Make donations to queer and trans non-profits

• Make sure to consider not only the organization's overall mission and activities but also how well they do (or don't) integrate queer and trans young people who aren’t white, cis-appearing, able-bodied, US-born.…
  • If they do serve young people of color, disabled tweens and teens, immigrant young people, visibly gender non-conforming tweens and teens…, do they have staff and board who look like those they serve? Or are they run by a board and staff who are mostly white, middle-aged or older, cis-appearing…?
• You should also consider whether their activities and mission align with your personal politics.
  • If you're a die-hard atheist, do you want to support an organization that focuses on Christian teenagers and doesn’t have programming specifically for non-Christian young people?
  • If you live in a rural area, would you rather support a rural or exurban organization or one that's solidly based in a city or suburb?
  • If you're politically conservative, do you want to support an organization that teaches young people the value of collective action against capitalism?
  • There are no right or wrong answers to these kinds of questions. (Truly! I know that people who say that doesn't always mean it. But here, i do.) This is only a matter of you calibrating your personal values and priorities with the organization(s) you decide to support.

Please reach out to a local organization that supports queer and trans tweens and teens, whether it's a school group, a non-profit organization, or something run completely by volunteers with no formal organizational structure.

If there's more than one of those groups in your immediate area, pick the one that's run by BIPOC folx or that otherwise centers multiply-marginalized queer or trans people.

These organizations can always use both funds and volunteers. Please reach out to them!

If there's not an organization like those described above in your immediate area, find one in your state that you could support. If your state doesn’t have one, find one in your larger region. And if there's not one of those, support any of the amazing organizations that do queer or trans work across the country.

You can find an extensive list of organizations in the adult resources section (advocacy and activist organizations and support groups) and a smaller one in the youth resources section (advocacy and activist organizations and support groups).

• Organizations like the GSA Network, GLSEN, and PFLAG do amazing work on a national level and would love your donations.
• The Point Foundation provides college scholarships to queer and trans high school graduates.
• The Southern Trans Youth Emergency Project is helping families of TGNC young people in the South navigate the host of laws and regulations that are being implemented that deny gender-affirming care to children, tweens, and teens.
• Relatedly, the Gender Justice League started offering some help for relocation in 2023.
• The Trevor Project literally saves lives, as does Trans Lifeline.
  • Note that Trans Lifeline's website may show you a gray screen before you reach their homepage that says it's checking your security settings. It’s legit; you will get to their website after several seconds. I've tried a few times to get a screenshot of it so you know what you're looking for, but it's always gone too quickly.
• You'll find other ideas here: Trans Led/Serving Organizations to Support
• There are, of course, many national LGBTQA+/SGL organizations that aren't children- or youth-focused but that include young people as a part of their overall work.
• There are, likewise, many tween- and teen-serving organizations that aren't focused on queer and trans young people but who include them in their larger work.
• And there are innumerable organizations in cities, counties, and states throughout the country that provide support to queer and trans children, tweens, and teens. Since listing them all here is well beyond any individual's capacity (or, realistically, a group's or organization’s capacity), Google is going to be your friend here.
• Also, check out the organization listings on CenterLink and Equality Federation.