Greater Manchester Trans Organisers Fund

The Trans Organisers Fund was a one-off pilot fund for trans organisers in Greater Manchester. The fund was administered by Geeks for Social Change and financially backed by Lankelly Chase, with a steering group consisting of Greater Manchester-based trans organisers.

The goal of the fund was to facilitate trans healing and justice work in Greater Manchester. We feel that being a trans organiser is currently extremely stressful, underfunded and high stakes at the best of times, with almost no material support out there for the people doing the work on the ground to ensure a better future for trans people. The fund’s goal was to work to support organisers to work out how we can do this work sustainably in ways that value people’s time and result in long lasting community infrastructure and care networks.

Who are trans organisers and what do they do?

We identified trans organisers as being the people who bring the trans community together. This is usually through organising events, which might be in-person or online, and cover nightlife, craft groups, social spaces, peer-support, fundraisers, and more.

What we’ve done

Two rounds of funding, one at the start of 2024 and one in the summer of 2024. Led by a steering group which met regularly to discuss the research and funding process.

The first round was focused on finding out more about the goals, barriers, vision and experience of funding of trans organisers in Greater Manchester while providing a much-needed boost to organisers’ financial stability.

The second round was informed by the conclusions drawn from the first round, and focused on providing trans organisers with material support to publish accessibility statements.

First round of funding

In the first round of funding we wanted to find out more about key players working towards trans liberation in Greater Manchester. We devised a series of questions for fund recipients, intended to discover more about their motivations, goals, barriers and experiences of working on the ground. These questions were:

• What do you want to achieve as a trans organiser in Greater Manchester?
• What are the barriers that stop you from achieving what you want to achieve?
• What is your vision for the world you want to live in?
• How has your group been funded so far and what challenges have you faced?

Who we contacted

We did this by offering £1,000 of funding to key organisations we identified. We contacted six organisations, five of which responded to the questions and received the funds. One organisation cited lack of capacity as a reason for not accepting the funds, although we did not require respondents to answer the questions or do anything specific in order to receive the funds.

How we analysed the responses

We analysed the responses by conducting a thematic analysis of the responses provided. We used the full list of themes to inform the analysis below and discussed these findings with the steering board.

Findings broken down by question

What do you want to achieve as a trans organiser in Greater Manchester?

Organisers note wide-ranging goals focusing both on broad systemic change and directly supporting individuals, resisting structural and institutional transphobia and creating space for celebration and joy. Groups with specific focus of course speak to specific goals for their focus area – for example the North West Community Football League aims to create spaces and opportunities for trans people in sport, as well as resisting structural transphobia within this space. Housing, sex education and nightlife and entertainment are also raised as priority areas, as well as a focus on accessibility.

What are the barriers that stop you from achieving what you want to achieve?

Capacity is the most significant issue facing organisers, alongside funding. Funding and capacity are related – cost of living increases have meant that many organisers need to spend more time and energy on paid work. Groups are struggling to find volunteers with capacity to take on significant responsibilities, and are unable to pay staff or collaborators. It’s noted that as trans people often have less access to funds due to structural disenfranchisement, organisers put a lot of work into keeping their provision free or low cost, at emotional and time cost to the organisers themselves. Structural disempowerment and discrimination is also raised as a big issue facing trans organisers, including harassment and obstruction from official bodies and the police. Some groups operate in areas where there are big players with a lot of resources who have a monopoly on spaces, and many of the available spaces are unaffordable or inaccessible to those with disabilities. This makes it difficult for organisers to find suitable venues. Disability is something which impacts capacity across the board, as well as requiring higher levels of support when organising, and necessitating accessible spaces. Not knowing where to promote events to other trans people is also mentioned as a barrier.

What is your vision for the world you want to live in?

All respondents, regardless of their group’s scope or focus, mentioned safety. This is compelling in that it betrays that none of the organisers currently feel that trans people experience safety. This is noted on both the individual level (wanting to end harassment against trans individuals, the desire for “a world where we can just be”) and the structural level (financial security, having needs such as housing, healthcare, transportation met). These responses largely mapped onto what each organisation stated they want to achieve, with many also noting a desire for celebration, enjoyment, thriving (not just surviving).

How has your group been funded so far and what challenges have you faced?

