The Keystone Liberation Leadership Academy (KLLA) is a 15-week leadership academy created by SisTers PGH to invest directly in BIPOC transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse leaders across Pennsylvania.

Six emerging leaders will spend 15 weeks learning, challenging themselves, strengthening their leadership and advocacy skills, examining systems of power, building relationships, and imagining what liberation can look like for trans communities across Pennsylvania.

Thanks to generous philanthropic support, the inaugural Keystone Liberation Leadership Academy is becoming a reality.

Now we’re turning to our community to help us build the culminating experience our graduates deserve:

The KLLA Graduation Leadership Retreat.

Our goal is to raise $50,000 to make it happen.

Investing Directly in Our Leaders

The Keystone Liberation Leadership Academy was built around a simple belief:

We cannot talk about investing in BIPOC trans leadership without actually investing in BIPOC trans leaders.

Our cohort members are committing 15 weeks of their time, energy, lived experience, ideas, and leadership to this Academy. We believe that commitment should be recognized.

Upon successful completion of the Academy, each of our six graduates will receive a $1,500 leadership stipend, representing a direct $9,000 investment into our inaugural cohort.

That $9,000 investment is separate from the $50,000 we are raising for the Graduation Leadership Retreat.

Because KLLA isn’t just about teaching people how to lead.

It’s about changing how we value the people doing the leading.

We want our graduates to leave this Academy with new knowledge, stronger relationships, greater access to leadership networks, a direct financial investment in their development, and a culminating experience that gives them space to reflect, rest, strategize, celebrate, and imagine what comes next.

We are not asking BIPOC trans people to simply show up. We are investing in what happens when they do.

This Is More Than a Graduation

After completing 15 weeks of intensive leadership development, our six graduates will come together for a multi-day leadership retreat.

We envision flying our graduates to a retreat destination where they can step away from their everyday responsibilities and have intentional space to reflect, rest, strategize, celebrate, build deeper relationships, and prepare for what comes next in their leadership journeys.

We will also invite BIPOC trans leaders to join us as guest speakers, sharing their knowledge, experiences, and wisdom with our inaugural cohort.

This retreat is not an afterthought.

It is part of the investment.

We believe leadership development should include more than workshops, assignments, and conversations.

BIPOC trans leaders deserve opportunities to travel, experience new things, be cared for, build community, rest, dream, strategize, experience joy, and know what intentional investment in their leadership actually feels like.

An Experience Built With Intention

We are designing this experience intentionally from beginning to end.

That includes comfort.

That includes safety.

That includes rest.

That includes joy.

And that includes reminding BIPOC trans leaders that they are worthy of being invested in.

Our graduates will travel first class to the retreat because we want the experience to begin before they ever reach the destination.

BIPOC trans people are so often asked to lead movements, educate institutions, advocate for our communities, navigate systems that were never designed for us, and somehow do all of it with the fewest possible resources.

For this experience, we are choosing something different.

Our graduates will have spent 15 weeks investing in themselves, their leadership, and their communities.

We want their culminating experience to communicate something BIPOC trans people don’t hear nearly enough:

You are worthy of comfort.

You are worthy of care.

You are worthy of rest.

You are worthy of joy.

You are worthy of investment.

Safety Is Part of the Investment

Creating an affirming retreat also means being intentional about safety.

We are bringing together BIPOC transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse people in a shared space away from home. Their safety cannot be an afterthought.

Our retreat budget includes professional on-site security and safety support throughout the experience.

We want our graduates to be able to focus on learning, building relationships, resting, celebrating, and simply being present without carrying the responsibility of protecting the space themselves.

Our leaders deserve to feel protected while they lead, learn, rest, dream, and experience joy.

Where Your $50,000 Goes

We want our community to understand what we’re working to build. Our $50,000 fundraising goal is based on the experience we envision for our six graduates, Academy leadership, and invited guest speakers.

Travel & Transportation — $12,000
First-class round-trip airfare for our six graduates and Academy leadership, guest speaker travel, and ground transportation throughout the retreat.

Lodging — $9,500
Individual accommodations for our graduates and Academy leadership, along with lodging for invited guest speakers.

Meals, Retreat Space & Experiences — $7,500
Meals and refreshments, retreat and meeting space, leadership activities, cultural experiences, and opportunities for joy and community building.

Guest Speaker Honoraria — $3,000
Compensation for BIPOC trans leaders who will share their knowledge, experiences, and wisdom with our graduates.

Professional Security & Safety — $7,500
Dedicated professional security and safety support throughout the retreat so our graduates can focus on the experience without carrying the responsibility of protecting the space themselves.

Materials, Welcome Gifts & Accessibility — $1,750
Retreat materials, supplies, welcome gifts, and accessibility-related needs.

Travel, Emergency & Contingency Reserve — $4,250
Travel-related expenses, insurance, unexpected needs, and emergency costs.

Retreat Flexibility — $4,500
Allows us to respond to airfare fluctuations, hotel and venue fees, transportation changes, accessibility needs, and other costs once the retreat destination is finalized.

Total Campaign Goal: $50,000

Every dollar represents something intentional:

Travel. Safety. Comfort. Learning. Rest. Joy. Connection. Leadership. Liberation.

We’re Coming to Our Community

We’re asking individuals.

We’re asking LGBTQ+ organizations.

We’re asking businesses.

We’re asking foundations and community partners.

We’re asking people who believe Pennsylvania needs more Black and Brown trans leaders.

And we’re asking everyone who has ever said that trans people deserve opportunities to lead.

Help us turn those words into an investment.

You don’t have to give thousands of dollars to make a difference.

