Microgrants
Microgrants provide trans and nonbinary people with low-barrier funds and support to correct names and/or gender markers on identifying legal documents, and supply necessities for our trans siblings behind bars.
Putting money directly into trans people’s hands is central to economic and racial justice, and our overall well-being. Redistributing funds draws inspiration from the principles of mutual aid: our support of each other is a political act.
75% of Name Change Microgrants go to trans BIPOC to dismantle barriers caused by white supremacy. Please see our Equity Policy below.
The Name Change Microgrant application is now open as of April 1st, 2022. It will remain open from the 1st-14th of every month.

1-4 Weeks
Approximate Name Change Microgrant processing time (upon selection)

Inside Advocacy: Supporting Trans Siblings Behind Bars
Trans Lifeline’s Inside Advocacy project provides financial aid and local resources to trans people that are currently incarcerated or have been recently released—ranging from Commissary Microgrants for hygiene products, stamps, and food, to Post-Release Microgrants for rent and other re-entry needs.
Trans people, especially Black trans people, face disproportionate rates of arrest and often endure mistreatment, diminished access to medications and gender-appropriate facilities, and physical and sexual trauma while incarcerated. We support prison abolition and until these violent institutions are dismantled, we will continue working to uplift and empower those still inside by offering tangible support.
Inside Advocacy is created and directed by trans people who have been directly impacted by the carceral state. Until We’re All Free, our annual Holiday Commissary Campaign, partners with organizations fighting injustice, providing on-the-ground support and advocating for our community on the inside.
Until We’re All Free: Annual Holiday Commissary Campaign
$287,602 given directly to our incarcerated trans siblings
For five consecutive years, Microgrants has organized a grassroots fundraiser to raise money for our incarcerated trans siblings during the winter holiday season. All funds raised by the Until We’re All Free campaign are directly distributed by our partner organizations, who offer direct support on the ground to trans folks who are incarcerated in their communities.
The organizations we work with vary each year. For our 2020 fundraiser, in response to global Black uprisings, our campaign included supporting Black-led organizations mobilizing bail funds for trans people. We continued to prioritize organizations doing work like this in 2021, and it’s our hope that this shift honors the innovative, grassroots, rapid-response organizing work happening on the ground in communities that have been on the frontlines of over-policing for generations.
Check out the 2021 partner organizations and read more about the fundraiser here!
Trans Migrant Partnership Program
Our Trans Migrant Partnership Program partners with organizations who provide direct services to trans migrants. In 2021, we distributed $41,000 to the following organizations to disburse $1000 microgrants directly to trans migrants to support immigration costs including: Updating names and/or gender markers on identifying immigration documents, and legal fees during immigration and asylum processes.
- Trans Asylum Seeker’s Network
- Queer Detainee Empowerment Project
In 2022, we will continue building partnerships with organizations offering direct services to disburse $75,000 ($1000 grants to 75 people) directly to trans migrants. This opportunity is not open to the public.
HRT Microgrants x FOLX Health
In 2021, Trans Lifeline teamed up with FOLX health in an effort to provide 100 microgrants for at least 1 year of free or reduced HRT through our HRT Care Fund. As a result, we raised and distributed more than $100,000 to trans folks across the country who were able to initiate and/or sustain gender-affirming medical care via FOLX HRT services.
It was important to us to partner with a company equally committed to our shared mission to alleviate financial barriers for trans folks through economic redistribution strategies.
Thank you to everyone who gave to support these microgrants!
Community-based Name Change Support
Trans Lifeline’s Name Change Microgrants were closed from June 2021 through January 2022. While the application was paused, we distributed $68,500 to the following partners to provide name change assistance to trans people:
- Metro Trans Umbrella Group, St. Louis
- Transformative Justice Law Project, Illinois
- Real Name Campaign, New Orleans
- Louisiana Trans Advocates, Louisiana
- Trans Maryland, Maryland
We selected our partners based on geographic areas historically underserved by Microgrants, where trans resources may be limited. It was important to us to continue distributing funds to trans folks in need even while we were strategizing and improving our internal systems. We are committed to building relationships with folks doing this work on the ground, and will continue to uplift and partner with outstanding organizations across the country.