The majority of the groups have been primarily self-funded, meaning the organisers volunteer and put in their own resources, up until receiving this grant from the Trans Organisers Fund. Most of the groups have also received some income from ticketed events and donations. One group, Trans Pride Manchester, had received significant funding in the past, including a grant from LGBT Consortium. It’s worth noting that this group were the first to respond to the questionnaire and claim the funds from the Trans Organisers Fund.

As fund administrators, we noted that it was very difficult to liaise with several of the organisations we contacted to receive this funding. Lack of capacity, both in organising and administrative capacity, was cited frequently by prospective grant recipients as a reason which meant it took a long time to get back to us, and why one organisation refused the funds. There was a sense that £1,000 was a lot of money and required a project or specific initiative to be ‘worth’ accepting. Many of the groups did not have a concept of building financial reserves or using the funds to build capacity. It almost felt like groups were nervous to act, as if accepting the funds and not doing something ‘good enough’ with it would be detrimental to their organisation’s image. Throughout convening this fund, issues of interpersonal tension and criticism from other organisers have reared their head to complicate the process of dispersing these funds and building capacity for trans organisers in Greater Manchester.

Conclusions and next steps from the first round of funding

The responses we received demonstrated a significant need in the trans community, which far outweighed the capacity of this fund. This meant that we needed to identify a specific priority for the next round of funding. At the same time, we faced the challenge of organising groups not being equipped to deal with the administrative and operational burden of receiving and utilising funds. Trans organisers are used to operating on a shoestring against significant systemic challenges.

We were not able to identify visible models for ways in which robust community care could be enacted in a sustainable and ongoing way in the trans community in Greater Manchester. This made our decision-making more challenging when deciding how to approach the next round of funding, as we wanted this fund to have the greatest possible impact. Organisers recognised that many trans people are struggling individually due to the lack of systemic support. This raised the suggestion that dispersing the funds to individuals could have a positive impact—at the risk of ignoring systemic issues for papering over the cracks in the meantime.

In the absence of systemic and institutional support, a need arises to create and empower alternate structures, such as the suggestion of community-led care. When devising the next round of funding we appraised our capacity against these possibilities. It was apparent from the responses we received to the first round of funding that whatever route we chose, it needed to be intersectional and inclusive of disabled people and others who are structurally disadvantaged.

Second round of funding

In Round 1 we discovered that trans organisers in Greater Manchester have a clear vision of the world they want to create, even if the exact steps on the way there are less certain. The trans community has significant need which far outweighs the support this fund is able to offer, at the same time, organising groups are ill-equipped to deal with receiving funding due to systemic challenges and being used to operating on a shoestring. There do not currently seem to be visible models for how robust community care could be enacted in a sustainable and ongoing way in the trans community in Greater Manchester, meaning organisations struggle with knowing where funds could be directed for greatest impact.

This research identified lack of accessible spaces as a key issue impacting organisers, limiting where events can take place and who is able to attend them. In order to attempt to address this, we decided to start by building our understanding of the current landscape of venues used by trans organisers and how this impacts access. By understanding the current picture of accessibility in the trans community we can provide a basis for future campaigning and set a trajectory which is grounded in the reality of the landscape as it stands, not acting from an assumed baseline.

By funding organisers to write and publish accessibility statements we are acknowledging the material limitations which often provide barriers to making spaces and events accessible. We are acutely aware of a lack of accessible spaces for the trans community (and the wider disabled community), and believe this to be because the trans and disabled communities are materially disenfranchised at a societal level. Because spaces are not accessible, their voices are not heard in the design and provision of new spaces. This creates a toxic cycle where spaces assume they do not need to carry out work to become more accessible, because they don’t believe disabled people would use their space, as they never see disabled people in their space now, because their space isn’t accessible.

Where spaces are aware of the need for equitable access, they often do not have the funds to carry out necessary works in order to make their space accessible. While this fund does not have the scope to financially back alterations to buildings and spaces, we can materially fund the provision of accessibility statements to allow organisers to evaluate their current provision and communicate the limits of that to their audience. By making the current state of affairs visible, we can identify and articulate common areas of lack and advocate for more accessible spaces.

Who we contacted

We contacted 16 groups and organisers to ask them to publish an accessibility statement in order to claim £500 of funding towards their activities. Of these 16 groups, 5 never responded, 1 responded initially but dropped off, 1 declined the funds as they had stopped operating in Greater Manchester and 9 accepted the funds and published accessibility statements. The remainder of the fund once groups had expressed their interest was allocated towards writing and distributing this report, bar a one-off contribution to a venue in financial trouble which was cited as being the main venue used by three of the organisers we contacted.

