Fandom Trumps Hate

We know that every year there are some people who wait a few days to make their donation, hoping they can direct it toward one of the organizations that hasn’t attracted as much attention.

Our big winners so far are The Young Center, which has gotten 24.3% of all donations made(!), along with the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund which has gotten 11.6% of donations and RAINN which has gotten 11.2%.

Right now, the five groups that have gotten the least donations are:

Center for Public Integrity - 0.5%
Manomet - 1.5%
Unsilence - 2.0%
Clean Water Fund - 3.6%
Higher Heights - 3.7%

(We have 14 organizations, so if they all got an equal share it would be around 7.1% each, for reference.)

Obviously, all of our organizations are excellent causes and you are always welcome to donate to any of them, but if you’re one of those who likes to spread the love around, consider these five!

Remember, donations for high bids are due Friday, March 6 and donations for ROFL and second bid offers are due Sunday, March 8. Many craft stalls are also still open and taking donations until March 6.

It is estimated that by 2075, the costs associated with hurricane damage in the US will rise from $28 billion in 2016 (0.16% of the US GDP) to the equivalent of roughly $39 billion in today’s economy (0.22% of the US GDP).(1) By another estimation from disaster research scientists, the devastating hurricane season of 2017 measures total damages of approximately $206.6 billion, calling it the most damaging hurricane season in US history.(2) Hurricane María, the second of two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico in 2017, was one of the deadliest and costliest disasters of any kind in modern history. Tens of thousands of Puerto Rican families lost their homes and livelihoods, and 2975 people lost their lives as a result of the natural disaster.(3)

Hurricane María caused Puerto Rico’s entire electrical grid to fail. After 3 months, 65% of affected customers had power restored, but Puerto Rico’s most vulnerable communities were left without power for over five months.(4) (5) Water systems were inoperable, with 91% back in service after 2 months. Debris from María and 41,000 resulting landslides shut down all but 400 miles of Puerto Rico’s 16,700 miles of roads, cutting off municipalities across the island. Today, the roads are clear and traffic is moving. María knocked out 95% of cellular sites; after 2 months, 96% were once again operational. In it rebuilding efforts, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has thus far awarded Puerto Rico with $20 billion for HUD Community Development Disaster Recovery; approved $5.3 billion in public assistance, nearly $600 million for the Department of Education and $294 million in community disaster loans; run $3.6 billion worth of USACE mission assignments; and is obligated to giving $8.5 million through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.(4)

Puerto Rico is classified as an “unincorporated territory” of the US, meaning the island belongs to the US and is eligible for aid and federal funding. But Puerto Rico has not fully recovered: over a year on, complaints persist of unreliable power, damaged roads and suspect water, and hundreds of thousands of people are still waiting for help, living in homes that are in desperate need of repair.(6) (7) It is estimated that it would cost at least $17 billion just to fix Puerto Rico’s power grid: the rebuilding efforts needs more funds. Yet Trump has not only said he wants to stop sending federal relief money to Puerto Rico, he has also proposed taking back some of the money already allocated.(7) This comes after Trump’s repeated minimisation of the scale of destruction wrought by María and insults about the Puerto Rican government, including the refusal to acknowledge the official death count as anything but a Democrat plot to make him look bad, and the suggestion that Hurricane María was “not a real catastrophe”.(3) (7)

Before María, ConPRMetidos (ConPR) was a think-and-do-tank which focused primarily on identifying an enabling strategic partnerships, engaging and connecting Puerto Rican millennials and establishing a network of human capital, and helping the development of knowledge, skills, values and motivation in target communities on the island. When the devastating hurricanes swept across Puerto Rico, ConPR evolved with a new sense of purpose: To create a stable, productive, and self-sufficient Puerto Rico.(8) ConPR’s mission for equitable and systemic change is enabled by:

1. Identifying innovative and sustainable solutions to community challenges
2. Leveraging diaspora and global know-how, talent, networks, and capital in support of those doing the work
3. Empowering doers to succeed and inspire a better future
4. Enabling the formation of strategic partnerships and the exchange of new information, models and ideas(9)

ConPR established the Hurricane Real Time Recovery Fund with the fiscal sponsorship of Foundation for Puerto Rico, and has been tirelessly working on funding grants, programs and ongoing projects to:

• Support alternative and reliable energy systems for Puerto Rican communities with limited access to electricity.
• Provide clean water and renewable energy for critical nonprofits serving multiple neighborhoods and surrounding communities.
• Keep domestic violence survivors safe after the storm.
• Address toxic waste build up in the island's landfills, waterways and green areas.
• Power up small businesses in eight island cities and towns.
• Develop and support an online platform for data collection and improved accuracy in the assessment of post-disaster relief and recovery needs, plus real-time volunteer coordination and activation across the island.
• Provide immediate relief to remote communities via food distribution.
• Provide a "crash course" to Puerto Rican leaders on how to deploy effective and sustainable recovery efforts.
• Rehabilitate the island's mountainous coffee regions, as nearly 85% of the island's coffee farms were wiped out.
• Aid specific communities and rebuilding efforts in various ways.

Altogether, ConPR has organised and facilitated the distribution a total of $1.7 million in funding as of the end of 2018. It has helped countless people rebuild their lives, and continues to do so in the face of the threats of the Trump administration.

ConPRMetidos is a tax deductible 501(c)3 non-partisan charitable organisation.

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Citations:

[1] “Potential Increases in Hurricane Damage in the United States: Implications for the Federal Budget.” Congressional Budget Office, 2 June 2016, https://www.cbo.gov/publication/51518.
[2] Masters, Dr. Jeff. “2017 U.S. Hurricane Damage Estimate of $206.6 Billion: Highest on Record.” Weather Underground, 28 Nov. 2017, https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/2017-us-hurricane-damages-206-billion-highest-record.
[3] Miller, Hayley. “Donald Trump Denies That 3,000 People Died In Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria.” Huffington Post, 13 Sept. 2018, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-denies-puerto-rico-death-toll_us_5b9a5b1fe4b015089c0dfdad.
[4] “Hurricane Maria”, Federal Emergency Management Agency, https://www.fema.gov/hurricane-maria.
[5] “ConPR 2018 Impact Report.” ConPRMetidos, Dec. 2018, https://www.conprmetidos.org/s/ConPR_2018ImpactReport_Dec18.pdf.
[6] “Trump says he did great after Maria. In a survey, Puerto Ricans say otherwise.” The Washington Post, 12 Sept. 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-says-he-did-great-after-maria-in-a-survey-puerto-ricans-say-otherwise/2018/09/12/d0449b3e-b6bb-11e8-a2c5-3187f427e253_story.html?utm_term=.3a7470e97a0b.
[7] Visser, Nick. “Trump Wants To End Hurricane Maria Relief Funding To Puerto Rico: Report.” Huffington Post, 12 Nov. 2018, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-funding-puerto-rico_us_5be911fee4b0dbe871ac9c03.
[8] “Our Story.” ConPRMetidos, https://www.conprmetidos.org/our-story/.
[9] “Our Mission.” ConPRMetidos, https://www.conprmetidos.org/our-mission.

When it comes to leadership roles and positions of power, there’s an enormous imbalance of representation skewed in favour of men, and in favour of whiteness. Women of colour currently constitute 7.3% of the total 535 members of Congress.(1) In 2018, out of the 110 seats (20.6%) held by women in the US Congress, 19 were held by those who identify as Black. Of the 325 women who have served in the U.S. Congress to date, only 38 have been Black.(2) Black women constitute 0.96% of the total 312 statewide elective executives—there are only 3 of them out of the total 74 women who serve. The 275 Black women who make up 14.7% of the 1,875 women state legislators constitute 3.7% of the total 7,383 US state legislators.(1) Women of colour are approximately 18% of the US population, yet only hold 3.2% of the board seats of Fortune 500 companies. African-American women only occupy 5.3% in managerial and professional positions.(3) Out of the 100 largest US cities, 7 Black women currently serve as mayors.(1) These statistics give a sample of the equity gap that exists between Black women and men, and also as women of colour compared to white women.

Trump’s disdain for Black women goes beyond Twitter posts and public belittling. The Trump administration, instead of continuing the recent trend of appointing women of colour to positions of authority, has instead been characterised by antipathy towards diversification. Trump’s Cabinet and sub-Cabinet does not contain even one Black woman. There is only one African-American woman in the top levels of the White House: political aide Omarosa Manigault.(4) In January 2019, the White House announced its judicial nominees for the 116th Congress, all of whom are men and appear to be white. This exclusion of women and people of colour is consistent with the Trump administration’s 2-year record. Trump has nominated only 3 African Americans to lifetime positions (out of over 150), and sidelined African Americans and Latinos completely from federal circuit courts nominations. Trump has not appointed a single Black woman to the federal judiciary, in contrast to the two presidents before him: Obama holds the record of appointing 26 African American women to the judiciary, and George W. Bush appointed 8 Black women. Due to the retirement of 3 Black women serving on federal appellate courts, only 4 remain—and of those, 3 further are eligible for retirement.(5)

Higher Heights (HH) was founded in 2011 to combat the severe under-representation of Black women at all levels of government, to invest in and support the political leadership journeys of Black women, and to mobilise Black women as civic participants. HH was founded by Black women for Black women, and consists of Higher Heights for America, a 501(c)) organisation, and its sister Higher Heights Leadership Fund, a 501(c)3 organization.(6) HH is investing in the next generation of political leaders by developing national civic engagement infrastructure and network with four key components: capacity building, grassroots organizing, research, and convenings.(7) HH is researching and creating an environment for Black women to build political power through online training, research, cultural-shifting communications work and digital campaigns. (7) (8) Additionally, HH’s #BlackWomenVote non-partisan campaign is mobilising the voting power of Black women by providing the latest election news, commentary and tools for them to raise their voice and cast their vote.(7) (8) The monthly virtual Sunday Brunch programme spreads the power of social networking and engage in national conversations. The brunches provide a safe space with opportunities to learn about, comment on and take action on issues affecting Black women’s communities.(8) As the US gears up for the 2020 elections, it’s important that Black women get the support they need to cast their votes knowledgeably, and to run for political leadership positions.

