Grants Awarded

2021-2022 Grantees

For the 2021-2022 grant cycle, the Effing Foundation has awarded grants to five new projects and four previously funded projects:

Black Feminist Rants Black Feminist Rants is an independent Reproductive Justice podcast created and hosted by LaKia Williams. LaKia (she/her) is an RJ organizer with experience in creating a sexual health mutual aid program, leading a virtual sex-ed program, and supervising a youth advocacy council. LaKia is the former Digital Organizer of SisterSong and has worked with several reproductive rights and justice organizations including: Advocates for Youth, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and CLPP.

HIV Aging Well: Healthy and Creative Living(COPE) Kwame Thompson has a background in business logistics and computer programming. He joined COPE in 2016, and has helped to grow the organizations educational, testing, and outreach programs by bringing in his skills from other fields. He takes pride in supporting the HIV community through advocacy, staff development, and community based outreach. With COPE, he has published scientific papers supporting the patient centered model of care, in an attempt to improve health access and reintroduce community members back into the health care system. Gail Brown being a long term survivor of HIV is personally invested and passionate about improving the health of those living an aging with HIV and other chronic illnesses. As a retired teacher and through her own experiences in the healthcare system, Ms. Brown recognizes that individuals armed with knowledge and information can best advocate for themselves in accessing quality health care. Living in the South Bronx and witnessing the poor health conditions, she stands for all people living healthier lifestyles. Ms. Brown has been in the struggle for equity in health and education, anti gentrification and homelessness, social justice, and equity and fair treatment for people of color, those in the LGBTQ community, differently abled people, and all oppressed peoples.

Lysistrata Mutual Care Collective & Fund Lysistrata reaches marginalized sex workers with resources/opportunities/community building and to educate more privileged sex workers and allies. Jay/Jae (she/her) is a Researcher, Educator, Advocate and lifelong New Yorker who has had dual residency in Atlanta, Georgia on & off for the past 21 years. She offers Consulting & Technical Support in all things Sexual Health with an emphasis on disease transmission, prevention, and representing street based populations & folks of Color in and through her work. She believes in healthy sex and is all about sexual health, sex worker health & access to care. She holds direct human subjects data collection experience in projects surrounding Urban Sexual Health behaviors, HIV/STI transmission, SW Health, and Sex Worker Criminal Justice Reform. Jenna Torres (she/her) is a Published Author, Spoken Word Artist, Entrepreneur, and above all a proud single mother of four beautiful children! She believes people have agency to make the best decisions possible in order to survive. She defends them and works with communities to build realistic solutions to real life problems like violence, poverty, and discrimination. Jenna’s vision is to empower communities often overlooked and overcriminalized. She has a special place in her heart for young people, especially young moms! She has just released a collection of poetry, "In Between Breaths", and you can find more information about her on her website iamjennatorres.

Midori Trailblazing educator, sexologist, artist, and irritant to banality, Midori founded Rope Dojo and ForteFemme: Women's Dominance Intensive. She penned the first English instruction book on Shibari, "Seductive Art of Japanese Bondage" in 2001, paving the way to the popularity of rope. Dan Savage calls her the "Super Nova of Kink," while others affectionately call her Auntie Midori for her cool, tell-it-like-it-is, funny, reality-based teaching. She is also the author of "Wild Side Sex," "Master Han's Daughter," and "Silk Threads.” Learn, laugh, and enjoy her special online classes, events, and art at www.patreon.com/PlanetMidori (this is where she is working on her next shibari book!)

