Trans Leader Sounds Alarm About “Near Complete Exodus” of Philanthropy From Movement

In a new piece written for Nonprofit Quarterly, Shelby Chestnut, the executive director of the Transgender Law Center, which describes itself as the largest national trans-led organization, shared that there has been a “near complete exodus” of philanthropy from the transgender rights movement.This withdrawal of funding has happened at the same time as a steady incline in the number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills over the last decade, with 528 bills being tracked by the ACLU in 2026 alone, the majority of which are centered around restricting trans rights. Yet, the amount of money put forth by philanthropic organizations to support the trans and gender-nonconforming communities has been sliding downward, Chestnut noted.Chestnut pointed to data sourced from Funders for LGBTQ Issues showing that, for every $100 US foundations donated to philanthropic causes and charities in 2024, only three cents were allocated to transgender and gender-nonconforming communities, which was also a decrease from the year prior when those groups received 3.5 cents. Comparable data for 2025 has not yet been made available, but given Chestnut’s prominent position in the movement — and their phrasing — it seems possible that this spend has continued to decline.“Fast forward to 2026, and we have now reached a near complete exodus of philanthropy from the trans movement,” Chestnut wrote.While devastating in its gravity, this trend would hardly be unsurprising given the intensity of anti-trans rhetoric that has cycled its way into the current media zeitgeist. In 2024, right-wing groups spent nearly $215 million in television ads attacking trans people, according to data from the tracking firm AdImpact, yet in the time since, philanthropic organizations have pulled back on their support of the trans community.As Chestnut notes, Americans generally oppose overtly discriminatory anti-trans policies, although public polling shows that issues like sports participation and healthcare for trans y