Higher Heights Leadership Fund is a tax deductible 501(c)3 charitable organisation. Higher Heights for America is a 501(c)4 organisation that is not tax deductible.


*Please note that the use of Black, African-American and African American has been preserved as in the original sources, which is why you will find both descriptors in the above.

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Citations:

[1] “Women of Color in Elective Office 2018.” Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University, http://cawp.rutgers.edu/women-color-elective-office-2018.
[2] “Women in Congress 2018.” Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University, https://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/women-us-congress-2018.
[3] Warner, Judith. “Fact Sheet: The Women’s Leadership Gap Center for American Progress.” American Progress, 7 March 2014, https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/reports/2014/03/07/85457/fact-sheet-the-womens-leadership-gap/
[4] Nelson, Sophia. “What’s Trump’s Problem With Black Women?” Politico, 26 Oct 2017, https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/10/26/trump-black-women-gop-215751
[5] Johnson, Derrick. “Trump is undoing the diversity of the federal bench.” The Washington Post, 22 Jan. 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-is-undoing-the-diversity-of-the-federal-bench/2019/01/22/29d4a4fe-1e8c-11e9-9145-3f74070bbdb9_story.html?utm_term=.2d7451e21cce
[6] “About Higher Heights.” Higher Heights, http://www.higherheightsforamerica.org/about_higher_heights.
[7] “About Higher Heights Leadership Fund.” Higher Heights, http://www.higherheightsleadershipfund.org/about.
[8] “Our Programs.” Higher Heights, http://www.higherheightsleadershipfund.org/our_programs.

Immigrants comprise approximately 14% of the US population: more than 43 million out of a total of ~323 million people, according to Census Bureau data. Altogether, immigrants and their US-born children make up about 27% percent of U.S. inhabitants.(1) In 2017, Trump endorsed the Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy (RAISE) Act, which lowers the total number of legal immigrants while increasing the portion of highly skilled and educated legal immigrants, eliminating extended family preferences and the diversity lottery immigrant visa program. RAISE expects to reduce legal immigration by about 40% in its first year. (2) The Trump administration has also significantly decreased the number of refugees that will be accepted into the US, with ~85,000 people accepted in 2016, ~54,000 in 2017, ~45,000 in 2018, and a cap of 30,000 announced for 2019 (fiscal years).(3) (4) In 2017, the Trump administration ended temporary protected status for thousands of Haitians and Nicaraguans who were allowed into the US after environmental disasters in their home countries, and in 2018, extended that for hundreds of thousands of Hondurans, Nepalis, and Salvadorans living in the US under the same relief scheme.(1)

Not only has Trump deployed demeaning and false rhetoric against US immigrants throughout his campaign and presidency, he has also made reducing immigration, whether legal or not, a central issue in appealing to his constituency. The most well-known declaration was Trump’s promise to build a wall across the US-Mexico border paid for by Mexico*, which has resulted in the longest government shutdown in US history (still ongoing) after Trump refused to sign a Senate-approved stopgap spending bill on 20 December 2018 because it didn’t include money for additions to the aforementioned wall.(5) Another as-yet unsuccessful policy decision was Trump’s 2017 announcement to phase out the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals (DACA) programme, as court challenges have so far prevented him from terminating the program thus far.(1)

Yet the Trump administration has successfully instituted several deplorable new policies as well as rescinded others established by previous administrations. After 2 revisions following legal setbacks, Trump’s third iteration of a travel-ban that denied citizens of Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen entry into the US stood against the Supreme Court (Iraq, Sudan, and Chad have been removed from the list since the initial 2017 entry requirement test).(1) (6) By executive order, the government has ended exemptions based on “classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement”, as well as ordered increases in enforcement personnel and removal facilities. For reference, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is required by law to maintain 34,000 immigration detention beds, daily, and spent nearly 3 billion dollars to manage the US immigration detention system in 2017, requesting an additional billion for the 2018 fiscal year.(7) The executive order also blocked federal funds from so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions and reinstate a controversial programme known as Secure Communities, in which state and local police provide fingerprints of suspects to federal immigration authorities and hand over individuals presumed to be in the country illegally, rescinded previous privacy protections. This is only one aspect of the ordered expansion of enforcement partnerships among federal, state, and local agencies, leading to the March 2018 Justice Department lawsuit against the state of California over allegations that the state’s laws obstruct federal immigration enforcement. (1) (8) Various other moves have included:

• a proposal to deprive unaccompanied minors of special protections under the law and allow the US government to hold minors in detention so long as their immigration case remains open (9)
• a new policy where parents already living in the US may be subject to deportation or even prosecution for enabling their children to join them unaccompanied (8)
• The Justice Department prosecuting every person who illegally crosses into the US along the Southwest border, a zero-tolerance measure that is splitting up families because children are not allowed in criminal jails (10)
• ending the “Catch and Release” policy (8)
• plans to sign an executive order that would remove the right to citizenship for babies of non-U.S. citizens and undocumented immigrants born on U.S. soil (11)
• using a 2-decade old law which allows the government to quickly deport undocumented immigrants who have recently arrived in the US without allowing them go before a judge. The Trump administration plans to utilise expedited removal as extensively as possible (8)

The Refugee And Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Service (RAICES) promotes justice by providing free and low-cost legal services to immigrant children, families, and refugees. Founded in 1986 as the Refugee Aid Project by community activists in South Texas, RAICES has grown to be the largest immigration legal services provider in Texas, combining expertise developed from the daily practice of immigration law with a deep commitment to advocacy. RAICES provides consultations, direct legal services, representation, assistance and advocacy to communities in Texas and to clients after they leave the state.(12)
RAICES services include:

• residency and citizenship application assistance
• legal services to asylum-seekers that may be eligible to obtain relief under humanitarian bases
• assisting immigrant victims of crime, including domestic violence, by representing their immigration legal rights and assisting with protection orders
• representing people in detention who are seeking release through bond, in addition to those who are fighting court cases following their release
• handling DACA renewals and advising TPS recipients and refugees.
• providing free legal information, referrals and direct representation for unaccompanied minors in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement

In addition to these services, RAICES directs the Karnes Pro Bono Project, which was launched in 2014 to provide free legal services and interview preparation aid to women and children detainees in the Karnes Family Detention Center. Through their newly launched Family Reunification Programme, RAICES is working with the Texas Civil Rights Project to identify the families being separated at the border, plus identify the separated parents of the children they work with in their children’s programme. RAICES supplies trained volunteers to provide accompaniment to immigration procedures such as ICE check-ins, court dates and bond paying, along with community speakers who present about immigration rights. Lastly, RAICES is a newly designated refugee resettlement agency that now supports refugees and their families from all over the world as they make their home in San Antonio.This includes welcoming refugees, assisting them as they adjust to life in the US, and administering short-term Refugee Cash Assistance and Match Grant benefits.(13)

As a direct consequence of Trump’s new immigration policies, RAICES hired 137 new employees in 2018, as well as opening 3 new offices so as to adequately serve the Texas state area. Early in the 2018 summer, the Trump administration decided, just as it ramped up its separation policy, to halt funding for released children in RAICES’ Dallas office. This meant that RAICES had to run a massive fundraising campaign to continue their operations, which was thankfully incredibly successful. RAICES’ children’s programme accepted over 400 cases in 2018 and provided “know your rights” trainings to over 4,500 children inside detention centers. The family detention team has worked for a total of 26,000 hours providing legal services at the Karnes Family Detention Center. From 1 October 2017 through to 10 December 2018, RAICES hs helped 201 refugees to resettle into new communities in San Antonio. It continues its fight into 2019 with the knowledge that its allies have its back.(14)


*Readers should be aware that approximately 700 miles of border fencing at the US-Mexico border already existed prior to Trump’s announcement. Additionally, Border Patrol already employs a "digital wall" composed of about 8,000 cameras, which monitor the southern fence and ports of entry. Its resources also include more than 11,000 underground sensors, 107 aircraft, eight drones, 175 mobile surveillance units and 84 boats.(15)

The Refugee And Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Service is a tax deductible 501(c)3 charitable organisation.

