Dear Community,
As we approach Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, we are celebrating and honoring the countless contributions and triumphs of LGBTQ+ girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth of Color* trailblazers who fearlessly organize and fight for equity this Pride Month and everyday. We at G4GC remain rooted in unwavering solidarity to fight against LGBTQ+ discrimination and injustice, and we are proud to fund and support LGBTQ+ girls and gender-expansive youth of Color-led organizations who are dreaming and building a future rooted in safety, freedom, and justice. Get to know some of these amazing grantee partners (below!).
As we celebrated welcoming Nahr Suha as our newest team member and manager of our Holding a Sister Initiative (HASI), we also held our first HASI retreat with our collaborative partner, the Black Trans Fund. With five percent of young people in the U.S. under the age of 30 identifying as trans or nonbinary (though we don’t have actual stats for youth of Color), we are excited to deepen and expand the resourcing of organizations led by, centering, and supporting trans girls of Color.
This month we also pause to recognize Juneteenth, and to commemorate the Black freedom struggle as a core element of our collective freedom. As always, we honor and amplify the achievements and joyful expressions of Black girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth who shape and influence our society today. In this newsletter you will also find:
- G4GC building community (conferences, HASI retreat)
- Our President & CEO Dr. Monique W. Morris joins Tides Advocacy Board of Directors and launches a new book!
- Save the date in October for our G4GC convening!
- Grant opportunities
- and what’s been inspiring us!
It would be remiss to go without acknowledging the extraordinary trauma our communities continue to experience. We remain inspired, energized, and affirmed by the beautiful work that you—our community—continue to do as individuals, organizations, and collectives to advance a world where girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth of Color are safe, free and thriving.
Meet some of our LGBTQ+ grantee partners and their impactful work!
The important work of healing ancestral wounds, dismantling limiting structures and uplifting the creativity, genius, and joy of our LGBTQ+ youth and communities is taking place across our country. We invite you to get to know just a few of our incredible community of G4GC grantee partners focused on leading this necessary work. Due to the intersectional nature of our grants, compiling a comprehensive list is challenging because so many of our grantee partners are LGBTQ+ youth-serving organizations, but we are proud to highlight the following orgs!
Connects with Black communities through performance, rituals, and movement work to promote healing and liberation in Black Queer and Trans Communities across the U.S.
Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement
Works at local and national levels to achieve collective liberation of trans, queer, and gender nonconforming Latinxs through building community, organizing, advocacy, and education.
Grounded in legal expertise and committed to racial justice works with many trans and gender-nonconforming youth and families to advocate for young people’s opportunities to live safe and affirming lives, and to have a safe place to learn.
Supports LGBTQIA+ Muslims to build possibilities towards collective liberation through cultural organizing, base-building, and defining Muslimness as an expansive and racialized identity.
S.O.U.L. Sisters Leadership Collective
Disrupts cycles of violence by supporting youth who have experienced multitudes of criminalization. They use four pillars: collective leadership, radical artistic expression, healing, and restorative justice.
Youth organization serving TGNC young people in Kansas City through five advocacy frameworks: harm reduction, trauma-informed care, anti-oppression, positive youth development and transformative justice.
A Black and trans-led non-profit organization that serves POC, trans, and nonbinary people within Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Through youth organizing, healing justice, and leadership development programs, builds the power of LGBTQ youth ages 13-25 in New Orleans who are directly impacted by the criminal justice system.
Building the leadership and power of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth of Color in New York City.
Lucie’s Place is a grassroots, direct services and advocacy non-profit that provides support and resources to TLGBQ+ young adults experiencing homelessness in Arkansas.
Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition
Works to ensure that LGBTQ2+, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming students from across Mississippi can attain a safe and inclusive, high-quality education free of discrimination and bullying.
Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico
Support transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming communities through direct services, education, and advocacy in New Mexico.
A collective of women and men who prioritize healing and economical sustainability for women and girls exiting violence such as human trafficking, sexual exploitation, incarceration and marginalization.
Groundswell Fund – Black Trans Fund
NYC-based national fund that seeks to change culture by shifting the narrative about Black trans communities towards joy and resilience, and away from violence and despair.