Responses we received

We provided a template to help organisers prepare their statements. All of the responses we received used titles and structure from the provided template, even if they added further information or missed out some sections. Despite following a template, the information depth and clarity of the responses we got varied greatly from group to group. This is a best case scenario - we are funding people to do the work of providing this information.

What kind of spaces do trans organisers use?

In the accessibility statements we received from respondents, we noted that the majority of organisers used temporary or pop-up spaces, rather than dedicated community space. The exception to this is the three organisers who cited being based at Partisan, an LGBT+ community space, previously operating from Islington Mill. At the time of the allocation of funds, Partisan was experiencing a period of acute financial hardship which threatened the future of the space. As of writing this report, Partisan have had to leave the space which they were operating from previously and are using a membership model and temporary spaces to continue providing community services. This narrative is one shared by many of the groups which wrote accessibility statements: they struggle to access permanent space, so are at the mercy of the physical features of temporary spaces which are hired or donate their time for events. Without access to permanent space, investment in infrastructure for accessibility is very difficult to manage.

Other than Partisan, the other venues cited by respondents are Reform Radio, The Grafton Arms, The Proud Place, The Derby Brewery Arms and The Brewers. These are mostly nightlife and community spaces, with Reform Radio as a notable exception with its primary function as a recording studio. One respondent doesn’t publish their address online to protect attendees.

What are the features of these spaces?

All venues utilised by respondents reported the presence of accessible toilets, with all bar two reporting gender neutral toilet facilities.

Most respondents said that they encourage attendees to take tests before arrival and stay home if unwell. Several respondents admitted that the spaces they use are not well ventilated. Two respondents stated the venues they use filter their air, and one of these said they provide masks, hand sanitiser and COVID tests on entry.

All respondents, bar one, cited level access at the space they use. The space which does not have level access is a basement space under another venue, with narrow stairs to the basement.

Most respondents said their venues did not have a specific quiet or separate space to decompress, however some provided suggestions of spaced within their venues which tended to be quieter, or stated that this information might change per event. One respondent went into great detail about how they accommodate neurodiversity at their events, which is well-written and thorough.

Round 2 conclusions

The trans community demonstrates a high willingness to make events accessible, with many of those we contacted already taking steps to make their events as accessible as possible. This being said, it’s not always clear on the best action to take, especially for organisers who suffer from a lack of material resources. Because the trans community is structurally marginalised, many trans organisers do not have access to the material resources necessary to make their events as consistently accessible as they would like. They are faced with the choice of: run an event which not everyone can attend, or not do anything at all.

This lack of access to material resources is exemplified by the large reliance on temporary space and pop-up events. The main permanent venue which caters to the trans community was forced to close its physical location during the course of this research, leaving many organisers who had previously used it as a ‘home’ without a stable base. This means that the accessibility of an event may change from event to event, as it is forced to use different venues depending on availability.

Lack of access to permanent space also precludes concrete steps being taken to make accessibility better on the whole. Long term renovations and structural changes, which would be necessary in many existing venues and event spaces, aren’t practical or within reach, and where they are implemented often have to be abandoned when that space’s usage is no longer feasible.

Recommendations

We’ve devised these recommendations from the findings from our two rounds of funding and research. We’ve split them up based on who we think is best positioned to undertake them.

Landlords should…

• Invest into access improvements, such as level access entrances and changing places toilets
• Invest in air filtration systems
• Keep their premises in a well-maintained condition which doesn’t require significant investment to utilise, even when being used for ‘meanwhile’ lets and short-term projects
• Consider reduced rent for community use

These measures support organisers without the means to make such additions and alterations themselves, and materially benefit the whole community.

Groups should…

• Pay attention to the accessibility of any space they use, and consider setting minimum standards
• Share comprehensive accessibility information in advance, and signpost to it each time they promote an event
• Provide a named point of contact and a way of contacting them directly, without relying on social media
• Seek opportunities to work together and share resources
• Try and build financial buffers to create more stability in the work they are able to carry out, and mitigate organisational burnout

Funders should…

• Provide more administrative support for grassroots groups, who may not be used to seeking funding
• Proactively support trans organisers and focus funding on long-term, infrastructural projects, building sustainability in from the beginning
• Share information on how grassroots groups might be able to model their financial structure based on proven case studies, to make it easier for those who have never dealt with fundraising before to understand the successful management of organisational finances