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Citations:

[1] Felter, Claire, and Danielle Renwick. "The U.S. Immigration Debate". Council On Foreign Relations, 2 July 2018, https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/us-immigration-debate-0.
[2] "The RAISE Act: Effect On Economic Growth And Jobs". Penn Wharton University Of Pennsylvania, 14 Aug. 2017, http://budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/issues/2017/8/8/the-raise-act-effect-on-economic-growth-and-jobs.
[3] "'Shameful': US Slashes Number Of Refugees It Will Admit To 30,000". Aljazeera.Com, 18 Sept. 2018, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/09/slashes-number-refugees-admit-30000-180917225659912.html.
[4] US Slashes Number Of Refugees It Is Ready To Resettle". Aljazeera.Com, 28 Sept. 2017, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/09/slashes-number-refugees-ready-resettle-170928033816715.html.
[5] Pierson, Carli. "Two More Years Of Donald Trump's Anti-Immigration Tactics Will Create Devastation". The Independent, 21 Jan. 2019, https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/donald-trump-us-government-shutdown-mexico-wall-border-immigration-migrant-a8737176.html.
[6] "TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, ET AL. V. HAWAII ET AL. (No. 17–965.)". Supremecourt.Gov, 28 June 2018, https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/17-965_h315.pdf.
[7] Pierson, Carli. "Here's Why Trump Doesn't Really Want To Stop The Migrant Caravan". The Independent, 31 Oct. 2018, https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/trump-caravan-migrants-detention-centres-ice-child-separation-a8610146.html.
[8] Dickerson, Caitlin et al. "Trump’s Immigration Policies Explained". New York Times, 21 Feb. 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/21/us/trump-immigration-policies-deportation.html.
[9] Bach, Natasha. “Trump Administration to Bypass Limits on Detention of Child Migrants Through New Regulations”. Fortune, 6 Sept 2018, http://fortune.com/2018/09/06/trump-administration-child-migrant-detention-laws/
[10] Horwtiz, Sari, and Maria Sacchetti. "Sessions Vows To Prosecute All Illegal Border Crossers And Separate Children From Their Parents". The Washington Post, 7 May 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/sessions-says-justice-dept-will-prosecute-every-person-who-crosses-border-unlawfully/2018/05/07/e1312b7e-5216-11e8-9c91-7dab596e8252_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2113858cd4ca.
[11] Da Silva, Chantal. "Trump Says He Plans To Sign An Executive Order To End Birthright Citizenship". Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2018, https://www.newsweek.com/trump-says-he-plans-sign-executive-order-terminate-birthright-citizenship-1192823.
[12] “About RAICES”. RAICES, https://www.raicestexas.org/about/
[13] “Services”. RAICES, https://www.raicestexas.org/services/
[14] “2018: The Year You Had Our Back.” RAICES, 10 Jan. 2019, www.raicestexas.org/2018/12/21/2018-the-year-you-had-our-back/
[15] Jacobo, Julia, and Serena Marshall. "Nearly 700 Miles Of Fencing At The US-Mexico Border Already Exist". ABC News, 26 Jan. 2017, https://abcnews.go.com/US/700-miles-fencing-us-mexico-border-exist/story?id=45045054.

Since 2009, the Hate Crimes Prevention Act began requiring the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) to collect data concerning hate crimes committed by or directed against juveniles, and in 2013 the FBI began reporting the number of victims aged 18+ as well. In 2017 alone, 119 victims were reported as targeted by offender with an anti-transgender bias motivation, and a further 333 victims were grouped as targeted by offenders that had the bias motivation of “Anti-Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender (Mixed Group)”.(1) As mentioned in the post about The Trevor Project, the US doesn’t require a mandatory report on hate crimes, and has a very specific definition of what constitutes a hate crime,(2) which means that the statistics surrounding the perpetration of violence and harm towards transgender people are heavily skewed.

The Trump administration has continually targeted the rights of transgender people during the past two years, as well as the LGBTQIAP+ community as a whole. LGBTQIAP+ friendly policies have been systematically dismantled as the Health Department overturned previously-made health initiatives, guidance protecting transgender youth in schools was rescinded and LGBTQIAP+ people have been erased from the White House website. (3) (4) (5) Trump’s budget proposals have cut deeply into Medicaid, social spending for low-income Americans, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the fight against HIV and AIDS on both a domestic and global level, as well as mental health services. In particular for the transgender population, Planned Parenthood’s budget cuts are significant, as it is one of the US’s largest provider of transgender-inclusive medical care. (6) The Trump administration continues to advocate a complete ban on transgender people serving in the US armed forces, (7)* in addition to seeking to impose a rule that would effectively erase the existence of transgender people under federal law. (8)**

The Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) was founded in 2003 by Michael Silverman. (9) In November 2018, Andrea “Andy” Hong Marra stepped up as the new Executive Director of TLDEF. Marra is a nationally revered social justice advocate with a 15-year track record of service to the LGBTQ movement. (10) TLDEF aims to end discrimination and achieve equality for transgender people, particularly those who face intersectional modes of oppression. They approach this mission by providing public education on transgender rights through workshops, trainings and panels.(11) The TLDEF legal team fights transgender rights cases and creates "friend of the court" briefs regarding the key issues of employment, health care, education and public accommodations. (12)

TLDEF seeks to coordinate with other civil rights organisations to continue working for transgender equal rights. Their Name Change Project provides low-income TGNCNB (transgender, gender non-conforming, non-binary) people with pro bono legal name change services through partnerships with some of the US’s premier law firms and corporate law departments. It continues to work towards equality by representing transgender rights in landmark legal cases, litigation, public policy, and continuous advocacy. (13)

The Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund is a tax deductible 501(c)3 charitable organisation.


*Please note that the linked sources 2-7 have been used before.
**Please note that this section doesn’t address the positive laws and progress that have been made in the US during the Trump administration, such as the very recent and historic passage of the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) and legislation protecting LGBTQ youth from conversion therapy in the state of New York. (14)

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Citations:

[1]Bias Motivation "Table 1: Incidents, Offenses, Victims, and Known Offenders." FBI, 2017, https://ucr.fbi.gov/hate-crime/2017/tables/table-1.xls
[2]“Methodology”. FBI, http://ucr.fbi.gov/hate-crime/2017/resource-pages/methodology
[3] Main, Sami. “White House Website Scrubbed of LGBT, Climate Change, Healthcare and Civil Rights Mentions”. Adweek, 20 Jan. 2017, http://www.adweek.com/digital/white-house-website-scrubbed-lgbt-climate-change-healthcare-and-civil-rights-mentions-175677/.
[4] Ellis, Sarah Kate. “How President Trump Has Affected LGBTQ RIghts.” Time, 16 Jan. 2018, http://time.com/5104657/donald-trump-lgbt-rights/.
[5] Diamond, Dan. “Trump Administration Dismantles LGBT-Friendly Policies”. POLITICO, 19 Feb. 2018, http://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/19/trump-lgbt-rights-discrimination-353774.
[6] “LGBTQ Community Would Be 'Hard Hit' by Trump's 2018 Budget.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 29 May 2017, http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/lgbtq-community-would-be-hard-hit-trump-s-2018-budget-n765141.
[7] “D.C. Circuit Court Sides with Trump on Trans Military Ban.” Georgia Voice - Gay & LGBT Atlanta News, 6 Jan. 2019, http://thegavoice.com/news/d-c-circuit-court-sides-with-trump-on-trans-military-ban/.
[8] Ford, Zack. “No exaggeration: Trump wants to erase transgender people.” ThinkProgress, 22 Oct. 2018, https://thinkprogress.org/why-its-not-an-exaggeration-to-say-the-trump-administration-wants-to-erase-transgender-people-cd0ffd2d17a5/
[9] Ferrendi, Brittany. "Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund Names New Executive Director." South Florida Gay News, July 14, 2016, http://southfloridagaynews.com/National/transgender-legal-defense-education-fund-names-new-executive-director.html
[10] TLDEF. “TLDEF Appoints Nationally Recognized LGBTQ Activist Andy Marra as Executive Director.” YouTube, 14 Nov. 2018, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWzLxhnVRBI.
[11] “Education”, TLDEF, http://tldef.org/work_show.php?id=19
[12] “About TLDEF”, TLDEF, http://tldef.org/page.php?id=2
[13] “The Name Change Project”, TLDEF, http://tldef.org/work_show.php?id=7
[14] Morrow, Nick. “New York Passes Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act & Protections Against Conversion Therapy.” Human Rights Campaign, 15 Jan. 2019, https://www.hrc.org/blog/historic-ny-legislature-passes-gender-expression-non-discrimination-act-ban

Immigration has been a hot topic throughout Trump’s election campaign as well as during the first 2 years of his administration. A large spike in arrivals at the US/Mexico border during 2014 sparked a political crisis as a record of 69,000 children and 68,000 families arrived at the border. The number of unaccompanied children and family units apprehended decreased in the 2015 financial year, but the US Border Patrol apprehended 20,455 unaccompanied children and 24,616 family units between October 2015–January 2016. This represents approximately half of the totals of the entire 2015 financial year, leading to the assumption that rather than a one-time surge, the increased levels of immigration would continue.(1)

While the Wall and the separation of families have made headlines, the administration has also sought to nullify the protections afforded to unaccompanied minors that immigrate into the US. In September 2018, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a proposal that would allow the US government to hold minors in detention so long as their immigration case remains open, instead of a maximum of 20 days.(2) The proposed regulations would invalidate the Flores Settlement Agreement, a decree that has stipulated the treatment of detained underage migrants since 1997. The regulations would also deprive unaccompanied minors of special protections under the law. Over the past two fiscal years, more than 40%of unaccompanied minors were released to their parents, according to HHS. Should the proposal pass, rights such as seeking asylum before a trained asylum officer instead of in the more adversarial immigration courts would be stripped if an unaccompanied minor travelled to the US to join parents already in the country.(3)

