LGBTQIA+ Organizations You Can Donate To

Happy Pride Month y’all! 

We’ve been reflecting on the danger of “rainbow-washing” and working on how to be allies with an actionable plan in place. This list of organizations below began when our team started working on Traackr’s company donation matching program, and we’re sharing it here because we hope you’ll join us. 

Why donate? 

“Redistribution of wealth is one of the most impactful ways to support any marginalized community. During pride month, allies should focus on direct donations to our most vulnerable community members...Black and brown trans women and LGBTQ youth.” — Amanda Faun (@arborandwood)

Underrepresented and oppressed communities often do not have access to the same resources, opportunities or basic human rights/needs (e.g. trans healthcare) that others enjoy. But unpacking Amanda’s quote a bit more reveals greater intricacies. There are folks that are simultaneously a part of multiple vulnerable communities - LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC, for example - who experience compounded discrimination and oppression. This is why it is important to be intersectional in our allyship.

If you want to read more about the elements of true allyship, I encourage you to read Amanda’s full post. She covers education, decentering, community amplification, and more.

Support organizations

You can find a running list of LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC organizations here, or just keep scrolling down to read through the entire list. Please note that this is by no means a complete list. To start, we figured we would compile a list of support organizations in the United States, United Kingdom and France because the majority of our team and readers are from one of those three countries. 

We know there are so many great organizations out there so this is by no means a stagnant list - we will continue to add to it as we learn more. Alternatively, if you have one that you would like to add please drop us a note here.

LGBTQIA+

United States

• The Trevor Project — Leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ).

• GLSEN — Education organization working to end discrimination, harassment, and bullying based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression and to prompt LGBT cultural inclusion and awareness in K-12 schools.

• Black Aids Institute — Black HIV think and do tank in America. We believe in complete freedom for Black people by eradicating systematic oppression so that we can live long, healthy lives.

• Center for Black Equity — A coalition of Black gay pride organizers formed to promote a multinational network of LGBT/SGL Prides and community-based organizations.

• Trans Women of Color Collective — TWOCC was created to cultivate economic opportunities and affirming spaces for trans people of color and our families, to foster kinship, build community, engage in healing and restorative justice through arts, culture, media, advocacy and activism.

• Sylvia Rivera Law Project — A collective organization founded on the understanding that gender self-determination is inextricably intertwined with racial, social and economic justice. Therefore, we seek to increase the political voice and visibility of low-income people and people of color who are transgender, intersex, or gender non-conforming. SRLP works to improve access to respectful and affirming social, health, and legal services for our communities. We believe that in order to create meaningful political participation and leadership, we must have access to basic means of survival and safety from violence.

• The OUT Foundation — The OUT Foundation's mission is to remove the barriers that block LGBTQ+ individuals' access and participation in fitness, health and wellness, ensuring their success. The foundation is dedicated to nurturing, empowering, and celebrating LGBTQ+ bodies and minds.

United Kingdom

• MindLine Trans+ — A confidential emotional, mental health support helpline for people who identify as transgender, agender, gender fluid and non-binary. 

• Mermaids UK — Family and individual support for gender diverse and transgender children and young people. Mermaids is passionate about supporting children, young people, and their families to achieve a happier life in the face of great adversity.

• PACE Health — Mental health charity, promoting the emotional well-being of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Their three main aims are outlined: Best possible world for LGBT people; Inclusive, dynamic & collaborative with Integrity, and inspiring better LGBT mental health. 

• Gaysians — Organization for the British South Asian LGBT+ community, promoting positive visibility for greater acceptance. Created from a need for individuals to more easily access the support available to them, the organization operates as an online platform, connecting organizations around the country to those seeking support in the form of meet ups, mental health access, sexual health support and social events. 