SensuElle Podcast Arielle “Ari” Antwine (she, her) is a Certified Sexologist & Sex Educator, Trauma-Informed Sex Coach, and International Burlesque Artist & Instructor! She prefers the title "Sensual Educator & Facilitator" to encompass her work. -As a survivor of sexual trauma and a Black queer femme, Ari did not see herself (or these intersectional identities) represented on burlesque stages, in popular sex & relationship podcasts, or in the sex educator space.So she made her own way with accessible, educational, sensually-centered content. Like the SensuElle Podcast; where Ari interviews women & femmes about how sensuality is integral to life, work, and joy. And everyone describes their best orgasm! -Ari uses her background as an award-winning performer and yoga instructor to craft one-of-a-kind movement workshops & experiences and to build communities of sensually-empowered badasses. Her mission is to empower others to heal themselves through holistic sensuality and resilience after trauma.

Previously Supported Grantees

The Black Trans Prayer Book, co-edited by J Mase III (he/him; Seattle, WA) and Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi (she/her; Washington, DC) – The Black Trans Prayer Book: A Documentary explores the lives, reflections, performances and spiritual journey of Black Trans, Non-Binary and/or Gender Expansive people. Through animation, interviews and performance, the Black Trans Prayer Book takes the audience on a journey that is simultaneously beyond faith and interfaith. From accountability for religious institutions, to Black Trans deities and spiritual practices, this film addresses the impact of religion on Black Trans and Non-Binary people in secular and faith communities. An adaptation of the previously published text of the same name, this work is a living testament to the ways that Black Trans people capture history, divinity and storytelling. J Mase III is an award winning Black/Trans author, poet & educator. As an educator, Mase has worked with community members in the US, UK, and Canada on the needs of LGBTQIA+ folks and racial justice in spaces such as K-12 schools, universities, faith communities and restricted care facilities. He is founder of awQward, the first trans and queer people of color talent agency. J Mase is author of And Then I Got Fired: One Transqueer’s Reflections on Grief, Unemployment & Inappropriate Jokes About Death as well as White Folks Be Trippin’: An Ethnography Through Poetry & Prose. He is head writer for the theatrical production Black Bois. His work has been featured on MSNBC, Essence Live, Everyday Feminism, Black Girl Dangerous, the New York Times, Buzzfeed, Blavity, the Root, the Huffington Post, TEDx and more. Winner of a Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Non-Fiction and a Creative Capital Award, he is co-director of the forthcoming documentary, the Black Trans Prayer Book and is finishing his latest solo work, Is Your God a Violent God? Finding a Theology for Survivors. Find him on Instagram & TikTok (@jmaseiii) and www.jmaseiii.com! Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi Dubbed the Ancient Jazz Priestess of Mother Africa, Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi is a Black Nigerian, Cuban, Indigenous, American Performance Artist, Author, Educator, Director, a Helen Hayes Award winning Playwright (Klytmnestra: An Epic Slam Poem), a 2021 Helen Merrill Award Winner, Advocate, Dramaturg, a 2x Helen Hayes Award Nominated choreographer (2016, 2018) and co-editor/co-founder of the Black Trans Prayer Book. She is the curator and co-producer of Long Wharf Theater’s Black Trans Women At The Center: An Evening of Short Plays. She wrote episode 1 of Untitled Mockumentary Project and acted on the series as well, and wrote episode 9 (Refuge) of Round House Theater’s web series Homebound. She narrated The Netflix Docu-series Visions of Us. She is also a co-director of the documentary The Black Trans Prayer Book, and starting initial work on producing and writing a short film entitled Stop Light.

Hans Lindahl Hans is a writer and artist known for expansive commentary on intersex issues. This work builds on the blessing of a childhood spent among multiple generations of intersex activists, and formative experiences in Bay Area queer comics and activism communities. -While in California, Hans’s organizing and digital strategies as the former Communications Director of interACT helped pass the country’s first legislation denouncing infant genital surgeries. Hans’s articles, videos, and comics promoting affirming and non-medical views of intersex people have been translated into four languages. -Following this, Hans aims to write a graphic novel on these themes tackling the question: how do you come of age when puberty never happens?

Native Youth Sexual Health Network (US and Canada) – NYSHN is a grassroots, Indigenous-led community organization to support the sexual health of Indigenous people, including Two Spirit and LGBTQIA individuals.

