Destination Tomorrow Is Now Accepting Proposals for its $1M TRANScend Community Impact Fund

As the only Black Trans funding source, the Bronx-based LGBTQ center provides grants to TGNC-led organizations serving the Trans community

News provided by

Destination Tomorrow

Feb 09, 2022, 13:00 ET

NEW YORK, Feb. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Destination Tomorrow's TRANScend Community Impact Fund, which works to address the disproportionate impact of HIV on the Trans community, is now open for proposals from Transgender and Gender Nonconforming (TGNC) led grassroots organizations across the country. In addition to being the only national TGNC Black-led grant maker, Destination Tomorrow: The Bronx LGBTQ Center serves the community through educational, financial, housing, health and personal support programs. Through the TRANScend fund provided by Gilead Sciences, the organization is able to create opportunities for the TGNC community on a national scale when it comes to employment, housing, health, education and more.

Destination Tomorrow's Founder and Executive Director Sean Ebony Coleman is the only Black Trans grant maker in the country, which gives him a unique opportunity to elevate TGNC-led grassroots agencies with direct on-the-ground impact, especially in areas that are disproportionately impacted by HIV such as the South. In past years, he has successfully selected 33 subgrantee organizations for funding, including Baltimore Safe Haven and The Mahogany Project, resulting in the distribution of $730,000 in funds to grassroots organizations nationally and the budget growth of five agencies within the cohort, three of whom moved on to receive direct grant funding from Gilead Sciences.

"Trans-led organizations are chronically underfunded and overlooked in favor of LGB organizations. This grant allows us to effectively address the specific needs and challenges facing the TGNC community, especially in underserved areas of the country," said Coleman. "In this third year as the TRANScend grant maker, we are honored to continue to provide much needed financial support to our community members around the country doing lifesaving work to support TGNC folks during a global pandemic."

Fourteen percent of Trans women in the U.S. are living with HIV. Black and Hispanic Trans women are disproportionately affected with rates of 44% and 26%, respectively. While these rates are alarming, they are also most likely underreported. Through the TRANScend fund, Destination Tomorrow aims to increase HIV awareness among Transgender communities and enhance Trans-specific HIV services. Other goals include increasing the capacity of Trans-led organizations, supporting methods that decrease stigma and discrimination, increasing access to affirming care and support services as well as raising awareness and utilization of those services, improving the quality of services provided to the TGNC community and alleviating social determinants such as housing insecurity and lack of health care access and other resources.

Now open for applications, the TRANScend grant is available to two project type categories: community collaboration awards for project-based proposals and general operating awards in support of an organizations' overall mission and goals. The program uses a participatory grantmaking framework when choosing grantees, which shifts decision-making power to the community that the fund is serving, utilizing a grant review committee composed entirely of members of Transgender communities throughout the country. This ensures that funds are distributed to grassroots organizations that have a direct impact on their communities.

For requirements and further information on how to apply for a TRANScend Community Impact grant, please visit destinationtomorrow.org/fund-request.

For media inquiries regarding Destination Tomorrow, please contact Lisa Burkert at 917-929-0123 or [email protected].

About Sean Ebony Coleman and Destination Tomorrow
Sean Ebony Coleman is the founder and executive director of Destination Tomorrow, a TLGBQ center in the South Bronx serving the community through educational, financial, housing, health and personal support programs. The grassroots organization puts an emphasis on providing support to vulnerable members of the TLGBQ community that takes them off the path of requiring emergency care, focusing on economic, social and mental empowerment on a holistic level. As a nationally recognized leader in the Transgender community and the first African American of Transgender experience to operate a TLGBQ center in New York City, Sean plays a key role in advocating for policies that directly impact the lives of millions of TLGBQ New Yorkers. Sean is also the founder and managing partner of Sean Ebony Coleman Consulting, where he specializes in DEI strategies for TLGBQ communities. He is a part of Gilead's National Advisory group and manages the TRANScend Community Impact Fund, a million-dollar fund that supports Trans-led organizations nationwide.

Contact: Lisa Burkert
The TASC Group
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Destination Tomorrow