As a way of honoring the vision of the co-founders, Tony Ferraiolo and M. Dru Levasseur, and their continuing commitment to the Jim Collins Foundation, the Board of Directors has changed the name of our General Grant Fund to our Founders’ Grant Fund.
What is the Founders’ Grant Fund?
The Founders’ Grant Fund covers 100% of the surgical fees associated with gender-affirming surgery.
Who are the co-founders?
Tony Ferraiolo is a life coach, motivational speaker, and author. For over 10 years he has dedicated himself to empowering transgender and nonbinary youth to walk their truth down the path to happiness. He is also a certified teacher of mindfulness meditation. Tony is the author of the book series Artistic Expressions of Transgender Youth and the subject of the award-winning documentary, A Self Made Man.
M. Dru Levasseur is the Senior Attorney and Transgender Rights Project Director for Lambda Legal, the oldest and largest national LGBT legal organization. Based in Atlanta after nearly a decade of doing national impact litigation and policy work in NYC, Dru continues his leadership in philanthropy by working to bring greater attention to funding gaps for transgender communities serving as a working group member for Grantmakers United for Trans Communities.
The Jim Collins Foundation, and the grants we provide, would not be possible without Tony and Dru’s dedication to supporting and strengthening the transgender community. We look forward to announcing the recipients of our next grant cycle in the coming months.