LGBTQ+ Nonprofit Destination Tomorrow Announces 2023-2024 TRANScend Community Impact Fund Recipients

For the third year, the only Black Trans funding source in the country provides grants to 13 TGNC-led grassroots organizations serving the Trans community

NEW YORK, Jan. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Destination Tomorrow, a national LGBTQ+ organization with centers located in the South Bronx and Atlanta, is announcing the recipients of the 2023-2024 TRANScend Community Impact Fund. Supported by Gilead Sciences, the fund addresses the disproportionate impact of HIV within transgender communities. Destination Tomorrow selected 13 Transgender and Gender Nonconforming (TGNC)-led grassroots organizations across the country, who will receive the necessary funds to create opportunities for employment, housing, health, education and more for the TGNC community on a national scale.

As the only Black Trans grantmaker in the country, Destination Tomorrow's Founder and Executive Director Sean Ebony Coleman has the unique opportunity to elevate TGNC-led grassroots agencies with direct on-the-ground impact, with a particular focus on areas that are disproportionately impacted by HIV, such as the South. Each recipient of this year's $350,000 funding will be rewarded anywhere from $10,000 to $45,000. The same amount will be awarded to a new group of organizations next year.

"It is a privilege to be able to support incredible TGNC-led grassroots organizations around the country who are dedicated to making a true impact for the community," said Coleman. "We are honored to be chosen as the TRANScend grantmaker for a third year, which gives us the ability to assess the most pressing needs of our communities and allocate funding where it is most needed. We've selected these organizations based on their true commitment to providing life-saving services to and increasing visibility for TGNC folks."

The organizations chosen to receive the TRANScend impact fund work to help alleviate the struggles of TGNC communities across the nation who are disproportionately impacted by HIV, especially BIPOC communities who also face racial barriers to access to survival resources. 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.

Transformations Youth Organization, one of the nonprofits selected, is Trans women-led and focused on capacity building and leadership development in Trans communities of color in the Midwest. Unspoken Treasure Society gives a voice to marginalized Trans communities through the implementation of trauma-informed care, harm-reduction and restorative justice. Bridges4Life supports the TGNC community by providing services to children in the foster care system, young adults and sex workers. Additionally, Destination Tomorrow has selected the following recipients:

• BE YoUUU Organization
• Brooklyn Ghost Project
• Capital Tea Inc.
• Equity Health Alliance
• Ladies Intervention Project for Success (LIPS)
• Mosaic
• Southeastern Transgender Resource Center
• The Dollhouse Project
• The McKenzie Project
• TransYOUniting

Since opening in 2009, Destination Tomorrow has served more than 124,000 individuals in the Bronx, and in 2022, opened its doors to the Atlanta community. The organization offers services that take LGBTQ+/TGNC individuals off the path of requiring emergency care with a focus on economic, social and mental empowerment on a holistic level. As a Black Trans-led org, Destination Tomorrow has built an offering of lifesaving services for the community and, through this grant provided by Gilead Sciences, is able to give the same opportunity to similar organizations around the country.

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

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