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April 18 is National Give OUT Day, "the only national day of giving for the LGBTQ community, raising $5+ million for 600+ organizations since 2013." If you can, throw some money at worthy organizations like the National LGBTQ Task Force, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal, GLAAD, the National LGBTQ Victory Fund, or the Human Rights Campaign. There are also hundreds of lesser-known queer organizations fighting for our rights; purview a comprehensive list at Give OUT Day's website or scroll down for suggestions from The Advocate's editors.
"Pride Fund to End Gun Violence is America’s only LGBTQ organization solely focused on gun policy reform to ensure safety for all." The group's goals include, "Mobilize the LGBTQ community and our allies. Raise funds to elect pro-LGBTQ candidates who support gun policy reforms. Serve as the strong, concentrated voice of the LGBTQ community in the movement to stop senseless gun tragedies." Help them here.
"Trans Lifeline is a grassroots hotline and microgrants 501(c)(3) non-profit organization offering direct emotional and financial support to trans people in crisis - for the trans community, by the trans community."
"Trans Lifeline was founded in 2014 as a peer-support crisis hotline. The Hotline was, and still is, the only service in the country in which all operators are transgender. Because of the particularly vulnerable relationship transgender people have with police, it is also the only service in the country with a policy against non-consensual active rescue." Help them here.
"Keshet is a national organization that works for full LGBTQ equality and inclusion in Jewish life. Led and supported by LGBTQ Jews and straight allies, Keshet cultivates the spirit and practice of inclusion in all parts of the Jewish community."
"We began as a small, grassroots group working for change in the Greater Boston area, and we are now a national organization with offices in the Bay Area and New York in addition to our national office in Boston." Help them here.
This annual bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles "fund(s) the work of San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles LGBT Center to provide free HIV/AIDS medical care, testing, and prevention services." As well as "raise(s) awareness to end the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS" and "provide a positive, life affirming experience for people affected by HIV/AIDS" and "grow our community of activists, volunteers, and ambassadors fighting to end AIDS" and "honor those who have passed from AIDS-related causes." Help them here and donate to The Advocate's Feminism Editor, who's is taking part.
"SAGE is the country’s largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBT older people. Founded in 1978 and headquartered in New York City, SAGE is a national organization that offers supportive services and consumer resources to LGBT older people and their caregivers." Help them here.
"In countries all over the world, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) people live in basic fear for their freedom, their safety and their lives. They often have nowhere to turn because their government and police not only tolerate but encourage this brutality.
Rainbow Railroad exists to help these people get out of danger to somewhere safe. In the spirit of and with homage to the Underground Railroad, the mission of Rainbow Railroad is to help LGBTQI people as they seek safe haven from state-enabled violence, murder or persecution. Through funds collected by people like you, we’re able to support, provide information, and help to arrange safe transportation for these LGBTQI people to somewhere in the world where they can live their lives in freedom." Help them here.
"interACTuses innovative legal and other strategies, to advocate for the human rights ofchildren born with intersex traits." Help them here.
"The Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP) works to guarantee that all people are free to self-determine their gender identity and expression, regardless of income or race, and without facing harassment, discrimination, or violence. SRLP is a collective organization founded on the understanding that gender self-determination is inextricably intertwined with racial, social and economic justice. Therefore, we seek to increase the political voice and visibility of low-income people and people of color who are transgender, intersex, or gender non-conforming. SRLP works to improve access to respectful and affirming social, health, and legal services for our communities. We believe that in order to create meaningful political participation and leadership, we must have access to basic means of survival and safety from violence." Help them here.
"Founded in May of 1999, the Black AIDS Institute (BAI) is the only national HIV/AIDS think tank focused exclusively on Black people. The Institute’s mission is to stop the AIDS epidemic in Black communities by engaging and mobilizing Black leaders, institutions, and individuals, in efforts to confront HIV. BAI disseminates information; advocates for sound, inclusive, culturally responsive public and private sector health policies; offers training and capacity building; provides health screening for HIV/STI/Hep C and other chronic and/or infectious diseases, and linkage to comprehensive HIV care: and conducts advocacy and mobilization from a uniquely and unapologetically Black point of view." Help them here.
"NQAPIA seeks to build the capacity of local LGBT Asian-American Pacific Islander organizations, invigorate grassroots organizing, develop leadership, and challenge homophobia, racism, and anti-immigrant bias." Help them here.
"In 1984, the non-profit Tom of Finland Foundation was established by Durk Dehner and his friend Touko Laaksonen a.k.a. Tom of Finland. As Tom had established worldwide recognition as the master of homo-erotic art, the Foundation's original purpose was to preserve his vast catalog of work. Several years later the scope was widened to offer a safe haven for all erotic art in response to rampant discrimination against art that portrayed sexual behavior or generated a sexual response. Today the Foundation continues in its efforts of educating the public as to the cultural merits of erotic art and in promoting healthier, more tolerant attitudes about sexuality." Help them here.
