News Briefs: Horizons grants 4 SF trans orgs $1M

Horizons Foundation has announced that four transgender people of color organizations based in the San Francisco Bay Area will receive funding totaling $1 million over three years via its new Trans POC initiative. A news release stated that through the initiative, Horizons is committing to investing in and partnering with trans POC-primary organizations by providing funding toward transformative, multi-year infrastructure improvement and capacity building grants.

Despite the Bay Area’s rich racial, ethnic, and LGBTQ diversity, the trans POC community continues to face severe economic and social inequities, worsened by systemic discrimination, underinvestment from philanthropy, and a hostile political climate, the release noted. Recent policies, threats, and federal funding cuts by the Trump administration have increasingly targeted trans visibility, rights, safety, access to health care, and more, Horizons officials stated.

Additionally, philanthropic support for the transgender community remains alarmingly scarce. According to Funders for LGBTQ Issues, just 4.6 cents of every $100 in U.S. foundation funding in 2022 was directed to transgender and gender-nonconforming communities and issues.

“Trans-led organizations are a vital part of the vibrant and diverse LGBTQ community in the San Francisco Bay Area,” stated Roger Doughty, a gay man who is president of Horizons Foundation. “Given today’s political climate, this initiative reflects our deep commitment to ensuring not just the survival, but the strength of these organizations. Horizons is proud to partner with them as they secure the future for trans POC communities with vision, resilience, and power.”

A Horizons spokesperson stated it’s the agency’s policy not to release specific grant figures. The Bay Area Reporter contacted the four organizations receiving grants. Two responded but also did not disclose the amount of funding they were receiving.

Lavender Phoenix, a grant recipient, works to build transgender, nonbinary, and queer Asian Pacific Islander power through organizing and training grassroots leaders in the Bay Area. It was founded in 2004. Executive Director Yuan Wang, who identifies as transgender, wrote in an email to the B.A.R. that the organization expects to receive the first check soon.

“While Horizons has supported Lavender Phoenix over the years to lead transformative leadership development, healing justice, and community safety programs, this grant was specifically designed to support our organizational development, which is especially key in a time like this when so many transgender organizations & people are under attack,” Wang wrote.

Wang, who’s been executive director since 2021, added that the nonprofit will be undergoing a leadership transition soon. “Looking to sustain our funding in the face of widespread attacks, and Horizons' support will directly fund those needs,” she added.

Lavender Phoenix has a budget of about $1.2 million and nine fulltime staff, Wang stated.

Wang wrote that the organization is appreciative of the grant.

“Horizons' commitment to transgender POC-led organizations is inspiring and urgent,” wrote Wang. “Every funder concerned about racial justice, economic justice, and democracy should be paying close attention. Horizons knows that right-wing forces have seized upon our lives, the lives of transgender people, as one of their primary battlegrounds.”

The Transgender District also received a grant. Centered in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, the district works to create an urban environment that fosters the rich history, culture, legacy, and empowerment of transgender people.

Co-Executive Directors Carlo Gómez Arteaga, a trans man, and Breonna McCree, a woman of trans experience, stated the district is thankful for the funding.

"We’re grateful to Horizons Foundation for their partnership in supporting transgender-led organizations across the Bay Area,” the two wrote in an email to the B.A.R. “This funding will directly sustain our organization as we continue to amplify our work in community center programs such as tenant protections, economic empowerment, identity documents and cultural preservation for TGNC communities. Every dollar invested helps us combat the systemic inequities facing the transgender community. We invite readers to visit our website at www.transgenderdistrictsf.com to learn more about our measurable impact."

The San Francisco Examiner reported that the Transgender District is out nearly $1 million due to the city’s decision to cancel two grants from the troubled Dream Keeper initiative.

Its 2023 budget was $1.7 million, according to its website.

El/La Para TransLatinas is another group that received a grant. It advocates for the rights of TransLatinx individuals and operates the only safe space for the trans/intersex/gender diverse Latine community in Northern California, Horizons’ release stated.