Give $25.

Give $50.

Give $100.

Give $500.

Give what you can.

Share this campaign.

Ask your organization to contribute.

Create a fundraiser with your friends.

Send this campaign to someone who believes in investing in BIPOC trans leadership.

Every contribution brings our graduates closer to this experience.

And every share helps us reach someone else who may be ready to invest.

Become a KLLA Graduation Leadership Retreat Sponsor

We’re inviting businesses, foundations, organizations, community partners, and individual donors to make a deeper investment in the inaugural KLLA Graduation Leadership Retreat.

Sponsorship helps us provide an experience centered on leadership, safety, comfort, restoration, joy, connection, and liberation for six BIPOC trans leaders completing the Keystone Liberation Leadership Academy.

Liberation Sponsor — $10,000

Our highest sponsorship level represents a transformational investment in the overall retreat experience.

Your investment helps support:
First-class graduate travel, individual accommodations, professional security and safety, leadership programming, meals, transportation, and the overall retreat experience.

Sponsor recognition includes:

Recognition as a Liberation Sponsor of the inaugural KLLA Graduation Leadership Retreat
Premier logo placement on the campaign page and retreat sponsor materials
Recognition on the SisTers PGH website
Dedicated sponsor acknowledgment across SisTers PGH social media platforms
Recognition in KLLA retreat-related communications
Recognition in the post-retreat community thank-you and impact recap
Opportunity to provide a brief written message of encouragement to the graduating cohort

Leadership Sponsor — $5,000

A major investment in creating a safe, affirming, and transformative experience for our graduates.

Your investment helps support:
Graduate travel and lodging, retreat programming, professional security, meals, transportation, and leadership experiences.

Sponsor recognition includes:

Recognition as a Leadership Sponsor
Prominent logo placement on the campaign page and retreat sponsor materials
Recognition on the SisTers PGH website
Sponsor acknowledgment across SisTers PGH social media platforms
Recognition in the post-retreat community thank-you and impact recap
Opportunity to provide a brief written message of encouragement to the graduating cohort

Restoration Sponsor — $2,500

An investment in the rest, care, joy, and connection that are essential parts of sustainable leadership.

Your investment helps support:
Lodging, meals, cultural experiences, retreat activities, transportation, accessibility, and opportunities for intentional restoration.

Sponsor recognition includes:

Recognition as a Restoration Sponsor
Logo placement on the campaign page and select retreat sponsor materials
Recognition on the SisTers PGH website
Social media sponsor acknowledgment
Recognition in the post-retreat community thank-you

Community Sponsor — $1,000

A direct investment in helping us create a retreat experience where BIPOC trans leaders are intentionally resourced and cared for.

Your investment helps support:
Meals, retreat materials, guest speaker honoraria, transportation, welcome gifts, accessibility needs, and other elements of the graduate experience.

Sponsor recognition includes:

Recognition as a Community Sponsor
Name or logo recognition on the campaign page
Recognition on the SisTers PGH website
Inclusion in a collective social media sponsor acknowledgment
Recognition in the post-retreat community thank-you

Friend of KLLA — $500

Help us make the small details of this experience just as intentional as the big ones.

Your investment helps support:
Retreat supplies, meals and refreshments, welcome gifts, local transportation, activities, and participant needs.

Recognition includes:

Name recognition on the campaign page
Inclusion in our community sponsor thank-you
Recognition in the post-retreat community acknowledgment

Sponsor the Experience. Not Access to Our Leaders.

Our sponsorship model is intentionally designed to protect the integrity of the Keystone Liberation Leadership Academy and the privacy of our graduates.

Sponsorship provides recognition for your investment, not access to cohort members or private retreat spaces.

We want organizations to invest in BIPOC trans leadership because they believe these leaders deserve resources and opportunities, not because their contribution purchases access to the people participating in our program.

That’s part of what intentional investment looks like to us.

Whether you become a $500 Friend of KLLA or a $10,000 Liberation Sponsor, your investment moves us closer to our $50,000 goal and helps create a culminating experience worthy of the work our graduates have put into their leadership development.

With Gratitude

The Keystone Liberation Leadership Academy has been made possible in part through generous support from Emergent Fund and Neighborhood Allies through the 2026 Rise High Growth Grant.

We are deeply grateful for their investment in developing BIPOC trans leadership across Pennsylvania.

Their support is helping us build the inaugural Academy. Now we’re inviting our broader community to help create the culminating Graduation Leadership Retreat our graduates deserve.

Help Us Raise $50,000

This is the inaugural cohort of the Keystone Liberation Leadership Academy.

These six leaders will spend 15 weeks showing up, doing the work, challenging themselves, learning from one another, and thinking critically about what leadership and liberation can look like for BIPOC trans communities across Pennsylvania.

We want to show up for them, too.

Years from now, we want to look back at these six leaders and remember the community that said:

We believed in you before we knew where your leadership would take you.

Don’t just tell BIPOC trans people you believe in our leadership.

Invest in it.

Whether you give $25, become a $500 Friend of KLLA, or invest $10,000 as a Liberation Sponsor, you are helping us build something that tells BIPOC trans leaders that their leadership, safety, rest, joy, and futures matter.

Help SisTers PGH raise $50,000 for the inaugural Keystone Liberation Leadership Academy Graduation Leadership Retreat.

Learn more about SisTers PGH and the Keystone Liberation Leadership Academy at www.sisterspgh.org.

Invest in BIPOC Trans Leadership: Fund the KLLA Graduation Retreat

Help us raise $50,000 to give six BIPOC trans leaders a graduation retreat rooted in leadership, restoration, safety joy and liberation.