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
Take Back the Narrative: The Work of K Pontuti
A narrative on identity and art by artist, filmmaker, and professor K Pontuti I grew up in a small farm town in Ohio at a time where there wasn’t any language around queerness or transness—at least nothing positive. It was also a time without the internet so...
Take Back the Narrative: El & Elliott – A Love Story
In the burgeoning digital age, it is not uncommon for couples to meet online, and this is exactly how El and Elliott first connected. Elliott submitted a personals ad looking for friendship and dates, and El excitedly answered the call. During their first in-person...
Take Back the Narrative: Alicia Arballo Expresses Trans* Grief Through Poetry
As an older trans woman, out of my myriad of experiences over the years, some of which includes working with veterans, I have found there is much healing through accessing and processing grief. I believe that much of what is going on with our current climate of...
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