Around the world, trans organisations are protecting their communities from human rights violations, discrimination and violence. While the journey ahead is long, funding is fragile. More than half of trans groups globally have annual budgets of less than £7,500. And yet they are expected to challenge laws, advocate for change, and protect trans people in the most difficult of contexts. 

That is why the Antonia & Andrea Belcher Trans Fund exists. Sponsored by trans businesswoman, role model and mentor, Antonia Belcher OBE and her wife Andrea, the Fund supports trans organisations with the funding they need to do such vital work. One of these organisations is UCTRANS, a network for trans citizens and by citizens of the Caribbean region.

The Executive Director of UCTRANS, Alexus D’Marco, spoke to Antonia Belcher OBE about the importance of having more trans representation in philanthropy circles and the impact relationships between donors and trans organisations can have for the trans movement. 

Alexus: Could you start by telling us what inspired you to support trans activism? 

Antonia: Yes, with great pleasure. Seven years I transitioned and I became increasingly frustrated with the negative rhetoric around the trans community in the media, inferring that if you’re trans, you’re a freak. This led me to challenge this poor rhetoric. In challenging this rhetoric I was seeing in the UK, I began to learn more about what it was like to be trans around the world. 

My focus concentrated on other parts of the world where it was not so easy to be trans and to be accepted and to be able to thrive. I spoke with Elliot Vaughn, who at the time was looking to launch GiveOut, about sponsoring a fund which would specifically raise and distribute that money to trans communities around the globe. 

And that was really how I started my journey into philanthropy. I realised that in sponsoring a fund this way, I had to be at the front of the queue. I had to be donating money—putting money into that fund. And based on me doing that, I then had a platform to go and ask other people to follow suit. 

Alexus: I believe ‘nothing for us without us’ starts at the planning stage of a grant. That is what makes this Fund so important, it has to be a true representation and not tokenistic. It helps us to help trans citizens in the Caribbean region who suffer from violence, discrimination, and who don’t have access to education and basic health care. 

I would like to ask you, Antonia, why do you think it is important to have more trans representation in philanthropy and funding circles?

Antonia: I would say it’s pretty much like any walk of life, really.

Wherever there’s a need, then people who understand that need, people who share some of the challenges that sit around that need, they’re going to be seen to be brethren in the cause.  It’s inspiring for communities to know that there’s someone out there like them who’s beating the drum.

I remember when I went to Tirana in Albania back in 2019 to meet trans people under a project that was started by ERA in that region. I remember them saying ‘It’s amazing that you’ve made the journey to come to Tirana to meet with us and to talk to us. Part of the reason we came was because it was you that we were going to meet, you that’s been helping us and raising money for us.’ And from my point of view, it was really important to hear what life was like for them in those regions and to understand the difficulties, because, for me, it meant that I could bring those messages back to the UK.

And when I talk to donors here and I talk to people who are willing to give, I can tell them with sincerity what their money was going to do and how it was going to help. These are powerful messages and it should be happening all around the world.

Alexus: I think the openness and the willingness to have the conversation is tremendous. The fact that you can engage with donors such as yourself and you can explain to them the situations on the ground, first hand – you’re able to show them the differences that they experience within communities. And I think that was the most beautiful thing, to have that open and honest conversation of really what’s happening on the ground with our communities here in the region. And your fund allows that opportunity. Sitting with you last year was a tremendous opportunity. I was able to explain, and you were able to comprehend and understand the situation in the Caribbean region. 

With this funding, we’ve been able to provide a trans-ambassador program that feeds into our network and allows the community to sit with decision-makers, gatekeepers, and the government. To be able to talk about the issues that they face within the community. Again, ‘nothing for us without us’. And to have the true representation. Having a seat at the table is the most powerful thing. And having that funding to be able to do that allows us that opportunity.

Antonia: You are very inspiring and I’m totally inspired by the very intelligent way you are approaching your advocacy in the Caribbean. To wrap things up, with today being International Women’s Day, what is a message that you would like to share? 

Alexus: Thank you, Antonia. And I think the message I’d like to share is that let’s continue fighting for each other. Nothing for us without us. And again, our place on this earth is valuable. And you are valuable. How about yourself? 

Antonia: As a trans woman trying to help trans communities, the message is very simple for me. The whole idea that being trans is an ideology is just bonkers. 

What is a real woman? In my book, a real woman is a woman who knows they are a woman. And it doesn’t necessarily link back to how you were born. And I think that’s hopefully what International Women’s Day should be about. It’s about our femininity. It’s about who we know we are. And it’s about those who denied that of themselves for half of their life and then realised, ‘I only had one life and it’s not a dress rehearsal’. Despite what anyone says, I wanted to live that true life. 

As a trans woman, I’m proud to be a woman. I’m proud to be trans. 

For more information about the Antonia & Andrea Belcher Trans Fund, see here. To learn more about UCTRANS, visit their website.

Alexus D’Marco is the executive director of UCTRANS and Antonia Belcher OBE is a trans businesswoman, advocate and philanthropist.