9 necessary LGBTQ charities that you can give to this Christmas
It’s been a tough year for everyone, for some more than others, so if you have a little spare change, consider rewarding your community — and yourself — with an act of kindness.
Anne Frank wisely wrote, “No one has ever become poor by giving.” And one of my favorite sages, Khalil Gibran, said, “There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.” The true spirit of giving is doing for others with no expectation of return. To give is a gift in itself. And one of the things you learn as you get older is that you get it all back. KARMA IS REAL.
Human Rights Campaign
I didn’t think 2021 could top last year when it comes to anti-trans violence, but it has. This year is now the deadliest on record for transgender people, according to sources too numerous to list. If you still feel out of the loop as a trans ally, please educate yourself here and consider donating to HRC. But there are also numerous other problems that plague the LGBTQIA community even after so many advances. The HRC is attempting to address these and is a worthy cause if you want to make a broad spectrum gift to our community.
Transgender Law Center
The epidemic of anti-transgender violence needs to be addressed systemically by dismantling the myriad inequities that punish trans folks for insisting upon their right to be who they are. The Transgender Law Center changes law, policy, and attitudes so that all people can live safely, authentically, and free from discrimination regardless of their gender identity or expression. Transgender Law Center is the largest national trans-led organization advocating for a world in which all people are free to define themselves and their futures.
SAGE
SAGE is the world’s oldest and largest non-profit agency dedicated to serving and advocating for LGBTQ seniors. Since its inception, SAGE has pioneered programs and services for seniors in the LGBTQ community, provided technical assistance and training to expand opportunities for older people across the country, and provided a national voice on aging issues. Many studies show LGBTQ seniors face greater hardship, in health and finances, as they age. This is one way to pay back our most resilient generations.
OutRight Action International
None of us are free unless all of us are free, right? While we have made advances here in the US and in most Western countries when it comes to LGBTQ equality, not every place globally is there yet. But local activists are trying, and usually risking their lives to do so. OutRight Action International, founded in 1990, is a leading international human rights organization dedicated to improving the lives of people who experience discrimination or abuse on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.
The Trevor Project
Every decade brings a new generation of LGBTQ youth who face the same problems I faced decades ago when I came out. What’s wrong with this picture? Does it really get better for our youth? As older, wiser folks what can we do to support to support our youth when they are in crisis? The Trevor Project is the leading and only accredited national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ young people under the age of 25.
The New York City Gay & Lesbian Anti-Violence Project
A majority of LGBTQ people experience violence and harassment on the daily. We still don’t know who or what killed LGBTQ icon Marsha P. Johnson and the AVP worked hard to find out. They continue to change mindsets about our community, most lately focusing on the epidemic of violence against trans lives. If you want to empower LGBTQ and HIV-affected communities and allies to end all forms of violence through organizing and education, and support survivors through counseling and advocacy, this is your org.
The Center for Black Equity
If 2020 showed us anything, it was how people of color are oppressed by political regimes globally as well as here in the US. The mission of the The Center for Black Equity is to promote a multinational LGBTQ+ network dedicated to improving health and wellness opportunities, economic empowerment, and equal rights while promoting individual and collective work, responsibility, and self-determination for people of color around the globe.
Lambda Literary
As a writer in the LGBTQ space, a good deal of my activism is about telling stories of those who need to be heard. To ensure that future bookshelves are stocked with our stories, why not support emerging LGBTQ writers. Far too many queer bards are excluded from traditional publishing and struggle to make ends meet. Lambda Literary offers an annual writing residency for emerging LGBTQ writers, and donations help the program continue.
The National LGBTQ Task Force
The National LGBTQ Task Force advances full freedom, justice, and equity for LGBTQ people, building a future where everyone can be free to be their entire selves in every aspect of their lives. Today, despite all the progress we’ve made to end discrimination, millions of LGBTQ people face barriers in every aspect of their lives: in housing, employment, healthcare, retirement, and basic human rights. Who’s got your back? Task Force does.