• Hidayah — This organization, which takes its name from the Arabic word meaning “guidance”, is a nationwide group for LGBTQI+ Muslims in the UK. It campaigns for social justice, and to defeat the stigma, taboo and discrimination faced by many in the LGBTQI+ Muslim community. Comprising practicing and non-practicing Muslims, Hidayah welcomes both Muslims and non-Muslim allies to its events up and down the country, aspiring to create a society free from discrimination. 

• UK Black Pride — UK Black Pride provides a safe space for LGBT+ Black, Asian and Minority Ethnics annually, drawing up to 8,000 attendees. The event began in response to the lack of representation in mainstream Pride events, as discussed in the June 2019 issue of British Vogue, in an interview with the UK Black Pride co-founder. 

France

• MAG Jeunes LGBT — The MAG Jeunes LGBT + (Mouvement d'Affirmation des Jeunes Gais, Lesbiennes, Bi & Trans) is an association of young lesbians, gays, bi and trans aged 15 to 30 years. It welcomes all the people who pass the door of its premises and offers them convivial, cultural and activist activities. Its role is also to prevent and fight against LGBTphobias (lesbophobia, gayphobia, biphobia and transphobia).

• SOS Homophobie — SOS Homophobie fights against discrimination, homophobic, and transphobic attacks. The organization support victims of homophobic or transphobic acts with their crisis line and legal support.

• Human Dignity Trust — A legal charity that supports those who want to challenge anti-gay laws, wherever they exist in the world. Laws that criminalize lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people put them beyond the protection of the law, fostering a climate of fear and violence. The Human Dignity Trust is an organization of international lawyers that supports local activists and their lawyers to uphold human rights law, including a person’s right to dignity, equality and privacy. 

• Human Rights Campaign Foundation — Organization working worldwide to achieve LGBTQ equality. By inspiring and engaging individuals and communities, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBTQ people and realize a world that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all. 

• Astaea Lesbian Foundation For Justice — Organization working exclusively to advance LGBTQI human rights around the globe. Supports brilliant and brave grantee partners who challenge oppression and seed change. Rooted in LGBTQI communities and movements, Astaea Lesbian Foundation for Justice works for racial, economic, social, and gender justice.

• Le Refuge — The purpose of the Le Refuge Foundation is to prevent the isolation and suicide of LGBT + young people, aged 14 to 25, victims of homophobia or transphobia and in a situation of family breakdown (rejected by their parents, kicked out of the family home, because they are homosexual or trans and / or questioning their identity).

BIPOC

United States

• BIPOC Project — The BIPOC Project aims to build authentic and lasting solidarity among Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), in order to undo Native invisibility, anti-Blackness, dismantle white supremacy and advance racial justice. Our project centers Indigenous, Black and communities of color and focuses on decolonizing stories, developing a power analysis, uplifting Native and Black humanity, organizing community, and building intergroup connections and relationships.

• Asian Mental Health Project — Offers a safe space for Asian individuals to engage in mental health commentary that centers the needs of the Asian community. The project exists to prevent Asian individuals from the fear and guilt that are often associated with mental illness. By increasing dialogue via storytelling and helping spread support resources with mental health professionals, they make it easier for Asian folks to be open to the idea of mental health support and treatment.

• National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center — A Native-led nonprofit organization dedicated to ending violence against Native women and children. The NIWRC provides national leadership in ending gender-based violence in tribal communities by lifting up the collective voices of grassroots advocates and offering culturally grounded resources, technical assistance and training, and policy development to strengthen tribal sovereignty.

• LeadersUp — A 501(c)(3) talent development intermediary focused on ending the youth unemployment and opportunity divide by meeting business hiring needs with a pipeline of ready-to-work young adults.

• Black Lives Matter — A decentralized political and social movement protesting against incidents of police brutality and all racially motivated violence against black people.

