I began this Pride month in mourning for one of my most beloved movement idols. Against a backdrop of emboldened white supremacy, continued gun violence, attacks on bodily autonomy, rising inflation, and economic inequity, Urvashi Vaid passed away last month. Urvashi was many things: lawyer, activist, LGBTQ+ advocate, philanthropic organizer, and advisor. In her more than 40 years of activism, she worked tirelessly on behalf of racial, gender, and economic justice, centering collective liberation and intersectional organizing in all her efforts.

Though I never knew her personally, I loved and admired Urvashi not only for her work, but also for her humanity and fierce truth telling. Whether she knew it or not, her fearlessness gave myself and so many other queer, trans, and gender-expansive South Asians from across our diaspora the much-needed hope we needed to persist. She modeled what it could look like to step into the light as our true selves, loving ourselves unapologetically even if others didn’t. At a time when I most needed to see self-love and self-determination modeled, Urvashi’s example demonstrated how liberatory it is to live a courageous, authentic life.

This year, Pride has felt particularly important, as communities of color, queer, trans, and gender-expansive communities, and our country faces some of the toughest attacks we’ve ever seen on trans youth, bodily autonomy, abortion access, and voting rights. As Pride has become adopted in more mainstream settings, it’s important to remember that no amount of corporate “rainbow washing” can obfuscate the legacy or importance of this month. The first Pride was a riot, led by trans and queer women of color like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. Their courage and bravery during the Stonewall riots fundamentally shifted and transformed the fight for queer and trans liberation in our country, and cemented the struggle of LGBTQ+ people as one of the most important intersectional fights of our time.

Throughout this Pride month, I’ve often thought about Urvashi’s wisdom. In reflecting on her powerful legacy and those of so many other queer and trans leaders, given everything at stake, I’ve wondered about what else we can be doing. What can we do to better support our movement leaders and organizations who put their bodies on the line every day so that we can be more free? How can we ensure our movements are not just surviving, but thriving and abundantly resourced?

From my perch co-leading Groundswell Fund and Groundswell Action Fund, it is clear that philanthropy has a critical role to play in our fight for collective liberation, particularly in how Black-, Indigenous-, and queer- and trans-led work is resourced. But despite its important role in resourcing these communities, philanthropy continues to fail in its responsibility. As the most recently available data from Funders for LGBTQ Issues show, for every $100 awarded by U.S. foundations, only 28 cents is awarded to LGBTQ+ organizations and issues. The numbers for trans communities are even more abysmal: for every $100 awarded by U.S. foundations, only 4 cents is awarded to trans communities.

For too long, philanthropy has underfunded communities of color and queer, trans, and gender-expansive communities, funding us last and least. At a time when our lives and most fundamental rights are at stake, now is not the time to be cautious or to save resources for a “rainy day” crisis. You only need to look out the window to see that it’s already pouring.

In an era when there are so many challenges, it’s easy to feel defeated, or as though we have limited agency. But even amidst all of the challenges we’re facing, we must remember that there is always hope. For the surest path to freedom for all people is to follow and fund those who know the way. At Groundswell, this has meant resourcing grassroots organizations that center intersectional organizing; build durable, long-term power; and fight for the collective liberation of all people. As a funder, we have engaged in this work by being movement accountable, and by moving flexible, general operating support dollars quickly. In all our giving, we center the leadership of women of color and trans and gender-expansive people of color, prioritizing our funding in the U.S. South, Southwest, and Midwest. Over the last two decades, we’ve moved over $100 million to the grassroots and are set to move another $100 million to the field by 2025. We’re just getting started, and we invite others to join our efforts.

During this Pride month and beyond, philanthropy must step up its game. As a sector, we cannot be complacent. Our highest purpose is to unlock resources for the most under-resourced, moving money quickly and flexibly to the field. We must always be grounded in our analysis, remembering that our struggles are inextricably linked. In this moment, that means acknowledging that the fight for bodily autonomy and abortion access is inextricably linked to the fight for queer and trans liberation, which is inextricably linked to the fight for voting rights. In the same way that our struggles are interconnected, our funding of these issues must also be coordinated and linked.

As a country, we have often looked to the state to validate our rights, or looked to elected officials to use the power of their offices to support and protect our communities. But the truth is, we cannot be validated or protected by systems rooted in white supremacy. In a healthy, functional democracy, true power lies with the people. Philanthropy must be bolder, unapologetic, and infinitely more innovative. To continue building power and agency for racial and gender justice, and queer and trans liberation, philanthropy cannot cling to funding models that center incremental change. Fund us like you want us to win.

Meenakshi Menon is the interim co-executive director of Groundswell Fund and Groundswell Action Fund, one of the largest funders of the U.S. reproductive justice movement.