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Correction and clarification appended Feb. 21

Organizations supporting LGBTQ students and their teachers in schools saw increases in both their workloads and donations after President Donald Trump鈥檚 first election and the recent avalanche of anti-LGBTQ bills moving through state legislatures. Since Trump鈥檚 second election, however, there has been a tectonic shift in the landscape.聽

LGBTQ advocacy groups, including the top youth-serving organizations, say they have seen their funding decline. They fear this will accelerate even further in reaction to executive orders targeting 鈥淒EI鈥� 鈥� diversity, equity and inclusion efforts 鈥� which may or may not be legal. 

Target, Google and Amazon are examples of corporate backers that have supported LGBTQ student advocacy but recently removed references to 鈥淒EI鈥� from public documents or announced they are rolling back inclusion policies.

Meanwhile, needs are mushrooming. The Trevor Project saw a in the number of calls to its suicide-prevention hotline the day after the November election. Now, layoffs are likely as part of a restructuring intended in part to dedicate more resources to crisis intervention programs, . 

The Human Rights Campaign, which offers , is set to lay off about 20% of its employees. In a statement to the LGBTQ news outlet , the organization鈥檚 leaders said they hoped the 鈥渞eset鈥� would allow them to make schools a primary area of focus.

GLSEN, which provides a range of resources for schools working to be inclusive, has laid off 18 people.聽

鈥淚n comparison to the outpouring of support for nonprofits in response to the first Trump administration, there is a significant difference here,鈥� says Brian Dittmeier, GLSEN鈥檚 director of public policy. 鈥淲e are dealing with a really targeted attack on the community. There are over 2 million LGBTQ students in the country, over 300,000 transgender students in tens of thousands of school districts that benefit from this support. There is a significant need there that will be unmet.鈥�

Because until recently few government agencies collected data on queer youth, these three nonprofits have conducted much of the existing longitudinal research on LGBTQ students and used it to identify settings and policies that determine school safety for gender and sexual minority students and teachers. Among other things, they have established the positive academic impact of welcoming classrooms. 

The organizations also provide resources directly to students and educators. They must now figure out whether they can continue collecting and analyzing that data while focusing on direct services. 

鈥淲e were built to build the evidence base for interventions and policy changes, which could then be incorporated into a functioning civil rights regime and education system,鈥� explains Eliza Byard, an education consultant and the former executive director of GLSEN. 鈥淎t the same time, thanks to a change in culture and the work of many, many years by these organizations, the number of young people who are 鈥榦ut鈥� and seeking services, community and support has grown exponentially.鈥�

As a result, she adds, 鈥渢he job is enormous in a way that it wasn鈥檛 previously.鈥� 

The Obama and Biden administrations began including information on LGBTQ students in numerous federal datasets 鈥� efforts targeted by Trump. This makes it especially important that longitudinal research by the advocacy organizations continue, says Dittmeier. 

He says he expects the organization鈥檚 2024 school climate survey 鈥� a detailed, biennial report that鈥檚 the cornerstone of GLSEN鈥檚 research 鈥� to be released on schedule in the coming weeks and to be a priority going forward. 

鈥淥ne of the pieces here is we know that the solutions 鈥斅爓hat works 鈥� is not going to come from Washington,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he solutions are going to come from communities. So as we have always done in our more than three decades鈥� history, we are going to continue to rely on what we鈥檙e hearing both in our larger-scale research projects but also in direct engagement with educators and students on the ground.鈥�

Correction: Eliza Byard is an education consultant and the former executive director of GLSEN.

Clarification: After 蜜桃影视 published a reported number of layoffs at GLSEN, the organization emailed to clarify that the actual number is 18.

Disclosure: The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies provide financial support to The Trevor Project and 蜜桃影视.

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