A Resource to Save the Day - July 2017

I have to admit that when it comes to technology I am pretty basic. The irony is that I run a cloud-based nonprofit organization which relies completely on technology to do its work. Tonight, though, I had a wonderful experience on Twitter. Now, full disclosure, I am not very good at using Twitter. In fact, our Twitter account (@transhelper) only has 23 followers. We follow a young trans man, and he tweets enough that when I do our daily tweet I see his updates. This morning, he disclosed that he was about to come out. I sent him a quick word of encouragement and a link to our website. I noticed later in the afternoon that he was quickly spiraling, and things were not going well.

This typically is the point in a trans person's transition which either makes or breaks them. I watch this unfold over an hour with things getting worse and worse. I sent a second tweet telling him to reach out if he needed us and sent more links pertinent to his situation. Then, I waited with baited breath, terrified that he would never tweet again.

He just tweeted us saying that we literally saved the day with our links.

This story is exactly what I want MyTransitionPartner to be. A resource which literally saves lives by reducing the negative reactions of loved ones and the community when people come out as transgender, queer, nonbinary, or gender nonconforming. A resource that gives people hope in the early days of transition. A resource that helps people find the courage to reclaim their narrative and dignity. And in the eight months since we've been operating we've seen our website grow into just such a resource.

In forty days or so we will disburse five name-change grants. These $150 grants will change the lives of five transgender people in North Dakota by giving them the ability to reclaim their dignity. These grants are only possible because of your generosity. Because of the success of our week-long fundraiser in June (thanks for putting up with the incessant emails, by the way) we have funded four of the five grants we will disburse in January. Already in July we have met all of the goals set by the Board of Trustees at our Annual Meeting in January of this year.

Even though we've met our grantmaking goals, we are not resting on our laurels. We plan to raise enough funds in August and September to fund two hormone therapy grants ($500 each) and one gender affirming surgery grant ($1000). We will disburse these grants in January. If you haven't made a donation during this fiscal year, I encourage you to consider earmarking some of your funds to help us provide these grants. As we received Federal recognition this summer, your donation may be tax deductible!

I would be remiss if I didn't let you know about the exciting opportunity we are offering in July. For a $30 minimum donation (or $10 for trans/queer/nonbinary/nonconforming folk) you can receive 5 issues of our quarterly magazine, Pathways! Subscribe to Pathways and get both a pretty awesome magazine and help fund transgender lives.

As always, my team and I are thankful for your support and trust in the services we provide. If you need anything please know that we are here for you!

In Solidarity,

Darcy

Notice Board

• Application for Dignity (ND) Grants will be available on July 10. Learn more.
• New Team Members have joined our work. Welcome to Nicole Seymour (Interactive Content Manager), Jonah Noyes (ND Program Officer), Ariel Holbrook (Director of Fundraising and Donor Relations), Katie Michelson (Chief of Staff), and Alex Sander (Summer Intern).
• #LoudAndProud #Pride17 Fundraiser raised $1,570. We will send $628 to our community partner, Dakota OutRight.
  
• Join Us at Pride Minot on July 15, at Oak Park. Learn more.
• Subscribe to Pathways during the month of June for only $30 ($10 for t/q/nb/gnc people). Learn more.
• Volunteers Are Needed for MyTransitionPartner.com. We are looking for: content editors and a native Spanish speaker to lead a Spanish version of MTP for Latinx trans people. Apply here.