Half a million dollars in city funds will be distributed to help support mental health and safety services for transgender and nonbinary youth in Cincinnati.
Community Shares of Greater Cincinnati, a federation of social justice charities in the Tri-State area, will be working on behalf of the city to accept funding applications from local nonprofit organizations.
“We are investing in services that recognize and respond to the unique challenges that transgender and nonbinary youth experience as they try to survive and thrive,” Deanna White, Cincinnati’s human services director, said in a press release Tuesday.
The funds will go to the cause of helping fill gaps in and promote existing health and safety programs within the geographic boundaries of Cincinnati. This initiative aims to work with Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS), along with other local nonprofits and foundations, to create a well-rounded approach to these services.
The funding comes from a two-year allocation of funds from unappropriated surpluses in the Cincinnati Health District Fund, which was approved by city council in November.
The funding application description cites an urgent need for mental health services for trans youth due to the increasing amount of anti-trans legislation, partially attributing the crisis to “the heated political rhetoric of last year’s national election.”
Since the current administration came into office, a series of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies have been repealed, including in public schools and universities. Cincinnati institutions have had varying reactions to these new federal policies. CPS declined to sign a letter from the Department of Education earlier this year requesting that they eliminate DEI policies, and the Cincinnati City Council moved to create an LGBTQIA+ commission. The University of Cincinnati temporarily installed “biological” bathroom signs, which were later removed after community backlash.
“We applaud the mayor and city council for allocating funding to support a population whose daily lives have been upended by state and federal legislation and policies divorced from science,” said Community Shares CEO T. Duane Gordon in the press release. “Parents of trans youth want their kids to survive and thrive. We will identify programs and projects that will help them accomplish that goal.”
According to the Community Shares of Greater Cincinnati website, they will be prioritizing organizations that have previously worked with trans and nonbinary youth, BIPOC groups and various socioeconomic levels and those with low annual operating budgets.
Community Shares of Greater Cincinnati has listed some potential project examples, like a trans youth engagement club, health care connection services and health care provider training led by trans youth.
The request for proposals closes Aug. 28 at 5 p.m. and is available to 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations or organizations under fiscal sponsorship of a 501(c)3 that serve trans and nonbinary youth under 24. An independent review committee that will include trans and nonbinary people will evaluate the applications.
The awards will be announced Oct. 1. Final reports on the funding outcomes and impacts will be reported in October 2027.
This article appears in Jul 23 – Aug 5, 2025.