2023 saw TEP continue the growth we’ve seen over the last few years. Our staff of 10+ amazing folks, all of them a part of the LGBTQIA2S+ community, have grown more confident and comfortable with their roles, and have made a collective impact that would shock the folks who aren’t already following the work of our small-but-mighty team.

We’ve made a few updates to the language we use at TEP, to better reflect our community. We’ll share those below.

Language Updates:

• TEP no longer uses the * after the word Trans, due to an extensive poll run on our supporters and community members. An overwhelming number of folks believe that the * notating inclusivity is outdated, and prefer simply “Trans”.
• 2TIGE - When we want to specifically indicate that we’re including more than binary Trans folks, we’ve begun using the acronym “2TIGE”, which stands for 2-Spirit, Trans, Intersex, and Gender-Expansive.
• No more QTIPOC - We want to be specifically inclusive of Black and Indigenous folks, so we will no longer use the simple “POC” acronym, unless specifically speaking about communities that do not include Black and Indigenous folks. Instead, we will use BIPOC or 2TIGE-BIPOC.

Allow us to give you a general update on the progress of our programs and projects, and break down some of what these folks have accomplished during their time with us.  

InTRANSitions: our direct aid program which provides food, clothing, toiletries, and other necessities to Trans folks in need. (Client Success Manager - Jacquii Cooke, she/her; Food Securities Coordinator - Kes Cuevas, she/they)

• TEP received almost triple the amount of assistance requests in 2023, growing from 227 in 2022 to 676 direct aid requests this year.
• We spent roughly $20k on direct aid for our clients this year, mostly in the form of vital necessities like food, toiletries, gender-affirming undergarments, and HRT.
• Food continues to be the number one most requested resource, with clothing and HRT following close behind.
• Over 60% of the folks coming to us for aid are unemployed, and 21% are currently facing housing insecurity.

Trans Employment Project: a program designed to work with job seekers and employers to ensure that 2TIGE folks are finding work that is affirming and inclusive. (Manager: Mo Viviane, they/them)

• Our Facebook job-search group has grown to almost 1500 members, and we posted over 200 trans-affirming job opportunities there in 2023
• Hosted nine 2TIGE-BIPOC drop-in sessions for clients seeking job assistance or community support
• Created Resume, Cover Letter, and Job Search Assistance Guides for 2TIGE job seekers
• In 2023, we saw at least a 200-300% increase in clients requesting assistance with job searches, cover letters, and resume reviews.

TEP Organizing Program: our organizing team works to educate and mobilize our community and our allies, so that we can all be effective leaders in the movement for equity and justice. (Manager - Jameson Tuwe, he/they)

• Our “Community Captains” initiative is under TEP’s “organizing” umbrella and consists of 2TIGE folks and allies who have raised their hands to help build power and support in their area. In the last 12 months, this project has:

• Grown our list of Community Captains to 172 people.
• Continued monthly meetings to educate, collaborate, and organize in a group/community setting.
• Organized Trans Joy events in Knoxville during Pride 2023.

Take Back the Narrative: a storytelling program that works to uplift and share the stories and experiences of 2TIGE folks and our allies in order to create positive cultural change that reclaims the narrative of who Trans people are. (Manager - Mandana Ighani, she/her)

• Our storyteller list has 217 people signed up to learn how to craft and share their stories.
• We published several stories from our community in 2023 and added them to our website, which can be found here.
• We also worked to share the stories and experiences of our staff, some of which can be found here.

Communications/Fundraising: (updates from our comms and fundraising team)

In the last 12 months, our Comms and Fundraising channels have seen the following growth:

• Instagram has grown to 21k+ followers, with a reach of about 35k across all social media platforms.
• Small dollar donations continue to be our largest fundraising source.
• Our number of recurring donors has increased more than 200%.

New Programs that we Added to Our Roster in 2023:

• The Trans Mentorship Program

• The trans mentorship program is meant to provide support to 2TIGE folks who are struggling and/or new to transitioning and pairs them with someone from the community who is able to offer guidance and support. The program asks for a commitment of at least 6 months.

• Sisterhood Not Cisterhood

• Sisterhood Not Cisterhood was originally created as a training and was presented at the National Women’s Convention. Due to the success and feedback from that training, we have expanded the training into a full on program which focuses on fostering friendships and community between all women; including Trans women, Cis women, and femme identifying folks who are non-binary; Ultimately building a network of femme-led power and support across the US.

Lead Me to Safety Grant

In 2023, TEP created a grant for volunteer or staff members of the organization who were living in unsupportive states and needed to flee to safety. The grant provided $5,000 worth of funding to 2 volunteer members of our team. With this funding, our folks were able to relocate, safely to more affirming environments where they are more likely to thrive.

One of those recipients has since joined our team, full time and has been doing a terrific job of supporting our clients in crisis.