“Our community right now is barely surviving,” stated Nicole Santamaria, El/La’s executive director. “The lack of funding is pushing us more into the margins. El/La is a ray of hope, a mother to our community. This funding will help us not only weather this storm, but become stronger.”

Its fiscal sponsor is Community Initiatives and its financial information wasn’t available.

Finally, grant recipient Transgender Gender-Variant & Intersex Justice Project works to build voice, power, and leadership among Black trans people affected by the criminal justice system. “This grant from Horizons helps us cover many of the things that other funders don’t want to fund,” stated Janetta Johnson, TGIJP’s CEO. “Trans-led organizations are under attack. The time is now to build, expand, and create a space that is for us, by us, and with us.”

TGIJP’s 2023 budget showed revenue of $2.89 million and expenses of $3.89 million, according to ProPublica.

SF DPH urges mpox vaccines
With Pride and summer events approaching, the San Francisco Department of Public Health is encouraging mpox vaccinations for people who are eligible, including men who have sex with men and transgender women.

DPH stated in a news release that while there have been a “very small number” of mpox cases reported in the city so far this year, people who are at risk of mpox exposure should be fully vaccinated as it provides the best protection against the virus and will help prevent its spread in the future.

According to the DPH’s case counts, the last reported case in San Francisco was in January.

Mpox is transmitted mainly through close skin-to-skin contact, including sex. The global outbreak that started in May 2022 primarily affected gay and bisexual men and others in their sexual networks.

DPH officials stated that it takes two doses to be fully vaccinated; the second dose is given at least 28 days after the first. There is no need to restart the two-dose series if it has been over 28 days since the first shot, the release stated.

Booster doses are not recommended at this time for those who have completed the two-dose series, DPH stated. The mpox vaccine is not recommended at this time for people who have previously been infected.

“If you are attending Pride or other events throughout the summer, now is a great time to get the mpox vaccine if you are not fully vaccinated and are at risk of getting mpox,” stated Dr. Susan Philip, San Francisco health officer. “The vaccine is available at health systems, pharmacies, and clinics.”

SFDPH continues to monitor the spread of mpox globally, the release noted. There are two types of the virus that causes mpox, clade I and clade II. The 2022 outbreak in the U.S., including California, was caused by clade II mpox. Clade 1 mpox cases have been reported predominately in Central and Eastern Africa, with travel associated cases reported in North America, Asia, and Europe. Since 2024, there have been four clade 1 cases reported in the United States, none of which were reported in San Francisco, according to the release.

For more information on mpox, go to sf.gov/mpox

SF supes OK Folsom entertainment zone
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has approved additional entertainment zones in the city, including one along Folsom Street, long associated with the leather and kink communities. The supervisors unanimously approved the zone at its April 29 meeting on first reading; it also passed the final vote May 6.

As the B.A.R. previously reported, entertainment zones, one of which was recently approved by the supervisors for the Castro LGBTQ neighborhood, are seen as a way of encouraging nightlife and economic recovery following the COVID pandemic. They allow restaurants and bars to sell alcoholic beverages to-go, for consumption within the zone during special events.

The Folsom zone would be located on Folsom Street between Seventh and Eighth streets, Hallam Street between Folsom Street and Brush Place, and Langton Street between Folsom Street and Decker Alley. It is in the Leather and LGBTQ Leather Cultural District.

Bob Goldfarb, a gay man who’s executive director of the leather district, previously told the B.A.R. it is supportive of the entertainment zone.

“It’s created to help the SOMA Nights events,” he said in a phone call. “And to mitigate the impact of the Folsom streetscape construction.”

The Folsom-Howard Streetscape Project, intended to improve bicycle and pedestrian safety on the streets as well as upgrade traffic signals, started last year. The Folsom Street portion of the project is anticipated to finish in 2026, and the Howard Street portion in 2027.

In addition to the zone on Folsom, other entertainment zones approved by the supervisors are located at Pier 39, Ellis Street, Valencia Street, and Yerba Buena Lane, which is referred to as a downtown activation.