado en los Estados Unidos o en Territorios de los Estados Unidos?
  • ¿Su grupo se enfoca en el liderazgo de personas trans organizando sobre sus experiencias con racismo, injusticia económica, trans-misoginia, capacitismo, inmigración, encarcelamiento, y otras opresiones interseccional?
  • ¿Satisface las necesidades de diferentes comunidades locales y organiza y/o provee servicios para unir las personas
  • ¿Considera su trabajo parte de una panorama general de trabajo dirigido por las personas trans para dignidad y justicia para todas personas?

TJFP no da becas a individuos.

¡No necesitas estatus sin fines de lucro 501c3, ni necesitas patrocinio fiscal tampoco para solicitar!

¿Cuánto dinero está donando el TJFP?

Las becas varían en tamaño.  Cuanto más recaudamos  más podemos regalar! Cada centavo que recaudamos va a nuestros beneficiarios sin restricciones ni condiciones tampoco porque creemos sinceramente en confiar en y apoyar al liderazgo trans.

Fecha límite

La fecha límite para solicitar es la 15 de febrero de 2020 por la medianoche EST. Decidiremos a finales de May 2020. Entonces, planea tener la respuesta de nosotrxs para Junio 2020.

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by | November 20, 2019 · 5:07 pm

Remembering and Honoring Trans Resilience

Art by Kah Yangni in collaboration with Forward Together

Today, November 20th, is Trans Day of Remembrance & Resilience.  It’s a day to lift up our trans community members near and far, say the names of those we’ve lost, and honor the legacy of our people. More than 300 reported transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary lives have been taken worldwide due to anti-trans violence, discrimination, and hate. 37 of these deaths occurred in the US, and of these, most of the reported deaths are Black trans women. The actual numbers of lives we’ve lost are likely higher because so many trans people are marginalized, misidentified, or unaccounted for even in death. 

The impacts of these deaths on the families, friends, communities, and loved ones left behind are immeasurable. 

On this day and every day, we want to honor the lives of those who have been taken from us and celebrate the trans communities that continue to exist every single day. Even in a world that tries to erase, eradicate, and diminish our light, our communities remain powerful. Within this resistance there is a brilliant resilience and legacy. 

Wherever you are, we honor you. Let’s shout out to the grassroots trans justice activists and organizers out there who are keeping our communities safe and alive every day. Let’s uplift the cultural workers and artists who share our stories and create a radical vision of what a future of trans liberation could look like. Let’s thank the stars for our trans elders for showing us the way, being our guide. 

Our movement is growing as more people create bold solutions and systems of support to alleviate the needs that are still unmet in their communities. This year, 96 of our applicants were groups we had never heard from before, some already active for many years, others for only a few. Among our 2019 grantees are groups that bail incarcerated trans immigrants out of detention, provide housing for trans folks, invest in training and developing the leadership of Black and brown trans people, and create spaces for trans people to come together and share food, art, and joy. These groups keep trans people alive, when the world says time and time again that their lives are disposable, and often do this work on shoestring budgets or entirely for free. This is what trans resilience looks like.

To keep this life-sustaining work going, we encourage everyone to donate within their capacity or volunteer with a local, trans-led groups. We’ve compiled a list of all 186 of our 2019 grantees here to help serve as a guide. 

For a list of specific ways to focus our movements on ending violence against trans women of color, we also recommend this piece by Raquel Willis, editor of Out Magazine.

Our lives and communities are part of a legacy of trans justice that strengthens our resilience and fuels our resistance. Today, let’s remember, celebrate, and uplift those we’ve lost and the ones who are still here. In honor of those who have come before us, let’s continue to build this legacy of trans justice together to create our future of trans liberation.

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by | June 5, 2019 · 3:17 pm

More than Magic: Seven Years of Funding Trans Justice

TJFP is a small funding project built and powered by a lot of community love, sweat, and tears. And yes, there is magic in this work, but what really gets us going each and every day is YOU–our beloved and powerful grantees and applicants, donors, staff, volunteers, family, and friends.

“Our fight and our resilience is a testimony that it gets better, not because we pray it so, but because we fight like hell to make it so!” —Everette Renee Thompson, 2018 Community Grantmaking Fellow

Over the years we’ve had the pleasure of working with 42 of the most brilliant trans justice activists and organizers around the country as part of our annual grantmaking panels. We’ve received 1,118 applications from some of the most radical and visionary grassroots, trans-led groups creating spaces and systems of care for our community.

Please enjoy this video we created to share some of the behind the scenes magic with you. You may even see some familiar faces!

Here’s to seven years of trans leadership and justice in action! We can’t do this work without you, so wherever you are–thank you for being part of the magic and brilliance of our trans justice movements.

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by | February 15, 2019 · 1:51 pm

Last day to apply for a 2019 TJFP grant!

