Cincinnati is investing $225,000 this fall to support programs that promote the mental health and safety of transgender and nonbinary youth.
Community Shares of Greater Cincinnati awarded the grants, funded through a two-year appropriation from the city, to nine local organizations. Those benefitting are Transform Cincy, Heartland Trans Wellness, Equality Ohio Education Fund, GLSEN Greater Cincinnati, TransOhio, Camp Lilac, Queer Kentucky and TransMasc Cincy.
The funding will expand after-school programs and youth groups, support legal clinics and trans sensitivity training, and provide trans youth with access to summer camps, retreats and tailored healthcare services. It will also launch a new digital magazine run by and for trans youth, giving them a space to share their stories, creativity and perspectives.
A full list of grant awards and funding uses is available below.
“This investment advances the City’s ongoing commitment to equitable access to health and safety resources for all residents,” said Deanna White, director of human services for Cincinnati. “By supporting organizations that provide affirming care and mental health services for transgender youth, we are furthering our goals of building a safer, more inclusive city where every young person has the opportunity to thrive.”
Finding the right use for funds
To make the awards, Community Shares convened a panel of medical professionals with expertise in gender-affirming care, trans youth with lived experience, and parents of LGBTQIA+ youth with grantmaking experience to review and score the applications.
“In a time when trans youth are facing an intense amount of personal and community trauma inflicted by those with power, many municipalities are choosing to do nothing,” said Dara Adkinson, executive director of TransOhio. “Cincinnati has chosen a unique, substantial action to help support young trans people during this moment.”
If organizations meet the goals outlined in their proposals over the next 12 months, funding will be renewed in the same amounts for a second year, according to Community Shares CEO T. Duane Gordon.
“We thank the City of Cincinnati for its brave and substantial support for local trans and non-binary youth,” Gordon said.
Grants awards
- Transform Cincy ($50,000 via ISQCCBE) – Expand LGBTQIA+ youth community center programming to weekends and after-school hours
- Heartland Trans Wellness ($40,000 via Transgender Advocacy Council) – Trans sensitivity training for professionals using a panel of trans youth
- Equality Ohio Education Fund ($31,575) – Legal clinics for name and gender identifier changes
- National Association of Social Workers Foundation, Ohio Chapter ($23,425) – Guide for healthcare providers on limits to gender-affirming care under new laws
- GLSEN Greater Cincinnati ($22,500) – Weekly youth groups and emergency funding for trans youth
- Cincinnati Trans Youth Virtual Magazine ($20,000 via Queer Kentucky) – New online magazine for and by trans youth
- TransOhio Inc. ($15,000) – Trans & Ally Symposium
- Camp Lilac ($12,000) – Summer camp access and awareness for trans youth
- TransMasc Cincy ($10,500 via TransOhio Inc.) – Sponsorship for intergenerational retreats for older trans youth
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