The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights (The Young Center) champions the rights of unaccompanied immigrant children and serves their best interests, ensuring their safety to the extent of its capacity. Advocating for the safety and well-being of each child throughout the detainment and deportation process, The Young Center aims to create an immigration system that serves children and advocates for immigration proceedings to take best interest into account when decisions are made, with due regard to the child’s expressed wishes.(4) (5)

The Young Center, guided by the principals of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, operates on three main fronts. Its attorneys, social workers and bilingual volunteers are appointed as Child Advocate (guardian ad litem) by the Department of Health and Human Services. These independent advocates ensure that children’s best interests are recognised throughout legal proceedings and give recommendations based on state and international law to government decision makers including judges, asylum officers and enforcement officials. This direct service is combined with efforts to implement a Best Interests Framework, which incorporates best interests considerations in the absence of a standard in immigration law and reminds decision makers of their discretion to consider best interests. Lastly, The Young Center seeks to preserve the existing protections, recently focussing on those set forth in the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), which was up for reauthorization in 2017 and enacted on January 9th 2019. (6) (7) Given the political climate, The Young Center believes that it is crucial to safeguard existing laws, policies and practice that provides unaccompanied immigrant children with protections such as access to attorneys and Child Advocates, family reunification and access to a court hearing.(8)

The Young Center was founded in Chicago in 2004, given funding from the Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Refugee Resettlement and charged with developing a programme to advocate for the best interests of unaccompanied immigrant children which recognised their status as children. In 2008, Congress passed the TVPRA. which included a provision for the appointment of Child Advocates whose role is to advocate for the child’s best interests. The Young Center continued its work, opening up additional offices and advocating for the expansion of the Child Advocate programme, which came to fruition with a 2013 Congress amendment to the TVPRA. During the Trump administration, The Young Center has focused its efforts on safeguarding hard-earned protections for immigrant children and responding to the implementation of changes to federal policy outlined in the January Executive Orders and directives issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Young Center has so far assigned Child Advocates for more than 2500 children, and has a total of eight locations across the US.(5) (8)

The Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights is a tax deductible 501(c)3 charitable organisation.

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Citations:

[1] Chishti, Muzaffar and Hipsman, Faye. “Increased Central American Migration to the United States May Prove an Enduring Phenomenon.” Migration Policy Institute, 18 Feb. 2016, https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/increased-central-american-migration-united-states-may-prove-enduring-phenomenon
[2] Bach, Natasha. “Trump Administration to Bypass Limits on Detention of Child Migrants Through New Regulations.” Fortune, 6 Sept 2018, http://fortune.com/2018/09/06/trump-administration-child-migrant-detention-laws/
[3] Miroff, Nick and Sacchetti, Maria. “Trump administration to circumvent court limits on detention of child migrants,” The Washington Post, 6 Sept 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-administration-to-circumvent-court-limits-on-detention-of-child-migrants/2018/09/06/181d376c-b1bd-11e8-a810-4d6b627c3d5d_story.html?utm_term=.96c91d4f4f59
[4] Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights, https://www.theyoungcenter.org/
[5] “About The Young Center.” Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights, https://www.theyoungcenter.org/about-the-young-center/
[6] “President Donald J. Trump Is Fighting to Eradicate Human Trafficking.” The White House, 9 Jan. 2019, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-fighting-eradicate-human-trafficking/
[7] “S. 1862 — 115th Congress: Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2017.” GovTrack, https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/s1862
[8] “FAQs”, Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights, https://www.theyoungcenter.org/faq/

This year, FTH is dedicating the fight to twelve incredible charity organizations that work ceaselessly to protect marginalized and vulnerable communities. During the creator signup period, we'll be posting a more in-depth look at what one of these organizations does and how a donation could help their cause.

As these informational posts begin to go up, we'll be converting this post into a master list with links, which you can use to get to any of the full profiles. But for now, keep an eye on your feed!

In the meantime, you can always check out our supported non-profits page for quick summaries.

This year, FTH is committing to focusing our support on where it is needed most: to the less-well-known, less-well-supported groups that are fighting for marginalized and vulnerable people.

Below are the twelve amazing non-profit organizations that Fandom Trumps Hate is supporting this year: you can go straight to the charity donation page, or click on the arrow on the left-hand-side of each charity for a more in-depth explanation of the work that they do.

Border Angels - Providing support for migrants crossing the US-Mexico border and education for border communities on issues surrounding immigrant rights.

Since the start of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994, there has been a steady increase in the militarisation of the US-Mexico border, primarily due to the implementation of Operation Gatekeeper. Years of devastating economic and immigration policies have created a situation where thousands of people from Mexico and Latin America risk their lives each year attempting to cross into United States the US in the hope of finding a better life.(1) In the first 15 years since the inception of Operation Gatekeeper in 1994, an estimated 5,000 people lost their lives during the journey across the US-Mexico border,(1) and as of this year, Border Angels estimates that 10,000 people have died due to extreme weather, lack of food and water, and the overall perilous nature of the trip. (2) The US Border Patrol reported 294 migrant deaths in the southwest border sectors during the 2017 fiscal year, a drop from the 329 deaths listed in 2016.(3) However, the rate of migrant fatalities rose as a percentage of total people apprehended while trying to cross into the US.(4)

Trump has been targeting undocumented immigrants, and immigration from Mexico specifically, with the repeal of DACA and his promise to build a wall on the US-Mexico border which he claimed would be paid for by Mexico (he later tweeted that the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement would pay for it instead, and the ongoing US government shutdown is a result of Trump refusing to sign a Senate-approved stopgap spending bill on 20 December 2018 because it didn’t include money for additions to the aforementioned wall).(5) His derogatory and discriminatory rhetoric towards immigrants and policy moves can be read about in more depth in the non-profit introduction for RAICES.

Border Angels (BA) was founded in 1986 by Enrique Morones, who was inspired after taking a trip with members of his church to canyons in San Diego County where migrant families were living. BA is an all volunteer, non profit organisation that advocates for human rights, humane immigration reform, and social justice with a focus on issues related to the US-Mexican border. BA has a 3-pronged approach in its mission to reduce the number of fatalities occurring along the Californian US-Mexico border:

• preventing unnecessary deaths through the placement of life saving water stations in the desert, maintaining border rescue stations


• engaging in community education and awareness programmes that include guided trips to the border to learn about the history of US-Mexico border policy and experience the border fence firsthand to help dispel the myths surrounding immigration in the United States.


• providing free immigration services, legal assistance and consultations in Spanish and English every Tuesday night at the Sherman Heights Community Center to serve San Diego County’s immigrant population.(6)

To this day, BA helps migrants survive their time in the desert through water drops during the summer, and supplying warm clothing, food and water during winter. (6) Exposure to the elements (including heat stroke, dehydration, and hyperthermia) climbed to be the leading cause of crossing deaths in the Southwest Border Sector between 1985-1998, highlighting BA’s importance to improving immigrants’ health during their crossings.(2)

For all citations, please see the original introduction post here.

To donate to Border Angels, head to this page here.

• Border Angels is a tax deductible 501(c)3 charitable organisation.


• You can donate via paypal, debit or credit card.


• It only takes US residents’ donations.

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Center for Public Integrity - Investigative reporting in the public interest, aimed at exposing betrayals of public trust by those in power.

Freedom of the press has long been a contested right. Enshrined into the U.S. constitution in 1788, the 1st Amendment rules that “congress shall make no law […] abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press”.(1) However, the Sedition Act of 1798 soon followed, making “criminal, inter alia, malicious writings which defamed, brought into contempt or disrepute, or excited the hatred of the people against the Government, the President, or the Congress, or which stirred people to sedition”.(2) Signed into law by Federalist president John Adams, this was presented as limiting the harmful fabrication of news (which was rife in the 18th century). However, it was utilised by the then-Federalist government to suppress critical statements made by their adversaries, prosecute news printers that aired unapproved-of opinions, and to spread false news of their own. The use of the Sedition Act for political purposes backfired in quite a spectacular fashion, as the electorate revolted against the limitation of press freedom, and the Act’s successful passing contributed to Adams’ failed re-election bid and the national decline of the Federalist Party.(3)

Since his election campaign, a similar problem has emerged as Trump continuously denigrates the quality of the news from established news sites such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, NBC, ABC and CBS, plus bars reporters from press briefings.(4)(5) Claiming that investigative reporting and news stories which portray him negatively are fabricated, Trump has accused the mainstream media of being “fake news” outlets in tweets such as “FAKE NEWS CNN & NBC” (6) as recently as 27 Jan 2019. While he has declared that “false reporting, dishonest reporting … is what is tearing this country apart”(5), Trump simultaneously uses his own platform to spread conspiracy theories and misleading statements.(7) (8) He has, on multiple occasions, claimed that “Fake News is the Enemy of the People!”(6) (8) (9) These attacks on the press are politically motivated, as they discredit reporting that criticises Trump’s actions, policies or rhetoric, encourage Trump’s supporters in despising the media for its perceived liberal bias, undermine Trump’s opponents, and distract the public from demanding that Trump to be held accountable for his own false statements.(3) Moreover, Trump has issued tweets and made statements in a rally claiming that he is going to “open up” US libel laws so that he can sue media outlets for horrible or inaccurate reports, and threatened to challenge NBC’s broadcasting license.(3) (10) (11)

The Center for Public Integrity (CPI) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit investigative news organisation that seeks to protect democracy by uncovering abuses of power and betrayals of public trust. Founded in 1989 by veteran journalist Charles Lewis, the CPI is comprised of reporters, editors and data journalists who deliver national and international investigative journalism of enduring significance on the topics of business, environment, immigration, politics, national security and workers rights.(12) The CPI subscribes to the Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists, and in order to maintain its non-partisan stance, all staff are prohibited from engaging in political advocacy or donating to political candidates at any level of government.(13) At a time when the accuracy and motivations of the press is questioned, it is all the more important to support truthful and well-researched reporting as exemplified by the CPI.

