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Dear CCJFG Member, We hope that you are wrapping up this year and preparing for a joyful and restorative holiday. As 2022 ends, it is important to reflect on the challenges and opportunities the year presented. This year the movement to end mass criminalization and mass incarceration faced serious backlash by way of fear mongering in the media and consequently, threats to the safety and security of grassroots leaders.
I’m struggling with the shifts my organization has had to take in response to the current administration. While we typically invest with narrative or storytelling at the forefront, we’ve pivoted those funds to focus on rapid response. There’s no doubt that rapid response funds are needed right now to respond to the current administration, but I’m concerned the momentum we’ve gained around the importance of storytelling will get lost. How are organizations able to prioritize both so we don’t lose any momentum?
The realities, challenges, and larger context of what Black and brown trans communities are facing locally and nationally are not well-known to funders or to our society in general. The list of articles below showcases Bay Area trans leaders and their organization’s work. From how The Transgender District is meeting the urgent needs of houseless trans people surviving in the pandemic, the ongoing legislative battles on trans youth and how GSA Network is building the leadership of trans youth of color, to the ongoing criminalization of undocumented trans migrants.
To truly strengthen our democracy for the long-term, funders need to hear directly from young people and youth organizing staff and follow their lead to deeply invest in the ecosystem that builds political home and collective agency for us.
While many of us are grappling with the current political realities of our country and how to move forward, we are reminded of the importance of holding a bold and affirmative, long-term vision for a just multi-racial democracy.
If we have learned anything about effective community-based response to the health and economic consequences from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is that coordination between governments, nonprofits, and faith-based organizations is critical to addressing the needs of people with the fewest resources who bear the greatest impact of the pandemic.
Last year in July 2021, NCG hosted a conversation with trans women of color leaders and queer/trans funder advocates–including the Akonadi Foundation, Borealis Philanthropy, Funders for LGBTQ Issues, Horizons Foundation, and Solidaire–to highlight trans leadership and dispel myths that BIPOC trans leaders and their organizations were being adequately resourced, even in the Bay Area.