Microgrants
75% of name change Microgrants go to trans BIPOC to dismantle barriers caused by white supremacy. Learn more about our Equity Policy.
Microgrants provide trans and nonbinary people with low-barrier funds and support to correct names and/or gender markers on identifying legal documents, and support to our trans siblings behind bars.
Putting money directly intro trans people’s hands is central to economic and racial justice, and our overall wellbeing. Redistributing funds draws inspiration from the principles of mutual aid: our support of each other is a political act.

The Name Change Microgrant application cycle is paused for January for annual maintenance. The next cycle will open on Monday, February 1 at 9 am PT.

3-6 Weeks
Current Name Change Microgrant Processing Time

Types of Microgrants
In 2020, Trans Lifeline distributed $24,000 for Immigration Documents Microgrants. These funds are not currently available. Updates are coming soon for the future of this program in 2021.
FAQs
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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 needs.
Trans people, especially Black trans people, face disproportionate rates of arrest, and often endure mistreatment, lack of access to medications or 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. Our annual Holiday Commissary Campaign partners with organizations fighting injustice and advocating for our community on the inside.
Annual Holiday Commissary Campaign
$80,285 given directly to our incarcerated trans siblings
On Christmas day, several federal prisons waive the restitution & fees on commissary deposits, which allows our annual partners to directly give to folks on the inside, rather than to prisons. All funds raised by Trans Lifeline’s Holiday Commissary Campaign are directly distributed to trans people by our partner organizations.
This year, in response to global Black uprisings, our Holiday Commissary Fundraiser will also include supporting Black-led organizations mobilizing bail funds for trans people. It’s our hope that this shift will honor the innovative, grassroots, rapid-response organizing work happening on the ground in communities that have been on the frontlines of over-policing for generations.