Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance #TDOR, a day to honor the hundreds of transgender people whose lives were lost to anti-transgender violence, learn about the violence affecting the transgender community, and take action in defense of trans life. 

Our recent research examining philanthropic support for LGBTQ Black communities highlighted the incredible violence trans people, and Black trans women in particular, continue to face. Yet Black trans and gender-nonconforming people collectively received <1% of all funding for LGBTQ issues in 2018.

During our Supporting LGBTQ Black Communities: Philanthropy’s Role in Intersectional Movements webinar earlier this week, Bré Rivera, Program Fellow at the Black Trans Fund at Groundswell Fund reflected on the meaning of #TDOR and called on attendees to remember Monica Roberts, a true pioneer in the trans community who passed away earlier this year. Rivera said, “Folks in our community lost a pioneer, Monica Roberts. My call to philanthropy is for us to take some time not only speak their names and talk about the legacies of tons of trans folks that we’ve lost over the years but actually put resources into that memory”.

Funders for LGBTQ Issues echoes the call from our colleague Bre Rivera and others for philanthropy to do more than just say their names, but to also take meaningful steps to create a philanthropic culture that is inclusive and supportive of trans people through grantmaking and decision-making. Grantmakers United for Trans Communities (GUTC), an initiative of Funders for LGBTQ Issues, offers tools and resources to help foundations increase their commitments to trans staff and community. We invite you to learn more about our efforts to mobilize philanthropy by visiting GUTC.org