En Español.

Deadline is tonight at 12 midnight EST–please check the eligibility criteria and apply now!

Is Your Group Eligible for a TJFP Grant?

  • Are you a group?
  • Are you a grassroots, trans justice group run by and for trans people?
  • Is your group’s total budget less than $250,000?
  • Are you located in the United States or Puerto Rico?
  • Are you centering the leadership of trans people organizing around their experiences with racism, economic injustice, transmisogyny, ableism, immigration, incarceration, and other intersecting oppressions?
  • Are you meeting the needs of different local communities and using organizing and/or providing services to help bring people together?
  • Do you see your work as part of a bigger picture of trans-led work that seeks dignity and justice for all people?

*TJFP does not fund individuals.

*You do not need to be a 501c3 non-profit or have a fiscal sponsor to apply!

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by | February 14, 2019 · 4:44 pm

Together in Truth and Love, TJFP’s 2018 annual report is ready for you!

We are so excited to share our annual report with you!

With your help in 2018, we moved $650,000 to some of the most groundbreaking grassroots trans-led trans justice organizing work around the country.

Check out the 182 grantees, articles written by our community grantmaking fellows, infographics, photographs, and so much more!

This report is filled with groups and information you just can’t find anywhere else.

Please enjoy and feel free to share widely!

 

P.S.  Your group still has time to apply for a 2019 TJFP grant! Application deadline is this Friday 2/15 at 12 midnight EST.

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by | December 21, 2018 · 5:39 pm

Applications now open for 2019 grants!

In 2018, TJFP gave 650,000 dollars to 182 trans-led grassroots groups across the country, and we hope to do it again in 2019!  Please review the eligibility criteria and apply! Share widely and get your application in!

En Español.

Is Your Group Eligible for a TJFP Grant?

  • Are you a group?
  • Are you a grassroots, trans justice group run by and for trans people?
  • Is your group’s total budget less than $250,000?
  • Are you located in the United States or Puerto Rico?
  • Are you centering the leadership of trans people organizing around their experiences with racism, economic injustice, transmisogyny, ableism, immigration, incarceration, and other intersecting oppressions?
  • Are you meeting the needs of different local communities and using organizing and/or providing services to help bring people together?
  • Do you see your work as part of a bigger picture of trans-led work that seeks dignity and justice for all people?

TJFP does not fund individuals.

You do not need to be a 501c3 non-profit or have a fiscal sponsor to apply!

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by | · 10:13 am

Northeast From the Ground to the Sky Listening Tour

TJFP interviews Osgood from Portland Outright (2018 Grantee,) Organizers at TGI Network of Rhode Island (2018 Grantee,) Tyrell Cooper from Black Trans Love is Black Wealth (2018 Grantee)

In the fall of 2018,  TJFP headed back on the road for another edition of our From the Ground to the Sky Listening Tour.  On this tour, we had the great pleasure of visiting with trans and gender non-conforming leaders and activist around the country to learn what trans justice means and looks like where they live and do their work. We are deeply humbled and grateful for the amazing leadership of this community and continue to be inspired each and every day.

This year we headed up North to hear from trans activists and organizers in the Northeast United States. We took 12 days and drove from state to state to hear about the ways folks are organizing and showing up for one another. Our Northeastern tour took us to Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maine. We learned so much about how how folks organize in rural communities, innovative ways people are using technology to access medical resources, and so much more!

Check out our video highlighting the amazing work of Portland Outright to learn about how they support the trans and GNC youth community in Portland Maine!

You can find more videos from TJFP’s From the Ground to the Sky Listening Tour here. And there’s more coming, so please check back in!

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by | November 20, 2018 · 5:08 pm

Honoring those we’ve lost and sending love to our people

Art by Amir Khadar in collaboration with TGI Justice Project.  Feel free to download this piece of art and many others here.

Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR), a day to honor and lift up the lives and memories of trans and gender non-conforming people who were taken from us due to anti-trans hate and violence.

Not only this day, but every day, we ask you to join us in grieving our beloveds.

Not only this day, but every day, we ask that you to join us in making a life-long commitment to keeping each other safe–our selves, our trans and gender non-conforming friends, family, neighbors, and community members.

Not only this day, but every day, we ask that you fill your heart with love and send it to each and every trans and gender non-conforming person of color, particularly trans women of color and explicitly, black trans women.

To those lives that were lost, your magic is felt and we honor you. In your absence your light persists within all of us. And in your memory we fight for justice and liberation so that one day we might all be free.

 

As we honor those who we’ve lost, we also encourage you to support the trans justice that exists today, in whatever way feels right to you. You can find a trans-led group in your local area and volunteer or donate to their work. You can find grassroots trans-led groups doing transformative work on our digital map here, or you can see a list of all of the 2018 TJFP grantees here and donate to them directly.

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