This past April, Borealis Philanthropy’s Fund for Trans Generations (FTG) awarded $1.88 million in grants to 56 trans-led organizations across the United States. Established in 2016, FTG invests in trans-led organizing to support a future where transgender, gender non-conforming, and nonbinary people live with freedom, safety, and self-determination.
FTG plays an important role in providing significant resources to emerging groups that have had limited access to national funding streams. Over 80% of the organizations receiving funding cycle have budgets of $300,000 or less with 22 organizations reporting a budget of under $100,000. FTG is committed to growing with organizations and increasing their capacity and leadership development as they meet the needs of their communities. FTG does this by providing both general support grants and organizational development grants to their grantee partners.
During this grantmaking cycle, organizations named common needs and priorities, including physical community and office space, housing services and access, mutual aid and care networks in light of COVID-19, wellness and mental health, and support for currently incarcerated, houseless, and/or disabled trans people. Faced with responding to urgent needs related to the pandemic and ongoing violence and discrimination, organizations concurrently lead organizing and advocacy efforts to bring community safety, resources, and healing to their members and communities. FTG trusts organizations to work across strategies to build power for trans communities and build stronger movements.
FTG’s grantee partners’ work spans across geography with organizations based in 25 states and Puerto Rico, as well as 4 of the grantee partners working on a national scope. With over 40% of the organizations are based in the South, FTG continues to prioritize moving resources to the South and historically under resourced areas. Over 85% of the trans-led organizations receiving general support grants are Black, Indigenous, and people of color led, with a majority of them being Black trans-led organizations. And 55% of the organizations are led by trans women and femmes.
FTG is thankful to our Advisory Committee for providing essential field knowledge and support for our annual grant review process. Advisory Committee member Ciora Thomas shared, “It was extremely vital to my leadership to review these grants. I have learned so much over the months. This work chose us in a lot of instances and being able to compare and contrast experiences was so powerful. I was also able to see myself in the proposals I reviewed and how to navigate this work as a Black trans woman. This experience has totally molded and shifted my thoughts and leadership steps in a way that can continue to bolster our service provision in Pittsburgh.”
Donor partners, advisory committee members, and staff agree that this has been a beneficial part of the grantmaking process since the inception of the Fund in 2016, particularly with our desire to have trans community involvement and transparency in our grantmaking process.
Of the 56 grants awarded, the majority were renewal grants with a handful of new grants that had been invited to apply based on advisory committee, donor, and staff recommendations. This year, instead of requiring written proposals, FTG received all video proposals in an effort to make the grant submission process less burdensome. This new medium allowed grantee partners to share their work in more accessible and creative ways.
Please see below for a list of FTG grantee partners:
New Grantee Partners
- Baltimore Safe Haven
- Fireweed Collective
- Sisters PGH
- TRANScending Women
Grantee Partner Renewals
- API Equality – Northern California (APIENC)
- Black Excellence Collective
- Black Trans Media
- Black Transwomen Inc
- Brave Space Alliance
- Colectivo Intercultural TRANSgrediendo (CITG)
- Community El’ete
- Community Estrella
- Healers For The Culture
- Fuerza y Unión Múltiple
- Garden of Peace Project
- Gender Benders
- Gender Justice LA
- Griffin-Gracy Educational Retreat and Historical Center
- LaGender, Inc.
- Mariposas Sin Fronteras/Rainbow Defense Fund
- Marsha P. Johnson Institute
- Masjid al-Rabia
- Ministries Beyond Welcome
- Minnesota Transgender Health Coalition
- Mirror Memoirs
- Montana Gender Alliance
- Montana Two Spirit Society
- National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network
- Organización Latina de Trans in Texas
- Our Spot KC
- Out in the Open
- Peacock Rebellion
- RARE Productions
- Southern Fried Queer Pride
- Stonewall Youth
- Transgender Advocates Knowledgeable Empowering – TAKE
- The Disability Project
- The Knights & Orchids Society
- The Spectrum Center
- There’s Still Hope
- Tiger’s Eye Collective: Queer Security Cultural & Educational Project
- Trans Latina T Services
- Trans Pride Initiative
- Trans Queer Pueblo
- Trans Sistas of Color Project – Detroit
- Trans(forming)
- Trans*Visible/ACORN
- TRANScending Barriers Atlanta
- Transformative Justice Law Project of Illinois
- Transforming Hearts Collective
- Transwoman Empowerment Initiative
- UTOPIA WA
- Wage Love Apothecary
- Youth Empowerment Performance Project
Join our efforts to fund trans communities
To learn more about partnering with Borealis Philanthropy’s Fund for Trans Generations and the powerful work of grassroots groups and organizers, please contact FTG at FTG@borealisphilanthropy.org.