Donate + Elevate: Transgender Healthcare and Policy Advocacy
Online Optimism’s donation matching program, Donate + Elevate, has raised thousands of dollars for non-profits in New Orleans, Washington, D.C., and across the nation since its creation in 2020, and we’re excited to continue with it. Donate + Elevate is an extra special program because we don’t only match a donation made by an employee to a non-profit. We also make a matching donation to a non-profit we’ve selected to support. Our chosen non-profits align with a cause our team agrees to support each year.
For 2024, Online Optimism supports non-profits working in Transgender Healthcare and Policy Advocacy. With anti-trans laws continuing to be introduced and passed, there has been a rise in transgender deaths every year since 2020, primarily affecting trans women and non-white trans people. Despite these bleak statistics, our team is taking action by looking for helpers and aiming to be helpers in these difficult times. Below, you will learn more about the non-profits we will be learning about and supporting this year in hopes of spreading awareness and empowerment for the trans community.
Louisiana Trans Advocates
NEW ORLEANS
Louisiana Trans Advocates offers gender-diverse support groups across Louisiana and links those in need to medical and mental health providers. The group also co-administrates the Louisiana Trans Name Change Fund, which provides monetary aid for name change fees, and maintains a directory of trans-affirming faith groups. This organization is always looking for volunteers to take on tasks like:
- Culling information from their membership database
- Resource research
- Data entry of various kinds
- Phone banking
Louisiana Trans Advocates also sends out advocacy tools to trans and gender nonconforming Louisianans so they can feel empowered throughout the lawmaking process and know how to best take action.
If you are interested in donating to this organization you can do so at this link.
The National Center for Transgender Equality
WASHINGTON, DC
The National Center of Transgender Equality (NCTE) advocates to change policies and society to increase understanding and acceptance of transgender people. In the nation’s capital and throughout the country, NCTE works to replace disrespect, discrimination, and violence with empathy, opportunity, and justice.
NCTE offers an abundance of resources on their website, including:
- Self-help guides, which aim to educate trans and gender nonconforming individuals on health insurance coverage, ID documents for name and gender changes, and a transgender legal service network
- Articles outlining transgender people’s rights in health care, airport security, employment, military records, and many other situations
- Up-to-date information on policies and laws that affect transgender people
- Ways to take action, both federally and by state
If you want to support NCTE and its work, donate here.
Transgender Law Center
NATIONAL
Transgender Law Center is the largest national trans-led organization advocating self-determination for all people. This non-profit started in 2022 and has since been organizing, assisting, informing, and empowering thousands of individual community members towards a long-term, national, trans-led movement for liberation.
Transgender Law Center offers several great programs to trans people, including:
- Black Trans Circles, which offers healing justice spaces to work through oppression-based trauma for Black trans women
- Positively Trans is a program that addresses inequities, stigma, and discrimination against HIV-positive trans people
- Gender Justice Leadership Programs, to bring empathy and understanding to trans and gender-nonconforming youth through storytelling
- Disability Project, which affirms the visibility of trans and queer disabled individuals by working to erode ableism
Get involved with this organization by volunteering or donating today.
GET INVOLVED TODAY
While each highlighted non-profit organization has its mission and specializations, all are contributing toward the common goal of ending discrimination and violence toward the trans community. We can all do our part to bring about these positive changes through volunteering, learning, advocating, and donating. To find out more about how Online Optimism gives back, you can check out our Culture Handbook.