For all citations, please see the original introduction post here.

To donate to The Center for Public Integrity, head to their page here.

• The Center for Public Integrity is a tax deductible 501(c)3 non-partisan charitable organisation.


• Donations possible via: credit card, paypal and stock.


• International donations are accepted.

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ConPRMetidos - Building innovative, sustainable infrastructure in Puerto Rico, including ongoing relief to communities damaged by Hurricane Maria.

It is estimated that by 2075, the costs associated with hurricane damage in the US will rise from $28 billion in 2016 (0.16% of the US GDP) to the equivalent of roughly $39 billion in today’s economy (0.22% of the US GDP).(1) By another estimation from disaster research scientists, the devastating hurricane season of 2017 measures total damages of approximately $206.6 billion, calling it the most damaging hurricane season in US history.(2) Hurricane María, the second of two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico in 2017, was one of the deadliest and costliest disasters of any kind in modern history. Tens of thousands of Puerto Rican families lost their homes and livelihoods, and 2975 people lost their lives as a result of the natural disaster.(3)

Hurricane María caused Puerto Rico’s entire electrical grid to fail. After 3 months, 65% of affected customers had power restored, but Puerto Rico’s most vulnerable communities were left without power for over five months.(4) (5) Water systems were inoperable, with 91% back in service after 2 months. Debris from María and 41,000 resulting landslides shut down all but 400 miles of Puerto Rico’s 16,700 miles of roads, cutting off municipalities across the island. Today, the roads are clear and traffic is moving. María knocked out 95% of cellular sites; after 2 months, 96% were once again operational. In it rebuilding efforts, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has thus far awarded Puerto Rico with $20 billion for HUD Community Development Disaster Recovery; approved $5.3 billion in public assistance, nearly $600 million for the Department of Education and $294 million in community disaster loans; run $3.6 billion worth of USACE mission assignments; and is obligated to giving $8.5 million through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.(4)

Puerto Rico is classified as an “unincorporated territory” of the US, meaning the island belongs to the US and is eligible for aid and federal funding. But Puerto Rico has not fully recovered: over a year on, complaints persist of unreliable power, damaged roads and suspect water, and hundreds of thousands of people are still waiting for help, living in homes that are in desperate need of repair.(6) (7) It is estimated that it would cost at least $17 billion just to fix Puerto Rico’s power grid: the rebuilding efforts needs more funds. Yet Trump has not only said he wants to stop sending federal relief money to Puerto Rico, he has also proposed taking back some of the money already allocated.(7) This comes after Trump’s repeated minimisation of the scale of destruction wrought by María and insults about the Puerto Rican government, including the refusal to acknowledge the official death count as anything but a Democrat plot to make him look bad, and the suggestion that Hurricane María was “not a real catastrophe”.(3) (7)
Before María, ConPRMetidos (ConPR) was a think-and-do-tank which focused primarily on identifying an enabling strategic partnerships, engaging and connecting Puerto Rican millennials and establishing a network of human capital, and helping the development of knowledge, skills, values and motivation in target communities on the island. When the devastating hurricanes swept across Puerto Rico, ConPR evolved with a new sense of purpose: To create a stable, productive, and self-sufficient Puerto Rico.(8) ConPR’s mission for equitable and systemic change is enabled by:

1. Identifying innovative and sustainable solutions to community challenges


2. Leveraging diaspora and global know-how, talent, networks, and capital in support of those doing the work


3. Empowering doers to succeed and inspire a better future


4. Enabling the formation of strategic partnerships and the exchange of new information, models and ideas(9)

ConPR established the Hurricane Real Time Recovery Fund with the fiscal sponsorship of Foundation for Puerto Rico, and has been tirelessly working on funding grants, programs and ongoing projects to:

Support alternative and reliable energy systems for Puerto Rican communities with limited access to electricity.

• Provide clean water and renewable energy for critical nonprofits serving multiple neighborhoods and surrounding communities.


• Keep domestic violence survivors safe after the storm.


• Address toxic waste build up in the island's landfills, waterways and green areas.


• Power up small businesses in eight island cities and towns.


• Develop and support an online platform for data collection and improved accuracy in the assessment of post-disaster relief and recovery needs, plus real-time volunteer coordination and activation across the island.


• Provide immediate relief to remote communities via food distribution.


• Provide a "crash course" to Puerto Rican leaders on how to deploy effective and sustainable recovery efforts.


• Rehabilitate the island's mountainous coffee regions, as nearly 85% of the island's coffee farms were wiped out.


• Aid specific communities and rebuilding efforts in various ways.

All up, ConPR has organised and facilitated the distribution a total of $1.7 million in funding as of the end of 2018. It has helped countless people rebuild their lives, and continues to do so in the face of the threats of the Trump administration.
For all citations, please see the original introduction post here.

To donate to ConPRMetidos, head to their page here.

• ConPRMetidos is a tax deductible 501(c)3 non-partisan charitable organisation.


• Donations possible via: credit card only.


• International donations are accepted.

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Flippable.org - Supporting Democratic candidates in key local and national elections for seats currently held by Republicans.

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Higher Heights - Investing in and supporting Black women’s political leadership; electing Black women to office and mobilizing Black women as civic participants.

When it comes to leadership roles and positions of power, there’s an enormous imbalance of representation skewed in favour of men, and in favour of whiteness. Women of colour currently constitute 7.3% of the total 535 members of Congress.(1) In 2018, out of the 110 seats (20.6%) held by women in the US Congress, 19 were held by those who identify as Black. Of the 325 women who have served in the U.S. Congress to date, only 38 have been Black.(2) Black women constitute 0.96% of the total 312 statewide elective executives—there are only 3 of them out of the total 74 women who serve. The 275 Black women who make up 14.7% of the 1,875 women state legislators constitute 3.7% of the total 7,383 US state legislators.(1) Women of colour are approximately 18% of the US population, yet only hold 3.2% of the board seats of Fortune 500 companies. African-American women only occupy 5.3% in managerial and professional positions.(3) Out of the 100 largest US cities, 7 Black women currently serve as mayors.(1) These statistics give a sample of the equity gap that exists between Black women and men, and also as women of colour compared to white women.

Trump’s disdain for Black women goes beyond Twitter posts and public belittling. The Trump administration, instead of continuing the recent trend of appointing women of colour to positions of authority, has instead been characterised by antipathy towards diversification. Trump’s Cabinet and sub-Cabinet does not contain even one Black woman. There is only one African-American woman in the top levels of the White House: political aide Omarosa Manigault.(4) In January 2019, the White House announced its judicial nominees for the 116th Congress, all of whom are men and appear to be white. This exclusion of women and people of colour is consistent with the Trump administration’s 2-year record. Trump has nominated only 3 African Americans to lifetime positions (out of over 150), and sidelined African Americans and Latinos completely from federal circuit courts nominations. Trump has not appointed a single Black woman to the federal judiciary, in contrast to the two presidents before him: Obama holds the record of appointing 26 African American women to the judiciary, and George W. Bush appointed 8 Black women. Due to the retirement of 3 Black women serving on federal appellate courts, only 4 remain—and of those, 3 further are eligible for retirement.(5)

Higher Heights (HH) was founded in 2011 to combat the severe underrepresentation of Black women at all levels of government, to invest in and support the political leadership journeys of Black women, and to mobilise Black women as civic participants. HH was founded by Black women for Black women, and consists of Higher Heights for America, a 501(c)) organisation, and its sister Higher Heights Leadership Fund, a 501(c)3 organization.(6) HH is investing in the next generation of political leaders by developing national civic engagement infrastructure and network with four key components: capacity building, grassroots organizing, research, and convenings.(7) HH is researching and creating an environment for Black women to build political power through online training, research, cultural-shifting communications work and digital campaigns. (7) (8) Additionally, HH’s #BlackWomenVote non-partisan campaign is mobilising the voting power of Black women by providing the latest election news, commentary and tools for them to raise their voice and cast their vote.(7) (8) The monthly virtual Sunday Brunch programme spreads the power of social networking and engage in national conversations. The brunches provide a safe space with opportunities to learn about, comment on and take action on issues affecting Black women’s communities.(8) As the US gears up for the 2020 elections, it’s important that Black women get the support they need to cast their votes knowledgeably, and to run for political leadership positions.

*Please note that the use of Black, African-American and African American has been preserved as in the original sources, which is why you will find all descriptors in the above.

For all citations, please see the original introduction post here.

To donate to Higher Heights, head to their page here.

• Higher Heights Leadership Fund is a tax deductible 501(c)3 charitable organisation. Higher Heights for America is a 501(c)4 organisation that is not tax deductible.


• Donations possible via: paypal only.


• International donations are accepted.

