Gender-Affirming Care Grant

Gender-Affirming Care Grant is sponsored by Athens Pride & Queer Collective (APQC). The Gender-Affirming Care Grant provides financial support to transgender and gender-expansive Georgians seeking gender-affirming surgeries and related medical care. This program aims to reduce financial barriers to accessing essential healthcare procedures.

GAC Scholarship | Empower Lives: Support Gender-Affirming Care — APQC The Gender-Affirming Care Grant Athens Pride & Queer Collective’s Gender-Affirming Care Grant provides financial support to transgender and gender-expansive Georgians seeking gender-affirming surgeries and related medical care.

This program exists to reduce the financial barriers that often delay or prevent individuals from accessing procedures that are essential to their health, safety, and well-being. Since launching the program, APQC has awarded over $50,000 directly to community members in need. These grants help cover costs related to surgical procedures that insurance may not fully support — or may not cover at all.

To ensure that every trans and gender-expansive person in our community has the opportunity to live authentically and access life-changing care. The Gender-Affirming Care Grant is funded entirely through donations and community-driven fundraising events, making every contribution a direct investment in someone’s future. TOGETHER WE CAN REMOVE BARRIERS AND HELP TRANSFORM LIVES!

APQC remains committed to expanding this program and continuing to support those who face financial hardship while seeking gender-affirming care. Frequently Asked Questions What kinds of procedures does this grant cover/not cover? This grant is intended to assist with one-time procedures or a limited package of procedures that can be paid for in a lump sum.

In the past this has been surgeries, but we are open to considering applications for things like laser hair removal. Do I have to be uninsured? No, the grant is open to anyone regardless of insurance status.

We recognize that even with insurance there can be significant financial barriers to seeking care. We do ask for information about what your insurance does/doesn’t cover just so we know what kind of assistance is needed. We also ask about other ways you have put efforts into raising funds.

Are there other requirements for recipients of the grant? All grant recipients must be at least 18 years of age by June 25, 2026 and a current resident of Georgia. We also ask that we are permitted to share our recipients name and photo in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of this grant (this helps us get more donations for other folks!)

How do you choose who to award the grant to? We use a variety of factors. We prioritize those in/near the Athens area since that is our primary service area.

We also prioritize those who have significant financial strain and demonstrate legitimate need. The grant is intended to allow folks to have procedures that would be inaccessible to them otherwise. We also factor in the time and intention taken in filling out the application.

We strongly encourage applicants to upload a video so we can get to know you a bit better. When and how will you notify applicants? We will contact all applicants within one month to inform them if they have been granted funds or not.

If you are not awarded funds this year, please feel free to apply again next year! Where does this money come from? This money comes from funds raised through our annual PrideFest, through sponsors, and through individual donations from local businesses and individuals.

If you’d like to make a donation, you can do that through our website and we would greatly appreciate it!