Youth-informed and youth-led Ohio organization for queer youth that offers free programming, housing, and support services in Columbus and statewide.
An LA-based community center where LGBTQIA+ youth with housing insecurities can receive free mentorship classes and workshops, along with free gender-affirming haircuts.
Welcome, Nahr!
We are thrilled to welcome Nahr Suha(they/she) to our G4GC team as the Fund Manager for our Holding A Sister Initiative, a partnership between The Black Trans Fundand G4GC to mobilize resources toward work that centers and supports transgender girls of Color, their families and communities in the U.S. and occupied territories.
Nahr is a Black environmentalist, urban farmer and advocate for trans & gender-expansive youth of Color, whose insights, experiences, and voices are necessary for a liberated future.
Prior to joining G4GC, they worked as a restoration ecologist, and a community farmer. Nahr is of Afro-Arabian descent and was raised in The Arabian Gulf in Southwest Asia. She now resides in the Pacific Northwest on unceded traditional lands of the Duwamish and Coast Salish tribes. Join us in welcoming Nahr and learn more about them on our G4GC team page.
Holding a Sister Initiative (HASI) Retreat
In June, G4GC and the Black Trans Fund came together for a retreat and to warmly welcome Nahr, our HASI Fund Manager, to build community and deepen conversations about resourcing trans youth of Color across the U.S. and territories. We’re excited about what’s to come for HASI in the next year, especially with Nahr on board to steward this work!
Not pictured and photo credit goes to: HunterDae Little-Goodridge!
Dr. Morris joins the Tides Advocacy Board
We’re proud to announce that our President and CEO Dr. Monique W. Morris has joined the Board of Directors for Tides Advocacy. Tides Advocacy is a team of political, legal and financial experts that identify, connect, and fuel movements for social justice and the health of our democracy. Founded in 1997, Tides Advocacy leverages its extensive network and design solutions to make advocacy accessible to social change innovators in all sectors.
Cultivating systemic change (and joy!) for Black girls
Dr. Morris’ most recent book, Cultivating Joyful Learning Spaces for Black Girls (ASCD, 2022), is a discussion with (and among) educators about building learning environments that support Black girls’ excellence and academic achievement while interrupting school Pushout. The book is the third in a book series from Dr. Morris about responding to the effects of school pushout on Black girls (following PUSHOUT and Sing a Rhythm, Dance a Blues). It is available June 23, but you can pre-order it now!
Building community with others in philanthropy
We’re grateful to be safely returning to in-person events and gatherings where we can connect with other values-aligned philanthropic professionals. At the end of April, two of our team members attended the Institute for Women’s Policy Research’s Power Plus Summit in San Francisco where women across movements gathered to accelerate change toward women’s progress and equality.
In May, three of our team members met up in Houston for Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) National Convening, where we were in community with other grantmaking institutions working to strengthen the power of immigrant and refugee communities.
In early June, one of our team members attended the Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) Leadership Conference in Miami. We took away many insights and inspiration from the conversations had and connections made with others who are committed to resourcing our communities.
Supporting Latinx girls*
In March we partnered with Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) for their #GoMujerescrowdfunding campaign. We gave $30,000 to 27 organizations serving Latine girls* in the U.S. and in Latin America, who then raised thousands more (up to $18,000!) through their crowdfunding efforts. We value partnerships with fellow philanthropic organizations like HIP that strengthen efforts to resource all girls, femmes and gender-expansive youth of Color! Check out the full #GoMujeres 2022 results report for more details on the campaign’s impact.
Save the date: G4GC annual convening
We’re busy planning an exciting 2022 G4GC annual convening, and we have exciting surprises that you won’t want to miss! More details to come, but mark your calendars now for the week of October 24-29, 2022!
Grantee Spotlight: Taller Salud
A timely initiative from our grantee partner Taller Salud addresses street harassment. Taller Salud is a feminist anti-racist, grassroots organization based in Puerto Rico that’s over 40 years old. Their Afrocaribeñas Program gathers a group of young women ages 13-21 to educate and advocate for antiracist and gender violence.
