Black Trans Travel Fund Has a new merch line!
VISIT THE STORE AT BTTF-MERCH.PRINTFUL.ME/
100% of proceeds support funding BTTF's mutual aid programs.
100% of proceeds support funding BTTF's mutual aid programs.
Investing in Black Trans Travel Fund: Forging a Path Towards Safety, Security, and Self-Determination for Black Trans People
Introducing BTTF’s $1,000,000 Capital Campaign
○ The Black Trans Travel Fund (BTTF) aims to initiate a one million dollar capital campaign to support our mission of providing mutual aid, transportation, and other material resources to the Black trans community, prioritizing Black trans femmes, to support their overall safety and wellness. Through our efforts, we aim to address the critical safety and resource access challenges that Black trans women frequently face globally as a result of transphobia and anti-Blackness. This campaign will help us solidify the foundation and future for our organization to continue providing life-saving services and support systems tailored to our unique needs and vulnerabilities.
○ Our work, grounded in advancing the liberation of Black trans women across the African diaspora, has been supported by grants and donations up until this point. We are proud to have redistributed over $750,000 globally to Black trans women in need of transportation, housing, gender-affirming care, and other essential services.
Our Mission, Vision and Values
BTTF is a collective of Black Trans artists, organizers, cultural workers, and visionaries, united by our commitment to advocating for and celebrating Black trans women around the world. Our shared values of empowerment, justice, and solidarity guide our work as we strive to amplify the voices of Black trans women, and address systemic barriers they face. Our mission as a Black trans led collective is to provide Black trans women with financial and material resources that remove travel barriers, support safety and self-determination, and create opportunities for education and community building.
This is the vision we have been grounded in since the founding of BTTF and it is what will anchor our movement toward the future we want to see. All of this is to ensure Black trans women are able to live autonomous lives, free from transmisogynistic violence, and are able to experience a world where both their safety and joy are prioritized. We envision a world in which there exists virtually no borders that deny Black trans women access to housing, medical care, gender affirming care, and more. We want to ensure Black trans women are provided safe and accessible means of travel and navigation throughout the world. Our programs are helping to create a world where Black trans people experience liberation, joy, and allow us to remain curious about the ways that we can sustain ourselves.
Since BTTF started, our vision has driven us forward, shaping the future we want to build. We dream of a world where Black trans women face no barriers to housing, medical care, and gender-affirming support. We want to make access to safe travel accommodations affordable. Through our programs, we aim to create a world where Black trans people can find liberation, joy, and continue to explore ways to support and sustain ourselves. With your support, we can begin building toward that vision this new year.
What BTTF Has Done - and Why It Matters.
Over the past six years, BTTF has supported women in various situations, including those seeking asylum, wishing to obtain gender-affirming surgeries, visiting sick family members, and more. We’ve regularly redistributed funds to Black trans women in New York and New Jersey to help with safer travel options and provided sponsorships for flights, TSA Pre-Check, and passport applications on a smaller scale.
Our programs, such as Pay It Forward, Post-Incarceration Support, Emergency Support, and Book Sponsorships, reflect our commitment to advocacy and direct services for our community. We strive to safeguard our transgender, gender-variant, and intersex community members from discrimination, both at TSA checkpoints and abroad. Many in our community have faced traumatic experiences with TSA, so we continue to fund TSA Pre-Check, flights, and other travel needs for Black trans women.
Internationally, we’ve sponsored vehicle purchases for Black trans individuals in Jamaica, Kenya, and Uganda. Through our own efforts and partnerships with community organizations, we've been able to offer financial and in-kind support across multiple countries. We've also redistributed clothing and gender-affirming items globally, led educational workshops and panel discussions, and provided food and rent support for shelters.
Our work prioritizes protecting the Black trans community from transphobic and anti-Black violence, including verbal abuse, physical harm, housing and food insecurity, carceral violence, and the lack of safe spaces for community building.
As we continue the fight toward abolition and getting all TGI people free, we are ready to take our work to the next step. Together we can realize the vision for abolition of oppressive systems that marginalize our community members and take steps provide accessible funding and travel programs for Black trans women everywhere.
Our goal is to create new possibilities by dismantling the barriers and oppressive structures that divide Black trans people across the diaspora. We aim to keep our community safe and free from violent institutions and systems that fail to support us.
