Many nonprofits are in no position to turn away any federal funding, let alone $1.2 million of it, but Advocates for Youth decided to do just that after Donald Trump became president again. 

Established in 1980 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., the organization works with youth leaders and their adult allies to help young people protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections (STIs), HIV and unintended pregnancy.  Much of the nonprofit’s outreach targets queer youth and youth of color, communities  that it would be difficult to continue serving directly while adhering to the Trump administration’s executive orders related to race and gender, according to Debra Hauser, the group’s president.

“We terminated the federal grants because, honestly, we can’t work under the restrictions and censorship that’s required by this administration,” Hauser said.

This marks the first time in its history that Advocates for Youth will end its partnerships with the federal government. Through those partnerships, the organization provided support and training to educators across hundreds of school districts. The leadership of Advocates for Youth felt it was important to distance itself from the Trump administration to send a message to the youth it serves: “Our goal was really to say to young people that we see them, we’re here for them, and we’re not going to abandon them,” Hauser said. 

The Trump administration’s executive orders threatening to withhold federal funding from government agencies or organizations that support diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) or “gender ideology” — a term used to hit back at protections for transgender Americans — are not grounded in best practices, Hauser contends. Rather, they sacrifice young people’s health and wellbeing for political expediency. 

“They aren’t based on research and what works best to help young people,” she said. “So, we felt it was important to take a stand, and we really just can’t do our work effectively under these kinds of conditions.” 

She said Advocates for Youth was told that it can’t concentrate its efforts on how racism, homophobia or transphobia influence health disparities among young people. That restriction would hinder the organization from running public health campaigns to reach the youth most affected by these disparities. It had one federal grant, for example, focused on HIV prevention education for Black and Latino young people. 

“If we can’t talk about race or homophobia, how do we do that?” Hauser asked. “If we can’t target our materials to those specific populations, it’s almost impossible. And, quite frankly, young people deserve better. They deserve to see themselves reflected in public health campaigns that are meant to help them.”

Louie Ortiz-Fonseca, director of LGBTQ Health and Rights at Advocates for Youth, said that the organization had many conversations about rejecting federal funding since HIV equity is threaded through all of its work. 

“I’m a person living with HIV, and we work with other young Black and Latinx people who are either living with HIV or are affected by it because someone in their life has it,” they said. “They’re just surviving stigma from day-to-day, moment-to-moment, and our work is to really center those young people and those experiences, those who are experiencing the most fierce HIV stigma as it relates to all parts of their life — the people that they date, the people that they love, how they access prevention, care and treatment.”

While Ortiz-Fonseca said he celebrates Advocates for Youth’s decision to reject federal funding, he does not begrudge other nonprofits for continuing to accept it because they may have different levels of resources that limit their options. Advocates for Youth is able to continue operating in the wake of its decision because most of its contributions come from philanthropic and individual donations. He hopes that nonprofit organizations can mutually support each other during this time. 

“The goal is to put a stop to this epidemic, hopefully end HIV stigma and create a world that is equitable and that celebrates all young people and those living with HIV and AIDS,” they said. In April, The 19th reported on the National Institutes of Health slashing funding for hundreds of research grants on HIV and AIDS.

Advocates for Youth is also concerned about the administration’s targeted attacks on transgender young people. Hauser called its anti-trans agenda “despicable,” since trans youth have some of the highest health disparities of any group of young people and disproportionately experience school bullying and violence. Because many people lack a fundamental understanding of gender identity, she said, politicians have found the issue convenient to weaponize. 

“As a consequence, 72 percent have tell told us through Centers for Disease Control surveys that they experience prolonged periods of hopelessness and sadness, and they are more likely to have attempted suicide than their cisgender peers,” Hauser said of transgender youth. “To demonize this group of young people creates fear and divides us.”

The idea that women and girls should be afraid of their transgender counterparts damages the health and wellbeing of trans youth and harms the general school population, she said.

“When schools have programs that support gay youth and trans youth, particularly anti-bullying programs, not only do those young people experience reductions in bullying and violence, but so does the entire school,” Hauser said. “So these programs aren’t divisive. In fact, they teach young people to value and recognize diversity.”

Unbound by federal funding restrictions, Advocates for Youth will continue to run campaigns for young people about healthy relationships and HIV and STI prevention. The organization will also work to create safe and affirming spaces in schools and communities for trans and gender expansive young people. 

“This is work that we feel is essential to do, and when we are able to support some of our most vulnerable youth, it benefits all of our young people,” Hauser said. “We feel very strongly that the executive orders and the rhetoric coming out of this administration is an assault on young people’s health and rights, and it’s based in politics.”