Afrosexology Since 2015, Dalychia (she/her) and Rafaella (she/ella) have created inclusive spaces online and in real life for Black people to openly challenge sexual shame and affirm sexual exploration. Afrosexology curates courses, workshops, workbooks, and spaces to empower people to live their most pleasurable lives. Afrosexology has traveled nationwide and internationally, successfully engaging with over 100,000 people through community workshops, conferences, webinars, and social media.

2019-2020 Grantees

For the 2019-2020 grant cycle, the Effing Foundation has awarded grants to sixteen new projects and four previously funded projects:

24-Hour Sex Advice-a-Thon, by Francisco Ramirez (he/they; NYC) – Interactive sex advice marathons, hosted by a number of diverse sexuality educators, livestreamed from Francisco’s apartment. Activities and games engage viewers throughout the 24 hours to create space for: thoughtful yet playful conversations about sex, taking down of the patriarchy colonialism and the binary, and meaningful discussions about sexual health and wellbeing, pleasure, dating, relationships, agency, and sex positivity more generally. Think: a one-of-a-kind, up-all-night slumber party with your best new friends!

Ask A Sex Worker at Nude Nite (Florida) – A group of consensual sex workers from many different segments of the industry is coming together for an interactive art installation at Nude Night in Orlando and Tampa. The "ASK A SEX WORKER" booth, constructed to appear as if it were in Amsterdam's Red Light District, will have room for three rotating sex workers to have their own red neon outlined "window" where attendees of the art installation will be able to ask direct questions about our different work experiences. Each "window" will be livestreamed and clips will be featured on YouTube.

The Black Trans Prayer Book, co-edited by J Mase III (he/him; Seattle, WA) and Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi (she/her; Washington, DC) – The #BlackTransPrayerBook is an interfaith, multi-dimensional, artistic and theological work that collects the stories, poems, prayers, meditations, and incantations of Black TGNC contributors. We as Black Trans people, who experience high rates of sexual violence, who engage in sex work at higher rates than the cis population, are looking to have a theology that incorporates the fullness of who we are. As beings deserving of care, we wish to claim a radical theology which is honest about our sexual practices.

Project Blackbird’s #ConsentConscious, by Candace Liger (she/they; Greensboro, NC) – In order to combat sexual violence, we must look at sexual violence holistically, including the dynamics of power, pathways of pleasure, and what is healthy consent. #ConsentConscious hosts healing practice spaces that explore consent, to develop and explore pleasure access points using BDSM/Kink informed consent philosophies such as Risk Aware Informed Kink (RACK), and Personal Responsibility Informed Consensual Kink (PRICK).

The Black Girl’s Guide to Surviving Menopause (Durham, NC) – The Black Girls' Guide to Surviving Menopause is a multi-media dialogue project seeking to curate and share the experiences, stories, and realities of Black women and femmes over 50. The podcast was born from a series of conversations between older Black women and femmes who are negotiating the different stages of menopause along with their ever-evolving identifies, relationships, careers, responsibilities and societal tropes. This is a curated intergenerational exchange, a space for exploration, mentorship, intimacy and vulnerability around life, identity and change.

Domina Jia, by JinHee Kwak (they/them; Brooklyn, NY) – A series of embroidery and needle-felted works that display text, phrases, and iconography for sex workers rights and sex worker culture. To promote authentic advocacy for sex positivity through a visual medium, Jin draws on their experiences as a professional dominatrix and sensual massage worker, as well as features direct quotes from the The International Whores Day Protest Signs. All of the textile work will be presented in an exhibition that will include workshops centered around consent and kink practices, led by sex workers of color.

