Reclaiming Our Power
This August, Stonewall Community Foundation proudly announced the first ten recipients of the inaugural Reclaiming Our Power grant cycle, one of our most ambitious multi-year funding initiatives to date. This unique opportunity was created to support queer and trans-led organizations at the frontlines of resistance, healing, and joy. This moment reflects what becomes possible when we pool resources and trust grassroots leadership. It also reminds us that with deeper investment, we can reach more communities at the margins of visibility and power.
Funded by the Mark L. Brandt Legacy Fund, Reclaiming Our Power provides multi-year general operating support grants of $20,000 per year for two years, with the option of $15,000 in a third. The initiative launched this spring with an open call to LGBTQ+ organizations across the country with annual budgets under $1 million.
In just four weeks, we received 182 proposals requesting nearly $10 million in funding. These applications reflected the depth, urgency, and brilliance of LGBTQ+ leadership across the U.S. and its territories. Ultimately, ten organizations were selected for the inaugural cohort. This is not because the others lacked merit, but because our resources have not yet caught up to the scale of community need. Five additional grantee partners will be selected in 2026. In total, this initiative represents an initial $825,000 investment in LGBTQ+ resilience and power building.
Staff and members of MashUp! Nashville, a 2025 Reclaiming Our Power initiative grantee partner
A Selection Process Rooted in Equity & Community Insight
At Stonewall, we believe that how we make decisions is just as important as what we decide. Our grantmaking process prioritizes transparency, trust, and community leadership. Take a look:
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Stonewall staff first vetted all 182 applications for eligibility and strength.
Each proposal was scored out of 100 points based on alignment with the fund’s priorities.
Applications scoring 80 percent or higher advanced to the Grants Advisory Committee for final review.
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29 percent were based in New York City, with the next most represented states being California, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Florida.
25 percent were all-volunteer organizations with no full-time staff. The largest had 65 employees, and the average staff size was five.
The average budget size was $371,000, underscoring the fund’s focus on grassroots and emerging organizations.
The finalist pool included a mix of returning Stonewall grantees and organizations new to our network.
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Mercedes “Sadie” Plendl (she/her), Senior Director of Programs, PFund Foundation
Sage Rivera (they/them), Chief Strategy Officer, Destination Tomorrow
Keesha Gaskins-Nathan (she/her), Program Director, Democratic Practice, Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Stonewall Board Member
Tenzin Saldon (she/they), Program Assistant, Stonewall Community Foundation
Maryse Pearce (she/her), Program Director, Stonewall Community Foundation
Each brought invaluable expertise and lived experience, reviewing proposals with care and a deep understanding of the communities being served.
Clients of Traction Project in Portland, a 2025 Reclaiming Our Power initiative grantee partner
Meet the 2025 Reclaiming Our Power Grantee Partners
These ten grantee partners are powerful agents of change, each doing vital work in the face of mounting threats and systemic underinvestment. Their efforts reflect the two funding tracks of the program: Advocacy & Power Building and Community Resilience.
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Trans formative Schools is a community rooted in trans joy and justice, supporting trans kids, educators, and families. They offer a free afterschool program for queer and trans youth (ages 9–15) and build power through advocacy and trans-led youth research.
Advocacy & Power Building Track
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Chosen Family Law Center advances legal and social recognition for LGBTQIA+, polyamorous, and non-nuclear families. They provide free legal services to low-income New Yorkers and drive national change through advocacy, policy, and education.
Advocacy & Power Building Track
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St. Louis Anti-Violence Project raises awareness of relational and sexual violence against the LGBTQIA+ community through training, outreach, and research. They work to make Missouri agencies safer and more inclusive, while advocating for LGBTQIA+ survivors.
Advocacy & Power Building Track
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Out My Closet aims to address the critical needs of under-resourced and unhoused LGBTQ+ youth and adults through specialized clothing donations, counseling services, and educational workshops.
Community Resilience Track
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Sex Workers Project at the Urban Justice Center provides legal advocacy for survivors of trafficking and sex workers, offering immigration support, deportation defense, and referrals to vital services.
Community Resilience Track
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Therapy Center of Philadelphia offers affordable, high-quality therapy for women, trans, and gender non-conforming people, using an intersectional approach. Services include individual, group, and relationship therapy, plus trainings and internships.
Community Resilience Track
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Building Out Safer Spaces and Skill Sets - BOSS is a trans- and queer-led, feminist, anti-racist community creating safer spaces for WQTF folx through skill-building, workshops, mutual aid, and artist residencies.
Community Resilience Track
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MashUp! Nashville is a black-led nonprofit using interactive, community-driven programs to support mental health and well-being, especially for people with marginalized identities.
Community Resilience Track
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Traction Project is a trans-led self-defense group focused on squad-building and safety for trans women, BIPOC, and sex workers. Their approach blends grappling, social tactics, and team martial arts, now active in cities nationwide.
Community Resilience Track
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The Queer Trans Project is a Black- and Trans-led group in Florida providing gender-affirming resources and essential supplies to empower queer and trans people nationwide.
Community Resilience Track
Co-founder of Trans formative Schools, Alaina Daniels, speaks at a rally in support of trans youth
Jacksonville, Florida’s Queer Trans Project - a 2025 Reclaiming Our Power initiative grantee partner
These organizations are building power, fostering belonging, and reshaping systems of care and justice for LGBTQ+ people across the country.
To date, Stonewall has invested more than $28 million in LGBTQ nonprofits in 132 cities across the country. Reclaiming Our Power is one of our most ambitious efforts to channel resources into the hands of community leaders shaping a liberated future. But this cycle also showed us how much more remains to be done.
When 182 powerful organizations step forward and we can only fund ten, we are reminded of the gap between need and capacity. With more support, we can close that gap.
Your investment powers this work. Your belief in Stonewall’s mission turns dreams into infrastructure and potential into progress. If you would like to deepen your support or learn more about these organizations and the future of this fund, we welcome the conversation.