Action for Transformation Fund

Action for Transformation Fund is sponsored by Transgender Law Center. Provides grants to trans-led nonprofit organizations and fiscally sponsored projects for trans justice work, including community safety, health, organizing, and support for trans and LGBT youth. Pilot program with participatory grantmaking; based in California.

Action for Transformation Fund - Transgender Law Center Skip to primary navigation Action for Transformation Fund moving resources to trans-led organizing, healing, and power-building efforts Apply for the Action for Transformation Grant Para información sobre el Fondo de Acción para la Transformación en español, póngase en contacto con Aldita Amaru Gallardo por correo electrónico: [email protected] As we witness the rise of authoritarianism and increased backlash on Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and LGBTQ communities—especially attacks on trans communities of color— Transgender Law Center and Emergent Fund are partnering to move $1 million to support trans-led organizing, healing, and power-building efforts.

Please note: Transgender Law Center is collaborating on the fund, but will not be in charge of making funding decisions. Founded in 2002 , Transgender Law Center (TLC) is the largest national trans-led organization advocating for a world where all people can define themselves and their futures.

Grounded in racial justice and legal expertise, TLC is committed to ensuring transgender and gender nonconforming people are able to live and thrive. Emergent Fund , founded in 2016, is a movement-aligned national Rapid Response fund that explicitly funds directed impacted communities, including BIPOC communities among others.

Led by a team of queer people of color and grounded in intersectional values, Emergent Fund provides rapid, transformative support to grassroots organizing that responds to the biggest crises of our time. Trans communities have always been at the forefront of world-building. Under any conditions, trans organizing continues to be a critical site of power and possibility .

From STAR House’s revolutionary services to the fierce love of House Mothers, trans communities have created legacies of self-determination, resilience, and care. Approach to Rapid Response Grantmaking Emergent Fund knows that investing in our communities is not a risk. In order to lower barriers of entry for applicants, we will offer a simple application that only asks for essential information.

Accessible : Video submissions, request phone call, and Spanish-language forms. Responsive decision-making that allows for grants to made within 10 days from approval, and notification within a month from application submission. Accepting submissions on a rolling basis.

This is a pilot program , limited one-time funding. Grant period is 12 months. Grants to be $5,000-$20,000, on average $10,000.

Advised by participatory grantmaking panel of 3-5 trans activists, informed by trans staff and board, directed by experienced trans grantmaker. As a note: TLC will not be making decisions on grants.

Total Funding: $1 million Grant Sizes: $5,000 – $20,000, average of $10,000, disbursed within two months Eligibility: 501c3 organizations or fiscally sponsored projects Application: Accessible process with video, phone, and Spanish options Black, Indigenous, people of color led work Geographically isolated groups Groups led by disabled, Deaf, ill, and Mad people and work with a disability justice praxis Emerging groups with budgets under $1M.

No minimum budget requirement. Must be an organization or project (501c3 or fiscally sponsored project). Must be a demonstrated leader in trans-organizing, adhering to Trans Justice Funding Project’s definition that the majority of people with decision making power about the group should be trans and gender nonconforming.

Must be movement-building work that is rooted in collective liberation while cultivating the political analysis and organizing skills of your membership or base as you take creative action against oppressive systems. Must be power building work that bridges immediate community survival needs that attempts to bring material change for trans communities, within and beyond “visibility” toward long arc liberatory world building.

Direct actions, mobilizations, protests, i.e. protests, public pressure campaigns Strategic opportunities, i.e. coalition building spaces, strategy convenings, trainings, action camps Sustainable care strategies, i.e. healing spaces, wellness and restoration retreats, joy-centered events Narrative shift and storytelling work, i.e. media literacy, political education Cultural organizing, i.e. two-spirit pow wows, ballroom and drag actions Art and media interventions, i.e. art build activations, drag story hours Transformative justice work, i.e. conflict resolution skills building Safety and security measures, i.e. digital security trainings, medic trainings What this is NOT funding: Work led by cisgender people Work housed at larger organizations led by cisgender people Multiyear work; this a pilot fund Work that is solely for social purposes Academic research or studies Apply for the Action for Transformation Grant Can groups who have been funded by Emergent Fund before apply for this fund?

Yes. Applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Please note that this fund prioritizes urgent or emergent work.

We encourage organizations to apply if their work aligns with our criteria for rapid-response funding, rather than for general annual fundraising. How do we define trans, gender nonconforming, and intersex?

We use a broad definition of “trans,” encompassing transsexual, transgender, genderqueer, Two-Spirit people, and more generally, anyone whose gender identity or expression is non-conforming and/or different from their birth-assigned sex. What is the timeline for applying? Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and decisions are typically made within a month of submission.

You can apply via our portal. What kinds of questions regarding our work should I expect? What is the specific opportunity you are organizing for, and how will it sustain, strengthen, or expand trans movement building?

How will it build power or bring material change for trans communities? Tell us about your team leadership and membership. Include details such as demographics, how long members have been with the organization, whether you rely on paid staff or volunteers, and your board composition.

How will the proposed work be informed and decided on by directly impacted people (BIPOC, trans/GNC/intersex, and/or disabled folks)? Who are your current funders? (Do you rely on small grassroots donations, large institutional foundations, major government contracts, or other sources?)

What is your organization’s total budget size? What is the budget for the specific project you are seeking funding for? The Legal Information Helpdesk provides basic information about laws and policies in the United States that affect transgender people across many areas, including employment, health care, housing, civil rights, immigration, prisoners’ rights, and identity document changes.