In a time when organizations are clamoring to gather funds to protect marginalized people, it can be overwhelming to decide where to donate your extra cash. You might wonder: What LGBTQ organizations can I donate to outside of the most popular ones, like the American Civil Liberties Union and the Human Rights Campaign?
These are both fantastic organizations, of course; they also get a lot of donations because people have heard about them. The ACLU, for example, raised a mind-blowing $24 million last weekend following Trump's signing of an executive order that put severe temporary restrictions on travel and immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries — an amount literally six times the total of what they raised in all of 2016. But smaller organizations who also do important and necessary work sometimes suffer because they're simply not as well-known as many other "household name" organizations.
When choosing where to donate money, its always a good move to do your research to help decide what place is the best fit for you. It's integral to make sure that an organization is authentic and that you agree with its practices; beyond that, you'll also want to look into where their money and attention actually goes.
It's also good to consider what intersections and identities you most want to help. For example, when we consider what marginalized groups are often left out of diversity discussions, such as people with disabilities, trans people, and indigenous communities, it can be an eye-opener for how in need many organizations and non-profits are for donations.
The following eight suggestions are a great starting place if you're looking to donate money to LGBTQ organizations that are a little off the beaten path, but are absolutely doing fantastic work and can certainly use the help!