BROOKLYN BREWERY donates $25K to NY Trans Community through a new program called Brooklyn Brewery Supports.

Businesses have been reacting to the bullying tactics of the Orange Man in the White House in a whole variety of negative ways, many of them aimed at creating harm to the LGBTQA+ community.  One of their damaging actions has been withdrawing the funds they have traditionally given to support Pride celebrations up and down the US. In NY roughly a  quarter in Pride sponsors have backed out this year 

Not, however, Brooklyn Bre wery they are stepping up as the Official Beer and Brewery of NYC Pride, with its Stonewall Inn IPA flowing at the city’s iconic celebrations. And in 2025, the brewery is doing something even bigger—and far more meaningful—than logos on banners and beer tents.

Instead of spending money on a splashy Pride ad campaign, Brooklyn Brewery is putting $25,000 in direct, no-strings-attached aid into the hands of 25 trans, non-binary, and two-spirit New Yorkers through a new program called Brooklyn Brewery Supports. That’s $1,000 per person for rent, food, healthcare, MetroCards—whatever they need to get by and feel supported in a moment when structural violence is making survival harder by the day.  This is Brooklyn Brewery using its platform to materially support people under attack, and doing so with clarity and urgency.

Full credit to them for not just writing cheques without seeing where th funds ended but actually partnering with Angelica Christina, a queer Latina activist, actor, and Stonewall Inn Gives Back board member, to help lead the program and select recipients.  Christiana told Queerguru  “The trans, nonbinary and two-spirit community have been under massive attack these past several months.  This current administration is intent on eradicating us while further pushing usinto poverty. What Brooklyn Brewery seeks to do is offer monetary support during these precarious times. We hope to uplift the voices of our most vulnerable and at risk when it’s needed the most. If you or someone you know is in need, please nominate yourself and/or them.”

Evidently this not a one-off gestuyre  as this initiative builds on Brooklyn Brewery’s long-standing commitment to LGBTQ+ advocacy. Since 2017, it’s partnered with The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative (SIGBI) to brew The Stonewall Inn IPA and raise funds for grassroots LGBTQ+ groups. In 2023, it became a Certified Safe Space through SIGBI, and its Found Family campaign celebrated the bonds of chosen family in queer communities. But Brooklyn Brewery Supports marks a new step forward: redirecting marketing dollars toward mutual aid and creating platforms to elevate real people, their stories, and their needs—not just for Pride Month, but throughout the year.

Applications for Brooklyn Brewery Supports opened on June 5 and will be accepted through the end of 2025. Anyone who identifies as trans, non-binary, or two-spirit, is 21+, and lives in NYC is eligible. Friends and allies can also nominate someone for the $1,000 no-strings gift. 

To apply or nominate someone, visit brooklynbrewery.com/brooklynbrewerysupports.

BUT we think it would be  a great idea if all of us just penned a THANK YOU NOTE To the Brewery too.