Leonard Litz LGBTQ+ Foundation launches fund to support transgender community
In response to what it calls the unprecedented challenges facing transgender, gender non-conforming and non-binary (“TGNCNB”) members of the LGBTQ+ community, the Connecticut-based Leonard Litz LGBTQ+ Foundation has announced the launch of its new TransPLUS initiative.
The program is intended to provide financial and other support for organizations and individuals whose work focuses on those most impacted in the current political and cultural environment. “The name is very deliberate,” said Foundation Trustee Robyn Schlesinger, who will be spearheading the initiative. “We seek to emPower the TGNCNB community, and we believe that every Trans Life Matters.
We know that we are strongest when we are Unified, and—now more than ever—we must prioritize the Safety of our community by responding to hate with radical love.” In addition to grant funding, the TransPLUS Initiative will seek to amplify voices of TGNCNB leaders and build greater public awareness of the community’s socio-economic and political challenges. “We are all fortunate to be growing in our understanding of the nuanced, socialized, and evolving experiences of gender identity and expression,” said Executive Director Colin Hosten, “especially as they intersect with racial and economic justice.” Through its Community Grant fund, the Leonard Litz LGBTQ+ Foundation has already awarded grants to a number of Trans-led and Trans-focused organizations, such as the Eastern PA Trans Equity Project and Power Safe Resource Center of Virginia.
The TransPLUS Initiative aims to provide dedicated support to many more organizations, and has already identified its first recipient: The Sam and Devorah Foundation for Transgender Youth will receive a multi-year grant to support its