Dreaming Out Loud, by Ramses Rodriguez (he/they; San Francisco) – A short film capturing the world of a young Latina catholic girl rockera, Ruby Ramirez, as she comes to terms with her gender, sexuality, mental health, and spirituality while growing up in Long Beach. A fictionalized memoir, the series centers on a queer narrative from the perspective of a trans person of color, and is rich with music and culture from the ‘90s. This will be part of a TV pilot for a show that touches on living with bipolar disorder and dealing with parental alcoholism.

For Hire Enterprises, founded by Kevin A. Patterson (he/him) and Alana Phelan (she/her; Philadelphia) – Two books about polyamorous relationships. The first book offers education about common polyamorous mistakes (including several personal stories that correspond with each mistake) and how to address them through research, communication, respect, and emotional literacy. Topics include "An Overabundance of Rules", "Unicorn Hunting", and "Relationship Broken...Add More People". The second is an anthology of feel-good relationship stories that could only exist in a polyamorous context.

Free Figure Revolution (Atlanta, GA) – The "Queer Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Survey" addresses the lack of representation, nuance, and information on the depths of domestic violence and sexual assault within the gender, sexuality, and race spectrum. The survey, completed in 2018, also recognizes that experiences navigating sex work and navigating intra-community harm are often left out of data work. Now Free Figure Revolution is planning the data analysis phase, as well as an art show to raise awareness when the survey results become available.

Honey and Hot Wax: An Anthology of Erotic Art Games, co-edited by Sharang Biswas (he/him) and Lucian Kahn (he/him; NYC) – an anthology of sex-themed roleplaying and performance-based games, featuring work by RPG designers, LARP writers, and artists, to be published by Pelgrane Press in 2020. Honey and Hot Wax will feature games by Lucian Kahn, Sharang Biswas, Clio Yun-su Davis, Will Morningstar, Susanne, Alex Roberts, Kat Jones, Julia B. Ellingboe, Jonaya Kemper, a safety chapter by Maury Brown, and a forward by Naomi Clark. IndieCade 2020 nominee!

Hot Takes Erotic Media Cooperative (Seattle, WA, and Hawaii) – Erotic art, news and educational material, created and led by LGBTQIA sex workers. Hot Takes is focused on creating knowledge and participatory skills training at all aspects of the creative process, to empower and enable thriving careers. On the West Coast, Hot Takes is documenting the intersection of human sexuality and politics, as well as creating nontraditional forms of custom erotic art. And in Hawaii, the cooperative works with SWOP Hawaii to create educational, sex-positive content for public access television, YouTube, and erotic channels.

More Than No, founded by Bitsy LaBurbon (she/her; LA) – Outreach group that offers educational workshops, retreats, peer support groups for survivors and allies. More Than No also produces "Cabaret Con-Sensual" which provides survivors and allies a space to express themselves through the performing arts.

My Black (GR)ACE, by Grace B. Freedom (she/they; San Jose) – Bringing visibility to the Black gray/demisexual (ace) experience through the creation of written works that describe personal experiences in centering Black joy, Black pleasure and Black rest. My Black (GR)ACE seeks to partner with Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) to increase the visibility of black queer aces in AVEN’s online and conference communities, as well as to facilitate two-hour virtual discussion spaces for Black queer-identified aces. By decentering white cisheteronormative understandings of pleasure, this project expands the notion of what is conventionally seen as sexual.

Radical Visibility Zine, by Sky Cubacub (they/them; Chicago) – A celebratory resistance, highlighting the parts of us that society typically shuns, The Radical Visibility Zine challenges mainstream beauty standards through centering queer and disabled people of all sizes, ethnicities and ages. Based off the first zine, published in 2018, quarterly zines will be released throughout 2020. These will focus on accessibility, for example by providing a CD with music that has visual descriptions for blind and visually impaired people; by translating into Spanish, French, and Arabic; and by creating an A-Z disability justice coloring book in collaboration with Alice Wong of the Disability Visibility Project.

