We're not here to survive. We're here to thrive!
Trans Empowerment Project is a grassroots nonprofit building real, lasting support for disabled Two-Spirit, Trans, Intersex, and Gender Expansive communities of color, through direct aid, justice-rooted training, and the radical belief that we all deserve to thrive.
$200 funds one micro-grant. $1000 fuels five lives.
Last year (In 2025)
More than 55 community members received direct funding from TEP’s micro-grant program
Requests for help are climbing
We received over 1420 applications for emergency assistance funding in 2025 alone.
Creating Safety
TEP provided over $15,000 in cash assistance for micro-grants recipients. At least $5,000 went to folks fleeing unsafe states.
Liberation Lab
The place to experiment, build, and grow power
Train Here. Lead Everywhere.
Level up your advocacy with justice-rooted training that powers real change.
Liberation Lab is TEP’s training space — built for organizers, allies, educators, and anyone ready to turn good intentions into real action.
Every course is justice-rooted, community-centered, and taught by people who live this work. When you get trained here, you’re not just leveling up your skills. You’re directly funding support for the 2TIGE-BIPOC community.
Start where you are. We’ll meet you there.
A word from our founder
In 2016, we watched decades of hard-won equity get erased almost overnight. The attacks haven’t stopped since. And yes, it’s exhausting. That’s the point.
TEP exists because our community kept telling us the same story: isolation, dysphoria, depression, and the crushing feeling of fighting just to exist.
We decided to stop fighting for permission and to start building the future we deserve. One where 2TIGE-BIPOC people don’t just survive; we thrive. Out of spite. Out of solidarity. Together.
490 harmful bills. One community. Here's how we reclaim our power.
According to the ACLU, since January 1st, 2026 over 490 anti-Trans bills have been introduced into legislation, attempting to strip away access to healthcare, housing, education, and safety for existing as our authentic selves. (Learn more here, thanks to our friends at the ACLU)
We know behind every bill is a person.
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A young trans girl who won’t eat or drink at school so that she doesn’t have to face harassment while trying to use the restroom.
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A disabled Black Trans man denied health care during a vulnerable health scare.
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A Two-Spirit elder trying to keep a roof overhead after losing work
Our SAFE Pledge is where we start. It’s how we create real, sustainable change; together, with visibly, accountability, and meaningful action.
Events
april, 2026
Recent Updates
![[Call to Action] Show Solidarity with the Unhoused](https://transempowerment.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/homeless-6887060_1280-400x250.jpg)
[Call to Action] Show Solidarity with the Unhoused
Today, a critical moment unfolds before the Supreme Court—a moment that will invariably leave deep imprints on the fabric of our collective conscience and on the lives of countless individuals across our nation. The city of Grants Pass, Oregon, has brought forth a...
Celebrating Women’s History Month: Women Are Making History Today
While my Trans identity is only a part of who I am and does not define me, my womanhood does. So, I adamantly refuse to be excluded from conversations about women's issues; all women, regardless of their background or identity, deserve a seat at the tableMarch marks a...
Women’s History Month: Bridging the Wage Gap for Trans Women & Femmes
By: Mo Viviane (they/them), Program Manager for Trans Employment Project As we come together to celebrate Women’s History Month, we must recognize and uplift the contributions and badassery of Trans Women and Femmes in all employment sectors! Let’s explore the...
J Mase III: A Black Trans Icon for LGBTQIA2S+ History Month
By: Mo Viviane (they/them/theirs), Associate Director of Workplace Equity & Inclusion This LGBTQIA2S+ History Month, I want to highlight an individual who has made an impact in my community, as well as in my life. J Mase III is a poet, educator, and advocate. He...
Black Poetry Day 2023 – Mo Viviane
Happy Black Poetry Day! This day means so much to me. As a teenager growing up in a small town in Kentucky, I was given the opportunity to attend the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts back in 2011. I was accepted into the Creative Writing program, where most of...
Black Poetry Day 2023 – Jacquii Cooke
In 1827, the English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian Samuel Taylor Coleridge defined poetry as “the best words in the best order.” He further wrote, “When we write, we string words together like beads, ever mindful of color and shape, the powerful...
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