Trans-Fusion Foundation for the Benefit of Transgender Persons works to improve the social and living situation of transgender persons in Poland. The Foundation advocates on the national and international level, offers support groups for transgender persons and their families in several cities, as well as online groups, psychological consultations, legal assistance related to the correction of the gender assigned at birth, and individual support related to the life situation of a given person. It also conducts various educational activities, trains specialists working in health care, students, school staff, and other organizations and aid institutions. It conducts scientific research, publishes reports and educational materials. Trans-Fusion also promotes the culture of transgender persons, their artistic activities, and grants transonages to queer cultural events.

“The social change that the transgender community in Poland needs is an immanently feminist change – it requires shaking the foundations of thinking about gender in social life. In our work, we are guided by the belief that discrimination and exclusion on the basis of gender identity have its origins in inequalities and patriarchal oppressions”, declared Trans-Fusion. The Foundation cooperates with other feminist organizations and collectives, and also provides training for them, provides access to reliable knowledge about transgender issues needed to build transinclusive feminist spaces, and supports the development of young transactivism.

“We are an organization that is both too small and too large. Too small due to the limited financial possibilities of enlarging the team and limited resources in relation to the needs; too large, because it is up to the Trans-Fusion Foundation to manage almost all matters related to the transgender community”, declared the Foundation. The Power Grant will allow Trans-Fusion to add a person responsible for coordinating the work of the Foundation’s office to the team, so that the Foundation can operate even more efficiently, effectively reach out with knowledge and help where it is needed, and better communicate internally and externally.

The Empowerment Grants in 2022 were co-financed by the Federal Foreign Office as part of the project “Civil society dialogue – including all voices”, implemented jointly with filia.die fraunestiftung.