Donations are not tax deductible! - we are not a registered nonprofit

Background

The United States has never been welcoming to those outside the societal norm. We have seen great strides in inclusion over the last few decades thanks to the hard work of activists such as increased acceptance of gender diverse lives and spread of gender-neutral language. While pushback from LGBTQ+phobes is expected, acceptance has taken a sharp turn these last few years and become regular political attacks on the gender diverse communities.

According to the Equality Federation, as of March 5th, 2023, there are 290 anti-transgender bills across 39 states. Seventy-eight percent of our country’s states have bills targeting gender diverse people. We have also seen State directed actions like that of Texas Governor Greg Abbot who on February 22, 2022, informed Texas Family and Protective Services that gender confirmation measures for transgender youth are considered child abuse. On November 4th, 2022, the Florida Board of Medicine and the state’s Board of Osteopathic Medicine voted to ban gender affirming care for minors experiencing gender dysphoria. This encompasses puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy and surgeries. In 2023, denial of medical care has expanded to target both gender diverse youth and adults.

Need

While these bills and directed actions harm our community as a whole, a majority of the anti-transgender legislation targets youth. The Trevor Project’s 2021 LGBTQ+ Mental Health Survey states that over 50% of transgender and non-binary youth considered suicide in 2021. In line with the horrendous legislation we’re seeing, 94% of survey respondents said that the recent political atmosphere has affected their mental health. On the other side, the survey found that those who had their pronouns respected the suicide rate dropped by half. Lower suicide attempts were also seen in those who had the ability to change their name and/or gender marker on legal documents.

All ages of gender diverse folx struggle with safety, support and rights. We saw during a 5 year period between January 1st, 2018 and December 31st, 2022 a total of 2,060 deaths. This includes 1,637 violent deaths (79.5%) and 235 suicides (11%). In 2023, the United States has the second highest rate of reported gender diverse deaths in the world. We can only imagine how many gender diverse lives are lost and not documented.

Goals

Create a centralized place to access resources and information that are important for gender diverse lives
Reduction of the time spent on and stress from the numerous steps associated with a gender affirming journey
Raise the voices of and empower gender diverse people
Build a national community rooted in advocacy, support and belonging

Deliverables

Resource pages, guides and toolkits
Community map that details gender diverse serving or friendly organizations, businesses, and more
National event calendar
Partnerships with organizations, businesses and individuals

Impact

Research and lived experiences have shown that while society has made progress, the targeting and non-acceptance of gender diverse individuals is still a major issue. The Gender Diverse Project will engage with partners and individuals to curate and create resources that make affirming one’s gender a little bit easier. This work will look to reduce the mental health impacts of non-acceptance, empower gender diverse voices and create a nation-wide community built on support and belonging. Our work will not only benefit gender diverse individuals but society as a whole through a cultural shift that includes and uplifts gender diverse identities in all aspects of life.

$5 Donation

Helps curate 1 resource for the centralized database, contributing to the goal of adding at least 2 resources per month

$25 Donation

Supports the creation of a collaborative resource for one state, advancing the objective of creating at least 1 resource per state annually

$50 Donation

Funds the development of a guide or toolkit to help gender diverse individuals engage in advocacy work

$100 Donation

Supports social media and website engagement efforts, helping increase our reach by 5% each quarter

$250 Donation

Helps secure and maintain partnerships with gender diverse serving organizations, working towards the goal of 3 active partnerships per state

$500 Donation

Contributes to the development of the community map identifying gender diverse owned/serving organizations and businesses across states

$1,000 Donation

Helps fund partial salary and benefits for a core team member, supporting the transition from volunteer-based to staffed operations

Gender Diverse Lives Project - Start Up Campaign

Making the journey towards affirming one’s gender identity a little bit easier