Scumtrust Productions (Seattle, WA) – Scumtrust Productions is a collective working to shift the gaze of porn away from hetero-patriarchal norms. They build equitable practices in all stages of film production, and center a network of trans, queer, disabled, Indigenous, Black and POC (people of color) creators. By building worlds that focus on the pleasure and beauty of marginalized identities and bodies, Scumtrust aims to affect the paradigm of desirability in adult entertainment, with plans to produce a feature film and curate a workshop on queering the gaze of romantic narratives.

Sean Saifa Wall (he/him; Atlanta, GA) & Riva Lehrer (she/her; Chicago) – This collaboration between disabled artist Riva Lehrer and activist and researcher Sean Saifa Wall takes the form of a nude portrait. This painting of Sean Saifa Wall pushes the edge of our understanding of intersex bodies, while returning the gaze to a Black intersex body, as the only representation of a Black intersex person to date was by Dr. Jonathan Neill at the University of Pennsylvania in 1831.

Sylvia Rivera Center for Social Justice (Reno, NV) – The Sylvia Rivera Center for Social Justice is committed to providing advocacy, outreach, education, mental health, and other services rooted in social justice, to underserved and marginalized communities within the Greater Reno area with a specialization in LGBTQ+ communities of color.

torrin a. greathouse (she/they; Minneapolis, MN) – A genderqueer trans womxn and cripple-punk, torrin is the author of two chapbooks, Therǝ is a Case That I Ɐm (Damaged Goods, 2017) & boy/girl/ghost (TAR Chapbook Series, 2018) & winner of the Peseroff Poetry Prize, Palette Poetry Prize, & the Naugatuck River Narrative Poetry Prize. Her forthcoming full-length poetry collection focuses on the sex-positive exploration of the politics of desire and desirability through the lens of their personal experiences, including the reclamation that follows trauma.

Very INTEResting with Hans Lindahl (she/they; San Francisco) – Video series focused on intersex joy, addressing the lack of non-medicalized content about intersex experiences. Very INTEResting shows intersex people talking to each other about dating, sex, friendship, and reclaiming sexuality after medical control.

Make a donation today to support the work of these amazing artists and educators!

2018-2019 Grantees

For the 2018-2019 grant cycle, the Effing Foundation awarded grants to twelve new projects and two previously funded projects:

New Grantees

Birds, Bees...Porn?! written by Jess Melendez (San Francisco, CA) and illustrated by Jeremy Alva (Portland, OR) -- a book for teens and their parents to understand media literacy and porn literacy, covering topics such as consent, communication, safer sex, body image, anatomy, ethical porn, and the differences between sex trafficking and sex work.
The Black Trans Prayer Book, co-edited by J Mase III (Seattle, WA) and Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi (Washington, DC) -- The #BlackTransPrayerBook is an interfaith, multi-dimensional, artistic and theological work that collects the stories, poems, prayers, meditations, and incantations of Black TGNC contributors. We as Black Trans people, who experience high rates of sexual violence, who engage in sex work at higher rates than the cis population, are looking to have a theology that incorporates the fullness of who we are. As beings deserving of care, we wish to claim a radical theology which is honest about our sexual practices.
Disability and Sexuality Access Network, now known as Pleasurable, by Caz and Amber (St. Petersburg, FL) -- DASANetwork is building a diverse community of people from numerous fields and media who are passionate about agitating, advocating, and educating about disability, sex, and sexuality.
Dive Deeper with Goddess Cecilia (Jamaica Plain, MA) -- a video series exploring sex, sexuality, and surviving while swimming between multiple worlds.
Erotic Art Games, co-edited by Sharang Biswas and Lucian Kahn (NYC) -- an anthology of sex-themed roleplaying and performance-based games, featuring work by RPG designers, LARP writers, and artists.
HonestlyNae (Aurora, CO) -- HonestlyNae is your personal sexuality educator here to provide normalization, explanation, and melanated representation.
Native Youth Sexual Health Network (US and Canada) -- NYSHN is a grassroots, Indigenous-led community organization to support the sexual health of Indigenous people, including Two Spirit and LGBTQIA individuals.
Perverts of Color Zine edited by Jaki Griot (California) -- a bi-monthly publication dedicated to kinky people of color celebrating the diversity of perversity!
So, You Need To Talk To Your Doctor About Sex by Kirsten Schultz of Chronic Sex (Madison, WI) -- To help patients receive the best care, especially when it comes to sexual and genital health, we need to create tools to improve how we all talk about sex in the exam room.
Supporting the Financially Disenfranchised in a Culture of Consent by Julian Addams Wolf (Albuquerque, NM) -- creating conversations, brochures, workshops and art that share the stories of the financially disenfranchised people in our kink and ethical non monogamy communities to help eliminate shame and stigma while giving the financially disenfranchised additional platforms within our community.
Trauma Queen by Jimanekia Eborn (Los Angeles, CA) -- a podcast mini-series focused on normalizing the conversation around sexual assault. Providing a free resource, each episode will highlight active and productive steps forward for survivors and allies. Answering the ultimate question: How can we collectively continue to heal?
Yoseñio V. Lewis (San Francisco, CA) -- Yoseñio V. Lewis is a Latino of African Descent female to male transsexual who has been a social justice activist since he was 13 years old. A health educator, speaker, writer, performer, trainer, facilitator, out poly and kinky person and a spiritual hugger, Yoseñio is a Board Member of TASHRA—The Alternative Sexualities Health Research Alliance.