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Life After Hate - Providing support to people leaving hate groups, and providing pluralism education and training to vulnerable young people.

Each year, there are more than 250,000 victims of hate crimes in the US, with more than half going unreported. Between 2008 and 2017, 71% of extremist-related fatalities in the US were committed by members of the far right or white-supremacist movements.(1) The number of hate groups identified in the US by the Southern Law Poverty Center rose to 954 in 2017, with a 22% rise of neo-Nazi groups in particular.(2) Since 2001, the number of violent attacks on US soil inspired by far-right ideology has increased to an average of over 300 a year, with the number of terrorist attacks by far-right perpetrators more than quadrupling between 2016 and 2017.(3) (4) Recent attacks include the Tree of Life synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh which killed 11 people, a racially motivated shooting in Kentucky that killed 2 people, and a wave of pipe bombs mailed to prominent Democrats.(4) (5)

Meanwhile, in January 2017, the month of Trump’s presidential inauguration, 748 new online alt-right accounts were created. According to data analysis across 29,913 Twitter users that followed 41 self-identified “alt-right” accounts, support for Trump was shared by virtually all users, expressed by the two top hashtags #maga (make America great again) and #trump and the fat that @realdonaldtrump was the account users interacted with most.(6) With his inflammatory rhetoric and policies intended to marginalise and exclude minority communities, Trump spurs on and encourages extremism. Trump’s promotion of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories (7), his choice of incendiary and bigoted generalisations about Mexicans (“They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists”), Chinese (“They kill us (on trade)”) and Muslims (“I think Islam hates us”) among others (8), his deliberate delegitimisation of the press as “fake news” who are an “enemy of the American people” (9), his downplaying of sexual misconduct cases (10), the false claims he makes in order to look more righteous (11), his association with racists such as Ted Nugent and religiously intolerant people like Brigitte Gabriel (11), his defence of the “Unite the Right” rally that sparked violence in Charlottesville as he stated that there were “some very fine people on both sides” (12), and all the Trump administration policies that are based on such remarks signal to “alt-right” and white supremacist extremists that the current government condones and legitimises their opinions and violent actions.(5) (13)

Life After Hate (LAH) started out as a quarterly online publication in 2010 and was established as a non-profit organisation in 2011 following the founders’ attendance of the “Summit Against Violent Extremism” in Ireland. By 2014, LAH had expanded into academic research on intervention methods and deradicalisation, speaking out publicly against extremist groups, and launched an exit programme to help individuals who were previously involved in hate groups safely disengage and reintegrate back into society.(15) (16) One of the last announcements of the Obama administration was awarding LAH a $400,000 federal grant in 2016, a move that was rescinded by the Trump administration before any of the money reached the organisation, causing more than 8,000 supporters to raise $500,000 for LAH. (15) (17)

LAH is dedicated to inspiring individuals to a place of compassion and forgiveness, for everyone’s benefit. Its goal to interrupt bias-motivated violence is done through education, interventions, academic research, and outreach, that inform its 4 programmes:

• ExitUSA—founded and run by former hate group members, ExitUSA provides support to people looking to leave racism and violence behind, utilising strategies such as public awareness campaigns, individualised education and job training programmes, and leveraging strategic community partnerships. The aim of this programme is to aid people in rebuilding their identities and changing their lives and their communities for the better.(18)


• Against Violent Extremism Network—empowering former violent extremists and survivors to work together to push back extremist narratives and prevent the recruitment of at-risk youths.(16)


• Formers Anonymous—similarly structured to Alcoholics Anonymous, this programme brings together people who have identified a shared problem of attachment and addiction to a grossly irresponsible, criminal and/or drug lifestyle and seeks to helps those who wish to exit a life of crime and violence through the sharing of resources and lived experiences.(16) (19)


• Strong Cities Network—launched in 2015, this is the first global network of mayors, municipal-level policy makers and practitioners united in building social cohesion and community resilience to counter violent extremism in all its forms.(16)

LAH is also working towards the #WeCounterHate project alongside Possible, a Seattle company. Social media has meant that messages, whether positive or negative in nature, can circulate and spread with speed and ease throughout the world. #WeCounterHate aims to reduce the number of hateful messages online by using a computer programme to detect hate posts on Twitter and then sending a message that says a $1 donation will be made to LAH from the person who tweeted the hateful words.(19)

Since the “Unite the Right” rally in August 2017, LAH has helped more than 150 individuals, families, and inmates grapple with extremist hate groups, with the support of of over 30,000 people who back their mission.(1)

For all citations, please see the original introduction post here.

To donate to Life After Hate, head to their page here.

• Life After Hate is a tax deductible 501(c)3 charitable organisation.


• Donations possible via: credit card or direct online banking transfer.


• International donations are accepted.

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Refugee And Immigrant Center for Education and legal Service (RAICES) - Providing free and low-cost legal services to immigrant and refugee children and families in Texas.

Immigrants comprise approximately 14% of the US population: more than 43 million out of a total of ~323 million people, according to Census Bureau data. Altogether, immigrants and their US-born children make up about 27% percent of U.S. inhabitants.(1) In 2017, Trump endorsed the Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy (RAISE) Act, which lowers the total number of legal immigrants while increasing the portion of highly skilled and educated legal immigrants, eliminating extended family preferences and the diversity lottery immigrant visa program. RAISE expects to reduce legal immigration by about 40% in its first year. (2) The Trump administration has also significantly decreased the number of refugees that will be accepted into the US, with ~85,000 people accepted in 2016, ~54,000 in 2017, ~45,000 in 2018, and a cap of 30,000 announced for 2019 (fiscal years).(3) (4) In 2017, the Trump administration ended temporary protected status for thousands of Haitians and Nicaraguans who were allowed into the US after environmental disasters in their home countries, and in 2018, extended that for hundreds of thousands of Hondurans, Nepalis, and Salvadorans living in the US under the same relief scheme.(1)

Not only has Trump deployed demeaning and false rhetoric against US immigrants throughout his campaign and presidency, he has also made reducing immigration, whether legal or not, a central issue in appealing to his constituency. The most well-known declaration was Trump’s promise to build a wall across the US-Mexico border paid for by Mexico*, which has resulted in the longest government shutdown in US history (still ongoing) after Trump refused to sign a Senate-approved stopgap spending bill on 20 December 2018 because it didn’t include money for additions to the aforementioned wall.(5) Another as-yet unsuccessful policy decision was Trump’s 2017 announcement to phase out the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals (DACA) programme, as court challenges have so far prevented him from terminating the program thus far.(1)

Yet the Trump administration has successfully instituted several deplorable new policies as well as rescinded others established by previous administrations. After 2 revisions following legal setbacks, Trump’s third iteration of a travel-ban that denied citizens of Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen entry into the US stood against the Supreme Court (Iraq, Sudan, and Chad have been removed from the list since the initial 2017 entry requirement test).(1) (6) By executive order, the government has ended exemptions based on “classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement”, as well as ordered increases in enforcement personnel and removal facilities. For reference, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is required by law to maintain 34,000 immigration detention beds, daily, and spent nearly 3 billion dollars to manage the US immigration detention system in 2017, requesting an additional billion for the 2018 fiscal year.(7) The executive order also blocked federal funds from so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions and reinstate a controversial programme known as Secure Communities, in which state and local police provide fingerprints of suspects to federal immigration authorities and hand over individuals presumed to be in the country illegally, rescinded previous privacy protections. This is only one aspect of the ordered expansion of enforcement partnerships among federal, state, and local agencies, leading to the March 2018 Justice Department lawsuit against the state of California over allegations that the state’s laws obstruct federal immigration enforcement. (1) (8) Various other moves have included:

• a proposal to deprive unaccompanied minors of special protections under the law and allow the US government to hold minors in detention so long as their immigration case remains open (9)


• a new policy where parents already living in the US may be subject to deportation or even prosecution for enabling their children to join them unaccompanied (8)


• The Justice Department prosecuting every person who illegally crosses into the US along the Southwest border, a zero-tolerance measure that is splitting up families because children are not allowed in criminal jails (10)


• ending the “Catch and Release” policy (8)


• plans to sign an executive order that would remove the right to citizenship for babies of non-U.S. citizens and undocumented immigrants born on U.S. soil (11)


• using a 2-decade old law which allows the government to quickly deport undocumented immigrants who have recently arrived in the US without allowing them go before a judge. The Trump administration plans to utilise expedited removal as extensively as possible (8)

The Refugee And Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Service (RAICES) promotes justice by providing free and low-cost legal services to immigrant children, families, and refugees. Founded in 1986 as the Refugee Aid Project by community activists in South Texas, RAICES has grown to be the largest immigration legal services provider in Texas, combining expertise developed from the daily practice of immigration law with a deep commitment to advocacy. RAICES provides consultations, direct legal services, representation, assistance and advocacy to communities in Texas and to clients after they leave the state.(12)
RAICES services include:

• residency and citizenship application assistance


• legal services to asylum-seekers that may be eligible to obtain relief under humanitarian bases


• assisting immigrant victims of crime, including domestic violence, by representing their immigration legal rights and assisting with protection orders


• representing people in detention who are seeking release through bond, in addition to those who are fighting court cases following their release


• handling DACA renewals and advising TPS recipients and refugees.


