Now a proud business member of QUORUM: The Twin Cities LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce
Your Trans Fundraiser provides tools and strategies for fundraising mutual aid to the trans and gender-nonconforming community.
All classes are sponsored and provided at no cost.
More and more trans, GNC, and queer Americans must rely on mutual aid to cover the serious gaps left by health insurance, housing inequality, and discriminatory legislation. Pre-pandemic, most crowdfunding campaigns only reached about 24% of their target-leaving vital needs unmet. That’s where Your Trans Fundraiser steps in. We provide authentic, trauma-informed, and strategic support tailored to the unique challenges of TGNC mutual aid fundraising.
We offer monthly classes on a variety of topics: Communication timing, energetic preparation, troubleshooting a stall, budgeting, how to handle no, and making the asks.
Taught by a trans man who has raised hundreds of thousands for Twin Cities queer and trans communities and has embodied experience in mutual aid.
SESSIONS & SPONSORS
All seven classes are monthly, the third Thursday 6P-7P CST
Registration opens two weeks before each class.
All sessions will be recorded for our online library. Coming soon!
Communication I: The Year Ahead - FEB 19
Sponsored by TBD
There is no wrong time to ask for help, but there are optimal times. Successful mutual aid relies on organizing outreach timing around context, cognition, and culture. In this session, we cover:
The year ahead: Month, week, time of day
Which communication options hit (online and off)
How long to run a mutual aid campaign
Close with a Q&A
Attendees will receive: An outreach tracker
Communication II: How to Ask & Where - MAR 19
Sponsored by TBD
Asking for help is better when you practice and place it well. Frontloading your asks with shame lowers your chances of reaching your goal. In this session, we cover:
Reframing and redirecting what it means to ask
Practice with one another
Automate/ease into our outreach
Close with a Q&A
Attendees will receive: Ask templates for phone, email, and text.
Narrative - APR 23
Sponsored by TBD
Your story matters so support that with framing and focus. We’re at a sub 7s average attention span average in America. In this session, we cover:
Crafting a narrative without triggers and without sacrificing authenticity
How to prepare a landing page or graphic/caption narrative that is easy for contributors to understand
Close with a Q&A.
Attendees will receive: A sample narrative for their landing page.
Budgeting - MAY 21
Sponsored by TBD
The budget is the flare–It shows us where to find you. You don’t owe your contributors an explanation, but you owe yourself a plan. Budgets also create legal and ethical ties between you and your contributors. In this session, we’ll cover:
Why a budget matters, even if its only one line
When you go off budget
What happens if the number is very high
Close with a Q&A
Attendees will receive: A customizable budget template/tracker
Emotional & Mental Preparation - JUN 25
Sponsored by TBD
For when you should be happy but aren’t. Asking for and receiving financial support can trigger a lot emotionally and cognitively. In this session, we cover:
Dopamine swings
Dealing with the ‘No’ dysphoria & stalling
Sensory based exposure and fear interventions
Close with a Q&A
Online Safety & Security - JUL 25
Sponsored by TBD
You fight for your identity, now protect it. In the digital age of queer and transphobia, this ranks with self and community defence. In this session, we cover:
Dealing with data brokers
Turning off tracking
Sharing apps to be paid dos and don’ts
Close with a Q&A
Legal, Tax, Ethical Concerns - AUG 25
Sponsored by TBD
What is legal is not always what is just and justice is not always legal. Asking for money publicly creates financial implications between you, your contributors, and the government. In this session, we cover:
Legal concerns in crowdfunding
Tax considerations for you and your contributors
Ethical use of funds
Close with a Q&A
What Our Clients Say
“Learning from Qamar was the easiest and kindest process I’ve experienced. He showed me the proper prompts for campaigning…I learned how to build personal relationship with donors.”
-Ibimina T. (she/her) Twin Cities Black Trans artist
Being Non-binary, I enjoyed learning from someone who has the wherewithal AND cares to teach Crowdfunding from a lens that considers the intersections of my identities, whether spiritual, gender, race, etc….Qamar's quality of care in their products is profound, showing that he cares deeply about mutual aid and other people. [Working with him] I can assure you that it is entirely worth it.”
— Simaek (they/them) Twin Cities Black nonbinary producer/business owner
“Part of what I needed when I was struggling was someone to give me step by step instructions and that’s what [he] really helped me with…Here’s the instructions…Here’s what you can do so you’re not sitting helpless.”
— Charlie C., (they/he) Twin Cities white trans nonbinary artist/care-worker
“Qamar's quality of care…is profound, showing that he cares deeply about mutual aid and other people.”
— Simaek (they/them) Twin Cities Black nonbinary producer/business owner.
Qamar Yochanan (he/him) CEO of Your Trans Fundraiser LLC is an out and proud Black, transgender, Jewish organizer, and development professional who has raised close to a million dollars in funds since 2020 and millions more in collaboration with others. The first thirty thousand was in mutual aid and went to Black trans and Native two spirit/trans artists in the Twin Cities. He’s since worked individually and cross-functionally to generate revenue from multi-million dollar donor pipelines. Most recently, he presented a workshop for participants in Drop Deadlift Gorgeous, a deadlifting competition benefitting trans communities sponsored by PFund. They raised ~36% over last year’s goal.
Qamar loves being transgender and he’s passionate about supporting his community. He’s served on the Minneapolis Trans Equity Council and Arts Commission, to which he was appointed by the first two Black Trans officials elected in the US. He was also the MC for the 7th Annual Minneapolis Transgender Equity Summit. In 2024, he was selected as an Association of Fundraising Professionals IDEA Fellow. He also served on the board of Trans Lifeline as the Fundraising Chair.
He is also trans culture bearer. Qamar is an alumna of NYU Tisch and an Audie Award-nominated storyteller (SAG-AFTRA) with almost 30 years of performance experience. You can listen to his work on Audible. He was also among the last trio for Q-Stage in 20% Theater Company’s final year. His exhibition debut in as i lay changing, presented by the Emerging Curators Institute is this month and features two other other Black trans artists.
Does your LGBTQIA org need to reboot it’s peer to peer?
We can help with that.
With funding under constant threat, now more than ever it’s vital that organizations have strong peer to peer fundraising. But if you’ve spent years in the tower of institutional language, it can be hard to connect.
Your Trans Fundraiser LLC provides virtual and in person workshop options for creating a culture of confidence in fundraising.
We teach your volunteers, members, and donors more than hitting goals. We help them proudly embody community giving and empower them to direct prosperity to cause.
Our inaugural partnership with Drop Deadlift Gorgeous, a deadlifting competition benefitting trans communities, sponsored by PFund:
Scale of 1-10, average increase of 8 pts in participant confidence
Direct coaching to one participant won them a fundraising award
~36% increase over last years final dollar amount
Get in touch for a free consultation today
Discounted rates and payment plans available for Twin Cities queer orgs. Especially those that are trans and/or arts focused.