Our Goals
- For the past three years, we have operated with a team of five staff, but due to our current funding position, as of Fall 2025, we are now a team of 3, composed of two co-directors and 1 staff volunteer. Our 1st goal is to secure funding for staff retention so that we can continue to be of service. We believe that strengthening and developing our team is crucial for advancing our Black trans abolitionist movement.
- After 6 years of running consistent programming that has provided a variety of support to the community we serve, while operating with minimal staff or training opportunities, our 2nd goal over the next year is to be able to prioritize organizational development and leadership training to close knowledge gaps, invest in internal infrastructure, and ensure the long-term sustainability of our organization and its impact.
- As of October 2025 all of our programming is currently closed while we seek new funding sources and partnerships. Our 3rd goal is to re-implement our Flight Sponsorship Program, Passport Sponsorship Program, TSA PreCheck Sponsorship Program, Post-Incarceration Support and Emergency Support programs by June 2026.
- We are developing a referral program which will allow us to streamline the process of providing mutual aid resources to Black trans women in need (on a local, national, and international level) through direct connections with our community partners. Our goal is to attend 3 conferences in 2026 that will allow us to engage a variety of community partners to enroll in our referral program. ( Black Trans Advocacy Conference, Creating Change, and the ILGA World Conference.)
- As the political climate continues to create unsafe conditions for trans people, making us targets for online harassment and digital attacks, we have a goal of investing in our organizational security measures in order to protect our organizations data, and the data of the community members that we serve.
$1,000,000 in the care of BTTF leadership looks like - us hiring a grant writer and operations manager to run and maintain our programs, ensuring more support and better service for our community members. These funds will also allow us to relaunch multiple mutual aid programs for Black trans women - Passport Sponsorships, Flight Sponsorships, TSA PreCheck Sponsorships, Post Incarceration Support, and our Emergency Support Program ( aiming to assist up to 120 women per program each year. ) Our Pay It Forward Program, through which we fund other Black trans led organizations and shelter spaces throughout the global south, will also be maintained with this funding. Additionally, with these resources we will be able to organize a series of community events that are both social and political education focused, ensuring that not only are we resourcing our community materially, but consciously.
In summary, BTTF’s $1,000,000 Capital Campaign is:
Supporting staff retention
- Funding our Passport, TSA Pre-Check, Post Incarceration and Emergency Support Programs
- Investing in Leadership Development Training
- Investing in Organizational Security measures
- Investing in a vehicle for community service in NYC
- Support powerful programs that enrich the lives of our community
○ Over the years, our work has taught us valuable lessons about providing support and building connections. From our interactions with our international siblings, we've learned that long-term support and partnerships are crucial. They allow us to leverage our combined networks to address urgent needs and solve problems collaboratively.
○ Many of our global community members face intense isolation, similar to experiences in the U.S., which forces them to rely heavily on their chosen families. These chosen families often confront civil and human rights abuses due to inadequate protection from their governments. This underscores the importance of building international solidarity—connecting with people across borders, sharing resources and strategies, and supporting each other.
○ We’ve encountered challenges in redistributing funds and resources, such as transaction limits on platforms like CashApp, issues with fiscal sponsors, and limitations due to our non-501(c)(3) status, which restricts access to certain funding. Beyond financial constraints, people outside the U.S. need more tangible resources, not military bases. They require protection of their land, clean water, food, and shelter, and deserve support systems tailored to their needs.
○ The harsh reality is that many Black trans individuals around the world face severe conditions. In Cuba, for instance, U.S. sanctions have led to a dire shortage of basic resources, while in Uganda, transphobic laws put our siblings at constant risk of violence and persecution. Globally, our community suffers from housing and food insecurity.
Through our international efforts, we’ve seen the impact of the U.S. dollar and recognized our relative privilege, despite our marginalization in the U.S. We acknowledge that this privilege is linked to global exploitation and oppression. Therefore, we believe it is our responsibility to allocate some of our resources to support Black trans individuals outside the United States, addressing the broader inequalities and contributing to global solidarity.