• providing free legal information, referrals and direct representation for unaccompanied minors in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement

In addition to these services, RAICES directs the Karnes Pro Bono Project, which was launched in 2014 to provide free legal services and interview preparation aid to women and children detainees in the Karnes Family Detention Center. Through their newly launched Family Reunification Programme, RAICES is working with the Texas Civil Rights Project to identify the families being separated at the border, plus identify the separated parents of the children they work with in their children’s programme. RAICES supplies trained volunteers to provide accompaniment to immigration procedures such as ICE check-ins, court dates and bond paying, along with community speakers who present about immigration rights. Lastly, RAICES is a newly designated refugee resettlement agency that now supports refugees and their families from all over the world as they make their home in San Antonio. This includes welcoming refugees, assisting them as they adjust to life in the US, and administering short-term Refugee Cash Assistance and Match Grant benefits.(13)

As a direct consequence of Trump’s new immigration policies, RAICES hired 137 new employees in 2018, as well as opening 3 new offices so as to adequately serve the Texas state area. Early in the 2018 summer, the Trump administration decided, just as it ramped up its separation policy, to halt funding for released children in RAICES’ Dallas office. This meant that RAICES had to run a massive fundraising campaign to continue their operations, which was thankfully incredibly successful. RAICES’ children’s programme accepted over 400 cases in 2018 and provided “know your rights” trainings to over 4,500 children inside detention centers. The family detention team has worked for a total of 26,000 hours providing legal services at the Karnes Family Detention Center. From 1 October 2017 through to 10 December 2018, RAICES hs helped 201 refugees to resettle into new communities in San Antonio. It continues its fight into 2019 with the knowledge that its allies have its back.(14)

For all citations, please see the original introduction post here.

To donate to Refugee And Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Service, head to their page here.

• The Refugee And Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Service is a tax deductible 501(c)3 charitable organisation.


• Minimum of $5 donation.


• Donations possible via: credit card, stock, cars.


• International donations are accepted.

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Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network (RAINN) - Offers local services to survivors of sexual violence, and organizes programs to prevent sexual violence and bring perpetrators to justice.

Every 98 seconds an American is sexually assaulted, and every 11 minutes, that victim is a child.(1) Approximately 1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. About 1 out of every 33 American men has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in his lifetime. (2) Meanwhile, only 5 out of every 1,000 perpetrators will end up in prison.(1) These horrific statistics do not cover the scope of the problem, as sexual violence is “notoriously difficult to measure and there is no single source of data that provides a complete picture of the crime”, but they do begin to show how pervasive and severe an issue it is.(2) Each of these people not only experiences a traumatic event, but must also bear the stigma and enduring consequences of that event—including an increased awareness of how sexual violence survivors are depicted in the media and discussed by authority figures.

Trump has openly derided the testimony of a sexual assault victim while on stage at a political rally. (3) Trump himself has had allegations of harassment and assault levelled at him by at least 19 women, who cite incidents dating as far back as the 1980s.(4) (5) The Trump administration’s new policies on sexual violence in colleges and universities has created a legal exemption for the investigation of any assaults that do not take place on campus, or are not reported to the school official designated to deal with such cases. The alleged victim could also have to prove their case by the “clear and convincing” standard of evidence, as opposed to the less strict “preponderance of the evidence” standard previously required.(6)
Additionally, the Trump administration has changed the Department of Justice’s definitions of sexual assault so that it is now defined as “any non-consensual sexual act proscribed by Federal, tribal, or State law, including when the victim lacks capacity to consent”, narrowing the definition and to an “act” and erasing the lack of explicit consent of the recipient as the defining characteristic of an assault.(7) It is clear that through semantic changes, policy amendments and toxic rhetoric, the Trump administration intends to devalue sexual assault victims and harm their chances of overcoming their experiences. This can also be regarded as part of a larger trend of pushing back women’s rights in general, and speaks to the continued marginalisation of vulnerable communities under the Trump administration.

The Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network (RAINN) is the US’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, and the leading authority on sexual violence. Encompassing public education, public policy, consulting services and technology, RAINN’s team of experts in victim services, educators and trained volunteers work together to create victim-centered, trauma-informed services. It operates the free National Sexual Assault Hotline, which is accessible 24/7 by phone as well as its anonymous, IM-based online counterpart since 2008, the first of its kind.(8) Working with over 1,000 local sexual assault service providers, RAINN helps offer confidential support services to survivors regardless of where they are in their recovery.(9) (10) Founded as a phone hotline, RAINN widened their mission to include educating the public; improving public policy; and, most recently, consulting for companies and institutions to improve how they handle sexual assault prevention and response. (11)

RAINN’s public education programme runs education workshops and trainings on sexual violence, plus raises the visibility of sexual violence and advances the public’s understanding of the crime by liaising and consulting for the media, entertainment industries and colleges to provide expert advice and accurate information. RAINN operates the Speakers Bureau, a network of more than 1,500 survivors who voluntarily share their stories with local communities and the media, ensuring that real stories are being heard. RAINN also works on public policy at the federal and state level to improve the criminal justice system, prevent sexual assault, and ensure justice for survivors. This includes leading the US effort to overcome the rape kit backlog and maintaining the Laws in Your State database which contains up-to-date information on sexual violence laws across the US.(10) 2018 saw the longest, sustained growth of people reaching out in RAINN’s 25-year history, with the result of 73 victim services professionals being hired, and the recruitment of dozens of new hotline volunteers to handle the increased demand. (12) Thus far, RAINN’S hotlines have helped over 2.7 million survivors since its foundation in 1994.(13)

For all citations, please see the original introduction post here.

To donate to The Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network, head to their page here.

• The Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network is a tax deductible 501(c)3 charitable organisation.


• Donations possible via: credit card, echeck, paypal, or you can also donate stock, mutual funds and bonds.


• International donations are accepted.

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The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights - Providing legal advocacy to unaccompanied immigrant children in detention.

Immigration has been a hot topic throughout Trump’s election campaign as well as during the first 2 years of his administration. A large spike in arrivals at the US/Mexico border during 2014 sparked a political crisis as a record of 69,000 children and 68,000 families arrived at the border. The number of unaccompanied children and family units apprehended decreased in the 2015 financial year, but the US Border Patrol apprehended 20,455 unaccompanied children and 24,616 family units between October 2015–January 2016. This represents approximately half of the totals of the entire 2015 financial year, leading to the assumption that rather than a one-time surge, the increased levels of immigration would continue.(1)

While the Wall and the separation of families have made headlines, the administration has also sought to nullify the protections afforded to unaccompanied minors that immigrate into the US. In September 2018, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a proposal that would allow the US government to hold minors in detention so long as their immigration case remains open, instead of a maximum of 20 days.(2) The proposed regulations would invalidate the Flores Settlement Agreement, a decree that has stipulated the treatment of detained underage migrants since 1997. The regulations would also deprive unaccompanied minors of special protections under the law. Over the past two fiscal years, more than 40% of unaccompanied minors were released to their parents, according to HHS. Should the proposal pass, rights such as seeking asylum before a trained asylum officer instead of in the more adversarial immigration courts would be stripped if an unaccompanied minor travelled to the US to join parents already in the country.(3)

The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights (The Young Center) champions the rights of unaccompanied immigrant children and serves their best interests, ensuring their safety to the extent of its capacity. Advocating for the safety and well-being of each child throughout the detainment and deportation process, The Young Center aims to create an immigration system that serves children and advocates for immigration proceedings to take best interest into account when decisions are made, with due regard to the child’s expressed wishes.(4) (5)

The Young Center, guided by the principals of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, operates on three main fronts. Its attorneys, social workers and bilingual volunteers are appointed as Child Advocate (guardian ad litem) by the Department of Health and Human Services. These independent advocates ensure that children’s best interests are recognised throughout legal proceedings and give recommendations based on state and international law to government decision makers including judges, asylum officers and enforcement officials. This direct service is combined with efforts to implement a Best Interests Framework, which incorporates best interests considerations in the absence of a standard in immigration law and reminds decision makers of their discretion to consider best interests. Lastly, The Young Center seeks to preserve the existing protections, recently focussing on those set forth in the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), which was up for reauthorization in 2017 and enacted on January 9th 2019. (6) (7) Given the political climate, The Young Center believes that it is crucial to safeguard existing laws, policies and practice that provides unaccompanied immigrant children with protections such as access to attorneys and Child Advocates, family reunification and access to a court hearing.(8)

The Young Center was founded in Chicago in 2004, given funding from the Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Refugee Resettlement and charged with developing a programme to advocate for the best interests of unaccompanied immigrant children which recognised their status as children. In 2008, Congress passed the TVPRA. which included a provision for the appointment of Child Advocates whose role is to advocate for the child’s best interests. The Young Center continued its work, opening up additional offices and advocating for the expansion of the Child Advocate programme, which came to fruition with a 2013 Congress amendment to the TVPRA. During the Trump administration, The Young Center has focused its efforts on safeguarding hard-earned protections for immigrant children and responding to the implementation of changes to federal policy outlined in the January Executive Orders and directives issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Young Center has so far assigned Child Advocates for more than 2500 children, and has a total of eight locations across the US.(5) (8)

For all citations, please see the original introduction post here.

To donate to The Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights, head to their page here.

• The Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights is a tax deductible 501(c)3 charitable organisation.


• You can donate via credit card, debit card, and paypal.


• Minimum of $10 donation.


• International donations are accepted.

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Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund - Working toward legal equality for trans people through education, public policy, litigation, and direct legal services.

