The Trevor Project to undergo layoffs and restructuring in major 'transformation'
The Trevor Project, a national LGBTQ youth suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization, announced Friday that it will undergo a “transformation” that will include layoffs and restructuring.
The Trevor Project, a national LGBTQ youth suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization, announced Friday that it will undergo a “transformation” that will include layoffs and restructuring. The timing of the announcement, just days before the start of the second Trump administration, has staffers particularly concerned.
Jaymes Black, who became the nonprofit’s CEO last July, said the organization, which has around 600 employees, is in the midst of a “perfect storm” — soaring crisis calls and messages from LGBTQ youths, an increasingly hostile political climate for LGBTQ rights and a drop in individual donations.
The California-based Trevor Project, like many LGBTQ advocacy groups, is expecting the next four years to be challenging. President-elect Donald Trump leaned into anti-transgender rhetoric during his campaign and has promised to institute a number of policies targeting the community, including restrictions on transition-related care for minors and a ban on trans girls participating in women’s sports.
The project’s financials, which are publicly available, show a mixed picture. In its last reported fiscal year, which ended in July 2023, the nonprofit reported $87 million in revenue and $105 million in expenses, up from $67 million in revenue and $60 million in expenses the prior fiscal year.
When asked about the 57% jump in year-over-year expenses, which outpaced the nonprofit’s revenue growth, Black cited several reasons: investments in research, advocacy, public education and TrevorSpace, its online community for LGBTQ young people; increased pay for direct services and crisis intervention staff; and the launch of its crisis services for LGBTQ youths in Mexico, which required hiring new staffers.
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