Because very little money goes to LGBT organizations and even less goes to trans justice work. Even less than that goes to groups run by and for trans people. Even less goes to grassroots, local work. Even less go to groups without nonprofit status. Even less goes to groups that center the leadership of trans people organizing around their experiences with racism, economic injustice, transmisogyny, ableism, immigration, incarceration, and other intersecting oppressions. And very little if any of this money is non-restricted funding that activists can use in whatever way they deem best. By creating the Trans Justice Funding Project, we hope to help call attention to all this while moving some money right now. We also hope to help organizations build longer-term relationships with donors (and maybe even some foundations) who want to support this work but might not know about some of the more under-the-radar organizing that is happening.

When wealthy donors and foundations control the giving process, it gives them an inordinate amount of power over what kind of work gets done and what organizations have to do to keep themselves afloat. This project is about investing in communities making decisions by and for ourselves. We believe in the power of community-led decision-making.

TJFP brings together a group of grantmaking fellows, comprised of six trans and gender non-conforming activists and organizers from across the country each year. As part of their grantmaking fellowship, the panel reviews all the applications and then convenes at the end of May for a weekend-long in-person meeting to decide on the year’s grantees. You can read about our previous Community Grantmaking panelists and fellows here and our grantees and applicants here. Or get more details about the whole process from our most recent annual report.

TJFP funds grassroots, trans justice groups run by and for trans people with a total budget of less than $250,000 located in the United States or a U.S. territory, centering the leadership of trans people organizing around their experiences with racism, economic injustice, transmisogyny, ableism, immigration, incarceration, and other intersecting oppressions.

You can view our funding criteria here.

TJFP’s grant applications become available at the end of December each year and the deadline to apply will always be on February 15th. Please sign up for our mailing list to be notified when the grant cycle opens.

Please visit our “Tips for Applying” for helpful guidance and to review the application questions in advance.

We hope to reach out to people who believe in the urgent need to organize for trans justice. The majority of our funding comes from individuals who give generously at all dollar amounts. Every penny matters! We’re also deeply grateful for our Legacy donors, monthly donors, foundations and corporations who also support our mission and model. Thank you so much to everyone who has already donated—we could not do this without you!

If you’d like to raise money on behalf of trans justice, you can find our fundraising toolkit here. If you’d like to make a tax deductible donation to TJFP’s Collective Action Fund you can donate here. You can also donate directly to TJFP’s non-charitable trust here!

TJFP is a non-charitable trust, we have the freedom to cut checks directly to our grantees, regardless of their non-profit status. Trusts are usually a way for the wealthy to preserve and pass on their assets to the next generation. But we are hoping that a structure that was created to preserve wealth, when guided instead by community leadership, can also become a powerful means of redistributing it. You can make a donation directly to TJFP’s non-charitable trust here!

Another way that we move money to our grantees is through TJFP’s Collective Action Fund at the Tides Foundation. TJFP established a Collective Action Fund at Tides Foundation in 2012. This Collective Action Fund can accept contributions from a variety of funding sources, such as private foundations, corporations, and individuals, and allows their donations to be tax deductible because Tides Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity. TJFP’s Collective Action Fund at the Tides Foundation is where TJFP distributes a portion of our grants to groups that have their 501c3 or are fiscally sponsored.

Read all about our funding model here!

We aim to be as transparent as possible about our process. If you have any questions that aren’t answered here, just email us at info@transjusticefundingproject.org and we’ll do our best to get back to you as fast as possible!

We use the term “trans” in its most inclusive sense, as an umbrella term encompassing transsexual, transgender, genderqueer, TwoSpirit people, and more generally, anyone whose gender identity or gender expression is non-conforming and/or different from their birth-assigned sex.

We see trans justice as a commitment to creating a world where trans and gender non-conforming individuals and communities have the freedom to self-define and express their genders without fear of violence, discrimination, or harassment. A world where we recognize and honor that our communities have knowledge and expertise in matters relating to our own lives that no one else will have.

(Thank you to Leeway Foundation and Ryan Li for the adapted definitions above.)