Since 2009, the Hate Crimes Prevention Act began requiring the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) to collect data concerning hate crimes committed by or directed against juveniles, and in 2013 the FBI began reporting the number of victims aged 18+ as well. In 2017 alone, 119 victims were reported as targeted by offender with an anti-transgender bias motivation, and a further 333 victims were grouped as targeted by offenders that had the bias motivation of “Anti-Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender (Mixed Group)”.(1) As mentioned in the post about The Trevor Project, the US doesn’t require a mandatory report on hate crimes, and has a very specific definition of what constitutes a hate crime,(2) which means that the statistics surrounding the perpetration of violence and harm towards transgender people are heavily skewed.

The Trump administration has continually targeted the rights of transgender people during the past two years, as well as the LGBTQIAP+ community as a whole. LGBTQIAP+ friendly policies have been systematically dismantled as the Health Department overturned previously-made health initiatives, guidance protecting transgender youth in schools was rescinded and LGBTQIAP+ people have been erased from the White House website. (3) (4) (5) Trump’s budget proposals have cut deeply into Medicaid, social spending for low-income Americans, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the fight against HIV and AIDS on both a domestic and global level, as well as mental health services. In particular for the transgender population, Planned Parenthood’s budget cuts are significant, as it is one of the US’s largest provider of transgender-inclusive medical care. (6) The Trump administration continues to advocate a complete ban on transgender people serving in the US armed forces, (7)* in addition to seeking to impose a rule that would effectively erase the existence of transgender people under federal law. (8)**

The Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) was founded in 2003 by Michael Silverman. (9) In November 2018, Andrea “Andy” Hong Marra stepped up as the new Executive Director of TLDEF. Marra is a nationally revered social justice advocate with a 15-year track record of service to the LGBTQ movement. (10) TLDEF aims to end discrimination and achieve equality for transgender people, particularly those who face intersectional modes of oppression. They approach this mission by providing public education on transgender rights through workshops, trainings and panels.(11) The TLDEF legal team fights transgender rights cases and creates "friend of the court" briefs regarding the key issues of employment, health care, education and public accommodations. (12)

TLDEF seeks to coordinate with other civil rights organisations to continue working for transgender equal rights. Their Name Change Project provides low-income TGNCNB (transgender, gender non-conforming, non-binary) people with pro bono legal name change services through partnerships with some of the US’s premier law firms and corporate law departments. It continues to work towards equality by representing transgender rights in landmark legal cases, litigation, public policy, and continuous advocacy. (13)

For all citations, please see the original introduction post here.

To donate to Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, head to their page here.

• The Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund is a tax deductible 501(c)3 charitable organisation.


• You can donate via credit card.


• Minimum of $5 donation.


• Per the donation page, TLDEF is only requesting contributions from those in the following states: New York, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming, Texas, Arizona and Idaho. However, when you go on to pay, there is an option to pick a country, so international donations may be permitted.

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Trevor Project - Providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ youth.

Since 2009, the Hate Crimes Prevention Act began requiring the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) to collect data concerning hate crimes committed by or directed against juveniles, and in 2013 the FBI began reporting the number of victims aged 18+ as well. 5,803 individuals were reported as victims of hate crimes in the US in 2017, and of those, 1,102 had been victimised because of bia against sexual/gender identity.(1)

The US, however, does not require a mandatory report on hate crimes, and furthermore, a hate crime label is only applicable “when a law enforcement investigation reveals sufficient evidence to lead a reasonable and prudent person to conclude that the offender’s actions were motivated, in whole or in part, by his or her bias”. (2) Which is all to say that the number of LGBTQIAP+ people who have been targeted by hate crimes in the US is likely to be much higher. This statistic also doesn’t account for things like bullying, deadnaming, erasure, online harassment or microaggressions; it doesn’t account for unreported crimes and non-criminal actions. It doesn’t relay the fear of being outed publicly, the constant process of coming out, the dangers of living as out, or the loneliness of being closeted.

Under the Trump administration, references to LGBTQIAP+ people have been erased from the White House website.(3) The LGBTQIAP+ community was erased from the National Survey of Older Americans, the government budget cut funding to HIV and AIDS research, the Health Department is taking steps to dismantle LGBT health initiatives,(4) guidance protecting transgender youth in schools was rescinded, World AIDS Day passed without any mention of the LGBTQIAP+ community, and Trump continues his attempt to ban transgender people from the military. (5) (6) (7)

These setbacks in rights and public disavowals, as well as the looming threat of discrimination and violence, can negatively affect the mental health of the LGBTQIAP+ community, in particular youth who may be more vulnerable due to the developing nature of their sexual and gender identities as well as their reliance upon legal guardians.

The Trevor Project is a US nonprofit organization founded in 1998 that focuses on suicide prevention efforts and crisis intervention services for LGBTQ youth aged 13-24. In 1994, producers Peggy Rajski and Randy Stone invited James Lecesne to adapt his WORD OF MOUTH character, Trevor, into a short film. The Oscar-winning film eventually launched a national movement, as Rajski discovered there was no real place for young people like Trevor to turn to, and so along with Lecesne, recruited and funded and figured out the infrastructure for the Trevor Lifeline, the first free 24/7 lifeline in the US, which was launched in 1998 the first part of the Trevor Project.(8) (9)

The Trevor Project now operates The Trevor Lifeline; a free, confidential service that offers trained counselors 24/7, plus instant message and text services manned by volunteer trained counsellors. The Trevor Project runs a number of different trainings and as well as these lifelines, in addition to supplying guidance and resources to parents and educators in order to foster safe, accepting, and inclusive environments for all youth, at home and at school. The Trevor Project is also committed to producing innovative research that brings new knowledge and clinical implications to the field of suicidology. Since the establishment of Trevor Project, 100,000s of youth have reached out to its services, and as the recent surge of calls after Trump’s memo to erase any recognition of transgender people under federal law can attest, (12) it continues to be an important service for those in crisis. (10) (11)

For all citations, please see the original introduction post here.

To donate to The Trevor Project, head to their page here.

• The Trevor Project is a tax deductible 501(c)3 charitable organisation.


• You can donate via credit card and via paypal.


• It accepts international donations.

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Unsilence - Helping communities talk about human rights via public learning experiences, youth programs, and training for educators and community leaders.

The rhetoric of the Trump administration has been filled with “words that wound” (1), hate and the demonisation of various ethnic, cultural and racial groups(2) as well as the LGBTQIAP+ community(3)(4), among others. The actions and beliefs of fascism and violent bigots are being encouraged while refugees are turned away(5) and those who combat injustice are struck down with accusations of fake news and funding cuts.(6)(7)(8)

The language of compassion, community and vulnerability has been erased from presidential messages, and in an environment that encourages assaultive language and skews opinions on minority groups(9), it is vital that the upcoming generations embrace an attitude of empathy, inclusion and understanding.

Unsilence targets the education of young people, filling a critical gap in civics education through storytelling, the arts, and game design, working with educators at all levels and creating online educational material. Unsilence aims to give voices to hidden injustices and marginalised experiences in order to spark dialogue, support critical thinking, build empathy, and inspire healing and social change through informed action by guiding youth to challenge stigmas and engage in thoughtful conversation.(10)

Unsilence grew out of the PhD research of learning scientist Danny M. Cohen, whose study of educators at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center led to his creation of educator training programs focused on human rights content. The establishment of groundbreaking learning experiences and a theoretical framework of Unsilencing led to the founding of Unsilence in 2014. (10)

Thus far, Unsilence programmes have reached more than 10,000 individuals across 10 US states in more than 100 communities. They have trained over 2,500 educators to help schools and communities unsilence marginalised historical and contemporary narratives and instigate difficult conversations about persecution, discrimination and trauma. (11) 95% of Unsilence workshop participants report that they are now more comfortable engaging in difficult conversations about injustice. Unsilence collaborates with schools, museums, youth centers, communities of faith and institutions. Based in Chicago, the organisation has local, national and international reach, extending to Poland, Israel and Germany. (10)

For all citations, please see the original introduction post here.

To donate to Unsilence, head to their page here.

• Unsilence is a tax deductible 501(c)3 charitable organisation.


• You can donate via credit card on paypal.


• It accepts international donations.

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Quite a list, right?

Every single one of these groups is doing vital and unique work to fight the Trump agenda, but they also have another important thing in common: every single one of them has an annual revenue of under $10 million a year. Many of them have annual operating budgets of under $1 million.

Imagine what each of these groups could accomplish with an extra $5-10,000 from FTH donations. Imagine how much better the world would be if each of these groups had more resources to educate, or to feed and shelter the dispossessed, or to provide legal or emotional support to those in need.If you’re reading this list and thinking about how you really wanted to use FTH to support Planned Parenthood, or the SPLC, or some other wonderful organization that was too big for this year’s list, don’t worry, we have options for you!

Donation Policy/Protocol for 2019
We’ve always allowed creators to either let their bidder select any group on our list, or to narrow it down to a subset of our groups that they specifically want to support. This year, any creator who chooses a small subset of charities will have the opportunity to add one additional nonprofit of their choice, as long as it is in line with the mission of FTH. (These additions will be minimally screened; our goal is to be as inclusive as possible, while ensuring that nobody is trying to send money to, for example, the NRA.) As usual, creators will also have the option to give the bidder free choice of any group on our list.

Feel free to contact us with any questions either by commenting below or emailing [email protected].