○ We have a duty as we fight to dismantle the whole system, and make sure the resources are there when TGI people outside the U.S. are navigating their respective countries.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
To sustain our efforts effectively, we need organizations, businesses, and individuals to commit to recurring donations rather than one-time contributions. We need people willing to make real investments towards Black trans lives. This will allow us to focus on advocacy, resource distribution, and community building, rather than constantly fundraising.
By donating to our Campaign you're not donating to charity, you're investing in the safety, security, leadership, and long-term stability for Black trans women and those who remain committed to valuing their lives through action.
- Sign up to our monthly newsletter
- Make a commitment to become a recurring donor
- Become a volunteer
- Make in-kind donations (space for events, workshops, etc.) -
- Donate money directly towards our Campaign
- Options include Check, Debit Card, Credit Card, & ACH wire transfer. (We gift our donors! Email [email protected] for sponsorship packages)
- Distribute this toolkit to your networks
If you would like to offer a donation to be matched by other donors to grow the potential of our campaign, please email us. 100% of matching donations will go towards funding Black Trans Travel Fund's mutual aid programs.
Happy Black trans History month!
To Celebrate Black History Month, or as we prefer to call it #BlackTransHistoryMonth, we wanted to offer folks something fun to do, while still honoring many of community members we hold so dear. We launched our first series of Black Trans History puzzles back in 2020. It was time for an update! Enjoy working through these clues. Then share it with your friends! Can you guess them all?
Link to play: puzzel.org/en/crossword/play?p=-OJUY7yY6jj46WqnnuH3
Link to play: puzzel.org/en/crossword/play?p=-OJUY7yY6jj46WqnnuH3
ANSWER KEY: DON'T LOOK IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED YET
BTTF's 5 YEar anniversary - Community appreciation gala
The recent #BTTFgala held on November 7th, 2024 was nothing short of magical! We had a time and everybody SHINED! Visit http://linktr.ee/BlackTransTravelFund to see all the gorgeous pics from our official photographer Lexi Webster
Applications for bttf's advisory commitTee are now Closed
Are you a Black trans person passionate about your community, and looking for a way to lend support to an organization invested in advocacy and mutual aid initiatives that prioritize Black trans women and femmes on a global scale? Apply to Join Black Trans Travel Fund's Advisory Committee!
Link to application: BTTF Advisory Committee Application
Deadline to Apply: September 16th
Applicants we receive a response regarding the status of their application by September 27th.
First meeting will be held during the second half of October.
The Advisory Committee meets Via Zoom with the BTTF Team for 2 hours on a quarterly basis. (1 session every 3 months, totaling session 4 per year) Committee Members are compensated $200 per session.
Advisory Committee Members:
- Act as a direct connection to community and organizational leadership
- Offer expertise, advising on key areas such as fundraising, program development, or community engagement based on their specialized knowledge or expertise.
- Provide feedback and recommendations on the organization’s strategic plans, programs, and policies
- Promote the organization’s mission and initiatives within their networks and communities to raise awareness and support
Ideal candidates:
- Have strong ties to community
- represent the community that we serve
- Share alignment with BTTF's values as an organization
- Have a history of supporting mutual aid work
Link to application: BTTF Advisory Committee Application
Deadline to Apply: September 16th
Applicants we receive a response regarding the status of their application by September 27th.
First meeting will be held during the second half of October.
The Advisory Committee meets Via Zoom with the BTTF Team for 2 hours on a quarterly basis. (1 session every 3 months, totaling session 4 per year) Committee Members are compensated $200 per session.
Advisory Committee Members:
- Act as a direct connection to community and organizational leadership
- Offer expertise, advising on key areas such as fundraising, program development, or community engagement based on their specialized knowledge or expertise.
- Provide feedback and recommendations on the organization’s strategic plans, programs, and policies
- Promote the organization’s mission and initiatives within their networks and communities to raise awareness and support
Ideal candidates:
- Have strong ties to community
- represent the community that we serve
- Share alignment with BTTF's values as an organization
- Have a history of supporting mutual aid work
BTTF Webinar + Q & A Hosted July 23rd 2024
Link to the recording of Black Trans Travel Fund's latest webinar + Q & A : Link
Check out a few highlights regarding Black Trans Travel Fund's work in Fall 2022.
Click here to read the full piece "On Abolition" by Skylar Mottley, highlighted in our Fall Newsletter.
