Last week’s 24-hour fundraising telethon by the Metro Trans Umbrella Group was the talk of the internet—it was such a cool throwback idea, updated for the social media age.
“Old-school fun with a trans queer twist,” says MTUG’s executive director and co-founder Sayer Johnson. “Community made it happen.”
So, how did it turn out?
Well, 176 donors raised more than $12,000 during the livestream, Johnson says. Left Bank Books made a $1,000 match.
It got more than 13,000 views on Facebook and people peeped it more than 1,000 times on YouTube. And if you missed it—or just can’t get enough of it—it’s still on MTUG’s YouTube channel. They’ll be releasing highlights in the coming months on Facebook, too.
Johnson credits the work of a dedicated and hardworking team including Brittany Ashcraft, Kristen Goodman, Tim Lumpkins, Larissa Mooy, Amber Johnson, and Alex Johnmeyer.
Johnson says the money raised will go toward building capacity for MTUG. It will replenish the name change fund and go to providing bus passes, as well as to engaging a social worker for protective oversight of MTUG’s support groups.
