Surgery Funding Assistance

 

US Surgery Funding Assistance Programs


Following is a list of organizations that provide financial assistance for transition-related surgery. You'll find information about the organizations and their requirements for applying for aid. We also maintain a list of employers who offer trans-inclusive health insurance.

If you operate a charity that provides financial assistance and don't see your organization listed here, please email Monica Jennifer with the details!

Last updated Sunday, September 25, 2016


Jim Collins Foundation

The Jim Collins Foundation offers two grant options. General Fund grants cover 100% of the medical fees associated with the gender-affirming surgery. Alternately, grants from the Krysallis Anne Hembrough Legacy Fund cover half of the associated fees and require each recipient to match funds received from the organization dollar-for-dollar with their own money or money raised through other means. Applicants may apply only once per grant cycle. When applying, you must choose either the General Fund or the Krysallis Anne Hembrough Legacy Fund - you cannot apply for both.

Criteria

  • Applicant must understand the steps that are currently required to undergo the medical process of transition, and must have completed - or have outlined plans to complete - the following steps:
    • Secure a letter of support from a licensed medical or mental health professional such as a psychologist, psychiatrist, social worker, or therapist.
    • Select a surgeon who is knowledgeable in transition-related surgeries. If applicant is chosen, the organization assumes this named surgeon is final.
    • Identify who will care for and provide support post-surgery.
    • If applicant has not completed all of these steps, but is planning to do so, please include your plans in your application.
  • Note: If you are selected for funding, the payment will be made directly to the doctor or hospital facility. You must comply with any and all requirements according to the Standards of Care of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), formerly known as the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association (HBIGDA), as determined by your selected surgeon.
  • Applicant must demonstrate a genuine need for financial assistance.
  • Applicant must detail the efforts they have made to fund-raise and the amount of cost they will be able to cover on their own, if any.
The Jim Collins Foundation makes selections for grants based on a combination of demonstrated financial need and level of preparedness.

CK Life Scholarship Fund

You may select only one surgery per application, however multiple procedures performed during the same operation do count as one surgery. (Hysterectomy and simultaneous SRS or multiple facial feminization procedures handled at the same time, for example, count as only one surgery.) To be considered for more than one type of surgery, you may complete the entire application process again for each additional operation.

All applicants will be given an application number. To request one, email scholarshipfund@cklife.org. This number must be included on each page of application materials to help keep track of your application.

Criteria

  • Cover page:
    • Name (both legal and preferred, if different)
    • Date of birth
    • Contact information (email address and/or phone number)
    • Which one surgery you are asking for assistance in funding.
    • Name of surgeons you prefer, along with their contact information. An alternate surgeon must be named. If no alternate surgeon is listed, an explanation must be given.
  • Personal statement
    • Write a personal statement of no more than 1,000 words. Anything over 1,000 words will not be read.
    • Detail the efforts you have made to raise money or save towards your surgery.
    • Include in this statement the name of the person who will care for you and provide support post-surgery.
    • Detail as specifically as possible how having this surgery will impact your life.
    • Explain as specifically as possible what you will do to try to raise money for your surgery if you are not granted a scholarship.
  • Professional letter
    • Include one letter from a medical or mental health provider. Acceptable providers include MDs, DOs, Ph.Ds, nurse practitioners, psychiatrists, social workers, therapists, or counselors. If you have questions about whether your provider is acceptable, email CK Life.
    • This letter must state how long you have been in transition and what steps in the process you have already completed.
    • Note: while CK Life understands there is no one way to transition, applicants must meet WPATH standards of care to be eligible for funding approval.
  • Personal reference
    • A letter from someone you know stating why they think you should be chosen for funding, in terms of what they know about your need for surgery.
    • Contact information must be included so your reference can be contacted for verification or clarification.
    • Letter of reference must contain a maximum of 500 words. Anything over 500 words will not be read.
  • Financial statement
    • State your annual income and the source of that income.
    • List your annual expenses.
    • List the amount you've saved toward surgery, if any, with a breakdown (for example, $500 for travel, $1,000 for surgery, etc.).
    • List the amount you still need in order to afford the surgery.
    • State whether or not you have insurance. If you do, name your insurance provider and explain why you are unable to use insurance for surgery.
Any funds awarded must be used within three months (for non-genital procedures) or six months (for genital surgeries) after the time they are awarded. If there are extenuating circumstances (such as a surgeon's long waiting list), that time frame may be extended. If the funds are not used within the stated time frame, they will go back into the general pool to be used during the next scholarship cycle.

Point 5cc Annual Transgender Surgery Fund

Point 5cc awards money raised through t-shirt sales to one person's gender-affirming surgery each year. Entry to the Transgender Surgery Fund is open each year from November 1 to November 30. Interested applicants can visit this page and fill out the application forms online. Finalists are chosen and announced in late December. Each finalist is asked for an essay that answers a few questions about what the surgery fund would mean for them. Funding is then granted in January/February to the winner(s), who can be any person identifying as transgender (FtM, MtF, genderqueer, non-binary, etc.) who wishes to pursue a gender-confirming surgery.

Criteria

  • Applicants must identify as transgender.
  • Applicants must be over the age of 18.
  • Applicants must already have begun saving money for their surgery.
  • Applicants must complete their surgery within 18 months of receiving the funds.
  • Applicants must complete their surgery in the United States with a U.S.-based surgeon (you may live outside of the U.S. and still apply).

Trans United with Family and Friends

This fund has no listed criteria, but does require three brief personal essays. To apply, click the link above and then click on the transgender flag image to access the application.

Trans Love Fund

(South Carolina residents only.)


The Trans Love Fund is a program of We Are Family, an organization dedicated to providing resources, support and leadership development to LGBTQ+ youth. The Trans Love Fund is dedicated to helping the transgender community of South Carolina through providing microgrants to trans-identified individuals for medical, legal, and emergency living expenses.