Previously Supported Grantees

The Adipositivity Project by Substantia Jones (NYC) -- nude portrait series of fat models (including queer/trans models and models of color); empowering fat people as unapologetically sexual beings through artistic photography.
PolyDallas Millennium Symposium (Dallas, TX) -- PolyDallas Millennium is a sex-positive sexual health symposium that is a platform for marginalized and oppressed groups. We provide education on ethical non-monogamous relationships in an oppressive and stigmatizing society. Educators, activists, and community leaders that are representative of the attendees engage the audience in shared language and experiences. PolyDallas Millennium is a symposium that has space and joy for all communities and all ways of being.

Pilot Grants (2017-2018)

In the spring of 2018, the following projects were each awarded a $5,000 pilot grant:

The Adipositivity Project by Substantia Jones (NYC) -- nude portrait series of fat models (including queer/trans models and models of color); empowering fat people as unapologetically sexual beings through artistic photography.
Afrosexology by Dalychia & Rafaella (St. Louis, MO) -- education, exploration, and reclaiming of Black sexuality through a new video series featuring Black people of varying genders and sexual orientations discussing their sexualities.
eros&persephone (NSFW) by Lola Rose Eros (LA) -- an exploration of the human psyche through the lens of sexuality as a series of short videos by a Black transmasculinefemme self-taught artist; the stories include concepts such as safer sex practices, enthusiastic consent, scene negotiation, queer identities, gender expression, relationship dynamics, kink, and fetish.
More Than No (LA) -- outreach group that offers educational workshops and peer support groups for survivors and allies.
More Than No also produces "Cabaret Con-Sensual" which provides survivors and allies a space to express themselves through the performing arts.
PolyDallas Millennium Symposium -- PolyDallas Millennium is a sex-positive sexual health symposium that is a platform for marginalized and oppressed groups. We provide education on ethical non-monogamous relationships in an oppressive and stigmatizing society. Educators, activists, and community leaders that are representative of the attendees engage the audience in shared language and experiences. PolyDallas Millennium is a symposium that has space and joy for all communities and all ways of being.
Survivor Theatre Project (Boston, MA) -- theater workshops & performances that empower survivors of sexual violence, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.
(W/HOLE) (NYC) -- collaboration between performance company the A.O. Movement Collective & queer/feminist collective AORTA films; body-positive, queer erotic art film including performers who are queer/trans people of color.

Your donation will help make more amazing projects like these come to life!

Do you like this page?