It’s November, and I don’t know about you, but as I look at both my personal budget, and our organizational budget, I am feeling the strain of increasing prices across the board. It’s tough. And it’s a time of year that demands a lot from each of us as we work to share community and camaraderie with one another, often over increasingly expensive meals, using increasingly unreliable transportation, in increasingly hostile environments. And so during a time of so much demand, I wanted to make sure to pause and offer my sincere gratitude to each of you.

We know we’re an organization often funded the most by the folks with the least. It’s our community, giving amounts incredibly meaningful to each of you, that allows me to show up each day and do this work. And I am not sure I can ever convey how much that really means to me. I get to be in the work of trans liberation, as a trans person who is feeling the harm of anti-trans policies and attitudes. It’s heavy and hard, and it’s important.

And when it can all feel like too much, I remember that I’m getting to show up in this fight, because of your trust and your investment in our work. In the future Freedom Oklahoma is working alongside you to build. One where we all have the safety, the community, and the resources necessary to thrive.

So, as our inboxes are filled with AI generated emails and message tested language made to make us feel compelled to give, I hope to offer you a bit of gratitude among that chaos. Your gifts make a meaningful difference. And I know that your ability to give changes throughout seasons. And that this can be one of the hardest. So thank you. For every dollar, for every cent, and most of all, for believing that a future where we can thrive as our whole selves is worth fighting for.

With hope and gratitude,

Solas Evans

*ID: Photo of Mauree and Solas, mid conversation leaning against a building in Madison, Wisconsin. Photo by Cole McAfee.*

P.S. How to even begin to pick a photo that sums up what it means for you to invest in the work of Oklahoma? So, instead, enjoy this moment of joy between me and my colleague and friend, Mauree Turner, during our time in community with other folks fighting for 2SLGBTQ+ liberation in Madison, Wisconsin this summer. We got to be in that space and share what we do and learn from comrades because of you!