Nine organizations are the recipients of a total of about $225,000 in grants to support transgender and nonbinary youth in Cincinnati.
The largest single award is $50,000 for Transform, which offers free clothing to young people as well as other resources. Co-founder Tristan Vaught tells WVXU the grant will be used to offer additional hours, as well as expand opportunities for social support.
"We will be expanding our services so that we'll be able to stay open seven days a week and have after-school hours for trans youth," Vaught said. "We're also going to start another support group specifically for trans youth."
Vaught says there's a current support group for K-12 trans youth and their families that meets once a month. With the help of this city funding, Transform can host a weekly support group, plus create a Discord channel as a virtual resource for young people who may not be able to make it in person.
"I think it's super important to make sure that we are centering our most marginalized," Vaught said. "Trans youth right now [and] nonbinary youth are some of our most marginalized in our community."
Heartland Trans Wellness is the recipient of the next largest grant of $40,000.
"We plan to create a training using CBPR, which is community-based participatory research," said Director Jonah Yokoyama. That means focus groups of trans youth and parents of trans youth to create youth-led trainings for health care providers, schools, government offices, and places of worship.
Yokoyama says trans people are under attack, and youth are the most vulnerable.
"They are facing attacks from the government on their health care. They often are rejected by families, places of worship, friends — they often will lose a lot when they come out," Yokoyama said. "These youth need support. They need people in their corner. They need people fighting for them. And this is one of the ways, through these grants, that our community can help better support trans youth."
Other awards include about $31,000 for Equality Ohio to hold three legal clinics to help with name and gender marker changes; and $12,000 for Camp Lilac, a summer camp for transgender youth, which will be used to market the camp within Cincinnati, create a scholarship for Cincinnati teens to attend, and provide Cincinnati campers with transportation to camp. See a full list of awards at the bottom of this article.
'We need to take care of our kids'
The money comes from the city health department budget. City Council approved the funding nearly a year ago amid concern over the incoming Trump administration. Council member Mark Jeffreys introduced the proposal.
"If you talk to people in the community, there's still substantial concern around suicide and mental health, and these are services that are needed," Jeffreys told WVXU. "We need to take care of our kids. And in this case, kids who are in the LGBTQ community who clearly need some services and help, mental health assistance."
Council approved a total of $500,000 for this purpose, divided across two years. The funding awards for 2025 total $224,500 total, with the remainder going to Community Shares of Greater Cincinnati, which is managing the funding on behalf of the city.
The request for proposals was written based on a survey of 115 people who identify as transgender or nonbinary youth, or their caregivers, and organizations that serve that community. Thirteen projects responded to the RFP, requesting a total of more than $584,000.
A panel of 13 people scored the applications; the panel included five medical professionals with expertise in gender affirming care, five transgender youth, and three parents of transgender or queer youth.
A city official tells WVXU the same organizations will be awarded a second year of funding at the same level, contingent on outcomes reported to the city.
Funding awards, as provided by the city of Cincinnati
Note: TGD is used as shorthand for "transgender"
- $50,000 for Transform: Founded in 2019, Transform provides clothing, resources and community support for TGD people in Cincinnati. Transform will use this funding to expand open hours on weekends and after school hours to increase accessibility for youth and families. They offer all resources at no cost.
- $40,000 for Heartland Trans Wellness: Founded 15+ years ago, Heartland Trans Wellness will use this funding to establish a youth-led training program to better equip healthcare providers, schools, government offices, and places of worship to better serve TGD youth. They will provide at least 10 trainings and educate 400 people with this funding.
- $31,575 for Equality Ohio: Equality Ohio’s Legal Clinic was founded in 2019 to provide civil legal representation to LGBTQ+ people living at or below 300% FPL and also provides training to LGBTQ+ and ally attorneys in Ohio to increase access to attorneys. They will use this funding to hold 2 youth centered and one general pop-up legal clinics to assist with name and gender marker changes which help TGD and nonbinary people gain employment and housing.
- $23,425 for National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Foundation: The Ohio chapter of the NASW will use this funding to offer the CEU-accredited Navigating New Laws training to additional Cincinnati based mental health providers. This training equips providers understand state laws so that they can safely serve TGD youth and is led by a TGD social worker. Access to affirming and confidential mental health care is identified as a leading need among TGD youth.
- $22,500 for GLSEN Greater Cincinnati: GLSEN is a national organization aimed at protecting the rights of students to a safe, supportive education. The Cincinnati chapter will use this funding to hire 2 additional facilitators for their weekly Youth Support Group for LGBTQ+ youth and to establish an emergency fund to help youth access immediate needs such as transportation and housing.
- $20,000 for Queer Kentucky (operating in Cincinnati): Queer Kentucky is the only LGBTQ+ specific news outlet in the region, uplifting the stories of TGD youth, increasing access to resources, and highlighting TGD joy and success. They will use this funding to expand their reach into Cincinnati by creating a TGD youth digital magazine and paying 15 Cincinnati TGD youth to develop. The magazine will share Cincinnati TGD youth stories, provide guides on accessing mental health services, and spotlight inclusive Cincinnati businesses and events.
- $15,000 for TransOhio, Inc.: TransOhio was founded in 2005 to provide advocacy and resources to the trans community in Ohio. They provide mutual aid, legal services, state & local advocacy and more. This funding will go towards their Annual Trans and Ally Symposium in Cincinnati which will have workshops, healing spaces, panels. They will provide transportation vouchers to increase accessibility.
- $12,000 for Camp Lilac: Camp Lilac offers TGD youth a safe summer camp experience so that they can experience the same positive camp experiences as their cisgender peers. This funding will help create a scholarship for Cincinnati youth to attend, hire a part time staff member to lead targeted outreach in Cincinnati to recruit more campers, and provide Cincinnati based campers with transportation to camp.
- $10,000 for Trans-Masc Cincy: Trans-Masc Cincy is a community group aimed at the intergenerational connection of transgender men and transmasculine people. This funding will go towards holding 2 retreats for TGD men and transmasculine people aimed at continuing to build community. Funding will cover food, lodging, and transportation.
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