In an effortful year of fighting and navigating nationwide anti-trans legislation, the still raging COVID pandemic, and a major drop in foundation giving, GJL is proud to have continued to provide necessary, by-and-for support and advocacy for our TwoSpirit, Trans, & Gender Diverse communities across Washington State and beyond. Here are some of the things we are most proud of from 2023: 

Direct Support to 2STGD People and Families 

• Gave over $30,000 in cash assistance to 2STGD survivors, with over 75% going to 2STGD BIPOC, through our Community Security Program (CSP) (formerly SafeHouse).
• Sheltered 143 2STGD people through CSP, with priority given to 2STGD BIPOC. Notably, over 75% of our CSP clients this year were Disabled. We are deeply honored to continue to be a beacon of support for local Disabled 2STGD communities. 
• Supported the relocation of 7 2STGD people and families fleeing anti-trans laws and violence in their home states of Florida, Texas, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, and Idaho, helping them access safety and gender-affirming care. 
• Served a total of 556 2STGD people—despite only being funded to serve 75 people—with cash and resource assistance, accessing shelter, resource navigation, community information, and safety planning needs. 

Trans Pride Seattle & TDOR

• Hosted the 10th anniversary of Trans Pride Seattle in Volunteer Park, welcoming 50,000+ attendees, and enjoying speeches and performances on stage by headliners Rep. Zooey Zephyr, Sen. Marko Liias, Stella Keating, Angel Bonilla, The House of Ada, and T4T: Seattle’s Longest Running All Trans & Nonbinary Drag Show. 
• Co-organized hybrid Trans Day of Remembrance events in Seattle & Tacoma alongside DAPS and other community partners. 

Movement Capacity Building & Advocacy

• Shifted to expand our work nationally, offering technical assistance and leadership development support to trans-led organizations across the U.S., notably in Idaho, Arkansas, Montana, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, Oregon, Alaska, and Arizona.
• Hosted our first annual Trans Advocacy Day alongside Planned Parenthood Advocates, bringing 80+ people to the state capitol to advocate with legislators for gender-affirming and reproductive care, data privacy, and more. 
• Worked in coalition to help pass important legislation making legal name changes private & free (SB 5028); protecting patients and providers of abortion and gender-affirming care from prosecution in other states (HB 1469); preventing attacks on the licenses of providers of gender-affirming care & abortion (HB 1340); removing barriers to safe shelter for youth seeking gender-affirming or reproductive health care (SB 5599); a first in the nation Health Data Protection Bill (HB 1155); and a Victims of Doxxing Bill (HB 1335) that allows people who are doxxed to get a protection / cease and desist order in court, as well as to sue people for damages related to doxxing.
• Trained 22 local trans activists to carry out two advocacy days which mobilized 104 people to lobby legislators in-person at the state capitol to protect gender-affirming and reproductive care. 
• Mobilized 300+ community members to submit comments and contact legislators to defend gender-affirming and reproductive care across WA State. 
• Worked in coalition to win a proclamation for King County to recognize Nov. 20th as Trans Day of Remembrance, alongside STANCE and DAPS. 

Funding Update: Foundations have retreated from supporting GJL

Graph showing GJL income by type (Foundation, Individual, and Government) over the span of 2020-2023, illustrating a significant drop in foundation funding, and an increase in individual and government funding.

This year, GJL has seen our foundation support almost completely evaporate. In 2023, we received a mere $10,500 in foundation support for our Community Security Program; an all-time low from a steady decline since 2020, when we received over $200,000 in foundation support for this program. While every dollar counts, this amount is far from sufficient to meet the needs of the hundreds of vulnerable individuals we serve each year. We have been successful in shifting our funding streams, relying increasingly on funding from the State of Washington, which both we and our clients are immensely grateful for. However, we see our reliance on the state as a concern when Republicans have repeatedly tried to defund programs like ours from federal budgets—and our current funding relies heavily on three federal grants.

While foundation giving has significantly dropped, we have seen our community step up and give to sustain our work in a major way. Recurring and one-time gifts from individual donors have allowed us to continue our vital work to support 2STGD survivors and maintain our advocacy work—and we could not be more grateful.

Team Updates

In November, we hired Administrative Assistant, Maggie Bishop, and we couldn’t be happier to have her experience and skill. An experienced administrator originally from Colorado Springs and now based in Seattle, Maggie has already added so much capacity to our team: re-vamping this year’s budget, tracking and completing billing and invoicing, and assisting in our grant reports to the state—all so we can continue to show up for 2STGD community.

Throughout the year, we also welcomed three new board members: thank you to Delphine Brody, Gabriel L., & Galaxy Marshall for your commitment to supporting our communities in this capacity.

As we reflect on the end of another year and embark on a new one, we at Gender Justice League want to express our heartfelt gratitude for your ongoing support and commitment to our mission of advancing gender justice in Washington State and beyond. Whether you are a monthly sustainer, volunteer, co-organizer, or general supporter: we can’t do this without you. Thank you for being part of the movement to ensure all people can live our lives safely, freely, and truly.

With love,

Gender Justice League

To help sustain our work to support 2STGD communities in WA & beyond, please consider starting a recurring or one-time gift at GenderJusticeLeague.org/Give