• The National Lawyers Guild — Oldest and largest progressive bar association whose mission is to use law for the people, uniting lawyers, law students, legal workers, and jailhouse lawyers to function as an effective force in the service of the people by valuing human rights and the rights of ecosystems over property interests. The NLG’s aim is to bring together all those who recognize the importance of safeguarding and extending the rights of workers, women, LGBTQ people, farmers, people with disabilities and people of color, upon whom the welfare of the entire nation depends; who seek actively to eliminate racism; who work to maintain and protect our civil rights and liberties in the face of persistent attacks upon them; and who look upon the law as an instrument for the protection of the people, rather than for their repression. 

• CURYJ — An organization that builds community and mobilizes young leaders in the movement to end youth criminalization and mass incarceration. They engage youth most impacted by the injustice, immigration, and foster care systems so that they can be the ones to close youth prisons and heal our communities. The org provides life coaching, professional development, political education, and hands-on experience working on policy and grassroots campaigns. 

• Anti Police-Terror Project — A Black-led, multi-racial, intergenerational coalition that seeks to build a replicable and sustainable model to eradicate police terror in communities of color. They support families surviving police terror in their fight for justice, documenting police abuses and connecting impacted families and community members with resources, legal referrals, and opportunities for healing.

United Kingdom

• Black Minds Matter — Their mission is to connect Black individuals and families with free mental health services — by professional Black therapists to support their mental health. To make this happen, they want to make mental health topics more relevant and accessible for all Black people in the U.K., removing the stigma and remodeling the services to be relevant for the Black community.

• Access UK — A charitable organization that was founded in 2014, as a voice for the million or more youths who are currently unemployed in the UK, particularly Black and Minority Ethnic NEETs (Not in Employment, Education or Training). Their main objective is to help reduce BME youth unemployment, provide employment and training solutions for youth offenders and implement anti-gang initiatives in the community.

• Creative Access — Their mission is to support talented people from groups that are under-represented in terms of ethnicity, socio-economic background and disability, or facing significant barriers to employment, to not just enter the creative industries, but to thrive when they get in. Only then will the industry truly reflect and engage broader society. 

• Stand Against Racism & Inequality — An organization that aims to encourage a more understanding environment regarding diversity by offering trainings ranging from fun and informative cultural awareness tours to specially tailored presentations.

• South Asian Health Foundation — A registered charity founded in 1999 to promote good health in the UK’s South Asian communities, their mission is to assist persons living in the U.K., particularly those of South Asian origin, who are experiencing conditions of sickness, hardship or distress in particular by supporting organizations; implementing and establishing developmental projects which serve the needs of those persons and improve their conditions of need.

• Descrimination Law Association — The DLA brings together a broad range of discrimination law practitioners, policy experts, academics and concerned individuals, all united around a commitment to improving equality law, practice, education and advice for those who face discrimination. Activities include submitting responses to government consultations, sharing experiences and expertise through practitioner group meetings, disseminating information and knowledge via our Briefings journal, email updates, conferences and seminars.

France

• SOS Racisme — It’s a French association created in 1984, whose goal is the fight against racism, anti-Semitism and more generally all forms of discrimination. Its slogan is “Touche pas à mon pote” (Don’t touch my buddy).

• Maison des Potes – Maison de l’Egalité — It’s a popular education association which aims to promote active citizenship, primarily through collective actions, to act against all forms of exclusion, discrimination and racism, and to propose a common framework of activities without distinction of opinion, religion, origin, age or sex while respecting secular values.
  

• L.I.C.R.A. — The International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism—or Ligue internationale contre le racisme et l'antisémitisme (LICRA) in French.The LICRA's aim is to stay in permanent alertness concerning any kind of discrimination. It fights against everyday racism and the banalization of xenophobic acts. It helps the victims who are most of the time not aware of their rights. It pays attention to any racist speech in the media. It does not want in any case to alter the press's freedom of speech, but only to find and correct any hate or discrimination incitement
  

• CRAN Conseil représentatif des associations noires de France — Launched in November 2005, the CRAN aims to fight against discrimination suffered by black populations in France. Especially Against racial discrimination, social inequalities and post-colonial injustices