A prominent national transgender advocate is warning of a drastic drop in institutional funding for the transgender rights movement, describing the situation as a “near complete exodus” of philanthropic support at a moment when legal attacks against the community have reached record levels.
Writing in Nonprofit Quarterly, Shelby Chestnut, the executive director of the Transgender Law Center—the nation’s largest trans-led advocacy organization—highlighted the widening gap between the surging political pressure on transgender individuals and the dwindling resources available to defend them.
“Fast forward to 2026, and we have now reached a near complete exodus of philanthropy from the trans movement,” Chestnut writes.
The sharp drop in grantmaking follows years of incremental decline. Data compiled by Funders for LGBTQ Issues reveals that in 2024, US foundations allocated just three cents to transgender and gender-nonconforming causes for every $100 donated to philanthropic efforts and charitable causes. That figure represented a drop from 2023, when trans causes received 3.5 cents per $100. While complete foundation data for subsequent years remains pending, leaders in the field report that foundation backing has continued to dry up.
This retreat comes as conservative organizations and lawmakers ramp up political spending and legislative efforts targeting transgender rights. In 2024 alone, right-wing groups spent nearly $215 million on television advertisements opposing transgender rights, according to figures tracked by AdImpact. Concurrently, state legislatures have introduced hundreds of restrictive measures; the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) tracked 528 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in 2026 alone, the majority of which explicitly target transgender healthcare, legal recognition, and public life.
Chestnut attributed the pullback by major donors to a psychological and social phenomenon known as “social proof.” Citing recent social research from Voss Research Strategy, Chestnut argued that right-wing campaigns have successfully manufactured a false perception of widespread public hostility toward trans people, scaring major foundations into retreat. In reality, polling indicates that broad majorities of Americans oppose overtly discriminatory anti-trans measures, with only 35% agreeing that policies should restrict transgender views or lifestyles.
To reverse the funding collapse, Chestnut called on partner progressive movements to actively incorporate transgender advocacy into their broader platforms and leadership structures, rather than leaving trans organizations to fight alone.
“What gives me hope is knowing that we’ve always found ways to build trans power, to run campaigns, to keep each other safe, and to hold community spaces for grief and joy, even as the dollars barely trickle in,” Chestnut wrote. “Imagine what we could accomplish if philanthropy invested in us the way we invest in each other.”
