Tips and Resources for Economic Relief

As economic hardship continues to impact our communities, finding ways to supplement income to cover basic needs continues to be a necessary way to sustain our households.

Last Updated: September 11, 2025

Originally Published: August 9, 2025

Inspired by conversations with friends, family, and community members, below are a list of tips, resources, and opportunities to support our community in accessing different forms of economic relief.

• Utilize local community spaces like food pantries, flea markets, and estate shops for free food and/or to negotiate prices on household items

  • (ADDED 8/12) Explore local community training programs focused on addressing food insecurity:

    • Hunger Free Oklahoma is currently accepting applications for their Lived Experience and Resource Network (LEARN) Workshop, a paid 8-month training program for people (ages 18+) based in the Tulsa metro area who are experiencing food insecurity and hunger. Participants will receive a living wage every month, transportation if needed, mileage and childcare reimbursements, and meals and snacks. The deadline to apply was August 20, 2025.

  • Check for local food cooperatives, mutual aid fairs, community fridges that have free, low cost, or pay-what-you-can grocery distributions.

  • This extends to connecting with friends, family, and/or local community members to barter food, toiletries, and other household items.

  • Check for local organizations sharing mutual aid facebook groups, IG pages, discords, or other trusted groups to find local community support (the Mutual Aid Hub can be a starting place for learning about mutual aid organizations based in your local area)

  • Organize and/or participate in potlucks, cookouts, or other food-centered events with your trusted community to split/share food.

  Find research studies that compensate participants with gift cards that can be used for groceries, toiletries, and other basic necessities:

• Please note: it’s important to be intentional about vetting the platform, organization, college, research investigators, etc connected the study to confirm validity and to determine comfortability in sharing personal information prior to participating. If folks are hesitant to answer questions or properly explain and provide consent forms, those are red flags.

• Some keywords that can be helpful to find studies to participate in are trans research studies gift card, Black mental health research studies gift card, gender diverse research studies gift card, or other research topics you may be interested in contributing to with gift card or compensation tagged at the end of your search. You can use these keywords on web search engines and/or through social media platforms (i.e. LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook)

• For paid research studies, they don’t include immediate payment opportunities, but once you’re scheduled and complete them, compensation could be provided within 1-2 days or a couple of weeks (depending on the terms of the study). Tango gift cards are commonly shared, which allows folks to search for gift cards to use at a wide variety of retailers, grocery stores, and other options.

• Here are a few of active research studies / platforms folks can use to find additional research opportunities:

• (ADDED 9/11) The Pivot Fund’s Illinois Community News Media Landscape study - The Pivot Fund is conducting 15-30min 1:1 virtual interviews with Chicago residents (18+ years old) to learn about where you get trusted local and community news—especially from independent, nontraditional, or neighborhood-based sources. Your input will help identify and support news outlets that serve underrepresented communities. Participants will receive a grocery store gift card ($25) as an acknowledgement for their time and insights.

• (ADDED 9/8) Building Movement Project’s 2025 Race to Lead Survey * gift card raffle * - a national effort by the Building Movement Project to better understand how race, leadership, and identity shape the nonprofit sector. The survey is anonymous, takes about 20-25 minutes, and is open to all nonprofit staff–regardless of role, background, or career stage. After you complete the survey, you can enter a raffle to win one of ten $250 Visa gift cards. (Raffle entry is optional and separate–your responses remain anonymous). Learn more about how to participate here.

• (ADDED 8/25) Queer Digital Stories - a digital storytelling project open to trans, , nonbinary, genderqueer, and another gender diverse folks based in Ontario (at least 18 years old) that explores what gender-affirming language means to transgender and nonbinary midwifery service-users. This is a collaborative and supportive 3-day workshop taking place in Hamilton, Ontario, where participants will create 3- to 5-minute videos showing what gender-affirming language means to them. Participation includes an online introductory meeting, the 3-day, in-person workshop, and four online meetings over a period of two months to discuss the stories and your experiences of the workshop. Participants who complete all sessions of the study will be compensated $480. Learn more about how to participate here.

• How Do You Community - open to folks (ages 18-30) who experience mental health concerns that make work, school, or your personal life challenging and identify as BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and/or with experience in the justice or child welfare systems. Participants receive a $30 Visa e-gift card for participating in a one-time Zoom interview (up to 90 minutes) with a young adult interviewer.

• Savvy Cooperative (referral link) - shares a variety of studies for folks with verified health conditions.

• LGBT Life Westchester Research Studies - share numerous research studies for LGBTQIA+ community members.

• Seattle’s LGBTQ+ Center Research Studies - shares LGBTQ+ related research studies to advance culture, health, and well-being in our communities.

• National LGBT Cancer Network Research Partnerships - compiles research studies related to LGBTQ+ health, including cancer research, screening, and prevention services, treatment, and policies.

• Apply and/or bookmark unrestricted funds and microgrants focused on covering costs for basic needs and gender-affirming care:

  • Point of Pride Thrive Fund (closed August 31) offers small grants to trans folks who can’t afford gender-affirming care and wellness services not covered by their other programs.

  • Trans Safety Emergency Fund (next cycle reopens October 1) supports trans, non-binary, genderqueer, agender, gender nonconforming, and any other person with a non-cis identity with emergency situations such as (but not limited to):

    • Basic Living Costs (Food, household items, clothing, public transport etc.)

    • Monthly Bills(Electricity, Gas, Internet, Rent/Mortgage, Water, etc.)

    • Crucial Medical Bills (Hormones, Medical Recovery, Health Casualties, Therapy, etc.)

    • Safety (Self-Defence Courses, Relocation to safer environments)

  • Stimpunks Foundation Mutual Aid Grant (reopens January 2026) provides 2 mutual aid grants of US$500 each to fellow neurodivergent and disabled people. These grants cover anything you need for your welfare and survival.

  Do you have an artistic talent in performing, literary, and/or visual arts or are interested in freelance work? Tap into spaces amplifying prizes, call for submissions, RFPs, fellowships, etc as other ways to supplement income. Here are a few spaces and people regularly sharing opportunities:

• Galleyway shares poetry, theatre, tv/film, and nonfiction/fiction opportunities.

• Grace Anderson has a compiled list of virtual, nationwide, and global writing residencies.

• Funds for Writers shares grants, contests, fellowships, and other paid opportunities for writers.

• Kaitlyn Arford has a weekly newsletter with a wide variety of freelance opportunities related to journalism, graphic design, video production, copywriting, content editing, SEO, marketing, web development, and more.

• Creative Capital has a regularly updated list of grants, residencies, open calls, and career opportunities for artists working in all disciplines.

• (ADDED 8/19) Notes from Eva has a newsletter discussing her writing process and shares upcoming deadlines for creatives.

• (ADDED 8/21) All Hear is a free monthly newsletter sharing freelance opportunities grants, residencies, awards, calls for pitches and events spanning journalism, podcasting, radio, audio drama, oral history, sound art, and more for folks across industries around the world.

Looking for more funding opportunities and gender affirming resources? Visit our Q3 resource roundup for an updated list of funding opportunities and other resources to support our collective livelihood and well-being.