It’s true. We’re facing a looming funding gap.

To our beloved Joy as Resistance community, 

We want to share some important and hard news with you directly. 

Joy as Resistance is confronting the reality that we are at risk of closure. We are facing a funding gap and will need at least $250,000 to operate as a fully functioning organization, with all of our programs, through the end of the year. This sum of money will be challenging to raise in a short amount of time, and we wanted to share the news with you and involve you all as much as we can. 

At this point, Joy as Resistance will need to shift how we’re operating. While we are not yet certain of what the future holds, we truly believe in radical transparency with our community.

Current Program Updates & Happenings:

  • Big Queer, Little Queer: This program is currently paused and not accepting new applicants at this time. You can read our full  BQLQ program update  here.

  • Joyful Spaces: We're hosting a back-to-school fundraiser on 8/31/25. If you have clothing or school supplies you'd like to donate, please drop them off at Quince Coffee House until 8/31/25. We'd also love to see you at the event!  Purchase a ticket for yourself  or pay it forward and cover the cost for someone else to attend.

  • Clinical: Our therapy team is asking anyone who is able to consider raising their self-pay rate. If you are a clinical client, please read the latest update for more information.

We are still weighing options of potentially rehoming our programs to other organizations, or sunsetting programs and closing as an organization, among many possibilities. 

This community we have built is our home, and we know that supporting queer youth is deeply personal to each and every one of you. We are so grateful for all the individual and collective efforts that have turned an initial idea into our dream organization. Thank you for your trust and steadfast support these past few years.

If you are wondering, why is this happening, and what led up to this point? 

A few different things…

  • The current federal administration has been cutting and targeting funding for nonprofits, especially LGBTQ+ youth work.

  • Our budget for 2025 was unrealistic; we needed to significantly increase the amount of money we brought into the organization to make it through this year, which did not account for a change in leadership, the tumultuous funding landscape, and a financially unsuccessful Gayla.

  • Staff transitions and expansion in 2024 and 2025 did not consider what realistic revenue increases would be needed and impacted organizational knowledge, funder relationships, staff capacity, etc.

If you are wondering, what’s next? What’s being done?

  • Our Co-Executive Directors Janei and Rafa are continuing to work to secure funding, leading organizational conversations on how to move forward with youth and staff at the heart, and managing the organizational budget and operations

  • Our Board is stewarding donors, hosting fundraising events, and supporting staff in navigating these transitions and challenges

  • Our staff are pivoting in their programs, continuing to deliver services in an ethical way, and supporting the organization in securing more money

  • We have made hard decisions as a team to reduce staff positions and hours 

If you are wondering, what can I do to support Joy?

  • Stay on the lookout for how to sign up to be a monthly donor! We’ll be launching a monthly donor campaign in the next couple of weeks, which will give us a steady stream of regular donations to go towards our programming and help us transition in the most ethical, non-harmful way for individual staff and community impacted by Joy and Joy’s services 

  • Donate to us now! You can give us a one-time donation while we’re finalizing our monthly campaign, in order to take action now and stay in the loop for later actions.

  • Help us fundraise! Please connect our Board Treasurer Halah at halah@joyasresistance.org with folks who can potentially support through this tough moment

  • Send grant opportunities to our Co-Executive Director Janei Maynard at janei@joyasresistance.org

  • Volunteer! Our increased efforts to close this funding gap will require increased capacity for things like phone banking, grant writing, and more

Your contributions will go directly to supporting our mission in continuing as long as possible.

We acknowledge the many feelings that might come up for you in receiving this news and navigating this transition. We are also impacted by the sudden and quick nature of this news and have moved as quickly as we were able to in sharing with you all. 

What you can expect from us for the next month or so is periodic updates, when we have information to communicate. Our staff will be the most involved in these decisions, with Board support, and we want to loop you in as we can. Feel free to reach out, and know that our responses may depend on our energies and capacities and matching those with our current priorities. To be very clear - we are trying to fight for the organization, these services, and for our community the best way we can on behalf of the queer and trans young people we serve. Thank you for the belief you have placed and continue to place in us as individuals and as an organization.



With hope, love, and solidarity,

The Joy Team

This page was updated on 8/6/25. If you have curiosities about earlier communications, you can read the original email about the state of Joy.