The Antonia and Andrea Belcher Trans Fund, managed by the LGBTQI community foundation charity GiveOut, is named after trans businesswoman, role model and mentor, Antonia Belcher and her wife Andrea. They are supporting activists with reliable funding so they can advocate for their communities in the places where it’s hardest to be trans.
Across the world, trans people suffer widespread human rights violations. From discrimination and a lack of legal recognition or status, to violence and killings, people face appalling abuses based on their gender identity and expression. Courageous activists are doing vital work to protect and improve the lives of trans people, but funding is insufficient and fragile. Despite growth in LGBTQI funding, trans organisations are deeply under-resourced. Research has found that more than half of trans groups globally have annual budgets of less than £7,500.
The Fund has been established to help address the problem of underfunding, by bringing new resources into the global trans movement. Individuals and businesses can support the Fund by donating through GiveOut, which pools these donations to make grants to trans organisations around the world. GiveOut identifies these organisations through a rigorous process of consultation, due diligence, vetting, and with input from Antonia and Andrea. The organisations supported through the Fund are part of GiveOut’s overall partnership portfolio of LGBTQI groups worldwide.
“To be the true me, I have had a lot of luck, an accepting and loving family and workplace – and I know only too well that for many others this is not the case. If I can help one soul to be free and true with this fund then I will be the proudest transgender woman alive.” – Antonia Belcher