Their campaign against street harassment titled “Tumba El Acoso” has a social reach of over 300,000, visits to 18 school groups, 1,000 endorsements for decision-makers to address this as a public policy issue, five visits to lawmakers, and three public space presentations. The campaign video is playing as public service messages on the radio and in all movie theaters in Puerto Rico. We’re so proud of this important work!
Grant Opportunities
Below are some grant opportunities your organizations may want to consider, shared by our grantee partners. If you have any you’d like to share with our community, send them to [email protected].
Ms. Foundation has launched another round of The Activist Collaboration Fund. Initially launched in 2020, the Activist Collaboration & Care Fund (ACF) provides responsive, one-year, general operating support grants to organizations led by and for trans and cis women and girls of Color and nonbinary people of color to support their collaboration efforts along with girls of color, trans women and girls of color, and indigenous women and girls. Additional details here.
Craigslist Charitable Fund
The fund supports nonprofits throughout the U.S., with some emphasis on California. Areas of interest include economic and social justice, human rights and civil liberties, veterans issues and world peace, the environment, and more. Send an email with the requested information (listed on the website) to [email protected].
A.J. Muste Memorial Institute
The Institute is seeking applications for its Social Justice Fund to make grants for grassroots activist projects in the US. Priority is given to those with small budgets and little access to more mainstream funding sources. The deadline is October 24, 2022. More info here.
Norman Foundation
The Foundation supports efforts throughout the U.S. that strengthen the ability of communities to determine their own economic, environmental, and social well-being. These efforts may promote economic justice, link community-based economic and environmental justice, and link environmental issues with economic and social justice issues. Prospective grantees need to submit a letter of inquiry. Grant details can be found on their website.
Charles Lafitte Foundation
The Foundation supports U.S. nonprofits with innovative and effective approaches to helping people help themselves and others around them. Programs should promote inclusiveness and diversity. The Foundation likes projects that remove barriers to full economic and/or social participation in society. Funding areas include education, children’s advocacy, the arts, and medical research, among others. More info here.
Administration for Children & Families – Basic Center Program (BCP)
BCP grants will support temporary shelter and counseling services for youth who have left home without the permission of their parents or guardians, who have been forced to leave home, or other homeless youth who might otherwise end up in the law enforcement or the child welfare, mental health, or juvenile justice systems. The deadline is June 27, 2022. More info here.
Transgender youth messaging guide
Advancing justice and safety for transgender people in the U.S. will require building a strong, vocal, and durable multiracial coalition championing a trans-inclusive, progressive vision for the country, according to messaging research conducted by Transgender Law Center, ASO Communications and Lake Research Partners. Read the insightful Transgender Youth and the Freedom to Be Ourselves Messaging Guide here.
Mindfulness App
The Chani app combines astrology, mindfulness and meditation to help support the well-being of its users. The app was built in partnership with our friends at AnnieCannons, Inc, a queer-led software development agency whose engineers are predominantly survivors of human trafficking and/or gender-based violence. 5% of all app profits will be disbursed directly to Black, Latinx, Native/Indigenous, Queer and/or Trans survivors of gender-based violence by FreeFrom.org.
An invitation to learn about Juneteenth
Juneteenth is a time for African American celebration, and it is also an opportunity for other people to reflect and learn more about the Black Freedom Struggle in the United States. We will be closed to ensure that our staff can engage in celebration and learning, and invite you to do the same.
Do you know of an important, historical date or upcoming celebration? Share it with us at [email protected].
June 2022
*LGBTQ+ Pride Month
*Caribbean American Heritage Month
*Immigrant Heritage Month
*Black Music Month
- 19: Juneteenth
- 20: World Refugee Day
July 2022
Does your organization have a funding opportunity, upcoming conference, or other celebration centering girls of Color you want to share with the G4GC community? Or an important date to be included in our upcoming calendar section? Email them to [email protected] with “newsletter” in the subject line for consideration 6-8 weeks before the event or date.
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*When G4GC refers to “girls of color,” we include any cis, trans, gender-expansive, non-binary and/or any girl- or femme-identified person age 25 and younger who identifies as Black, Indigenous, Latin, Asian, Arab, Pacific Islander, and/or other People of Color.