Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

I am aghast to report that Pittsburgh LGBTQ Charities fundraising tools on GoFundMe, Facebook/Instagram/Meta, and PayPal have all been choked. We don’t know why. We simply received notifications after they paused our accounts.

GoFundMe and Meta use PayPal Charities to distribute donations.

I completed the paperwork they sent to me, asked for clarification, and received nothing. They then pointed out an error in the form we filled out over four years ago, during which we have received donations. I made the correction, but no one would tell me anything.

We have several thousand dollars in those platforms, funds we need now. We have two cats scheduled for dental surgery (Oksana and Callie) and two more headed for veterinary check ups – that’s over $3000 in vet bills. Plus, we planned to buy a drop trap kit for another $500. Gertie needs an oil change. Our new trans and queer media project launches soon.

We have close to 100 caretakers and households registered with the pet food pantry, new folx every day. And we have to buy food because donations are scant.

We are a very small nonprofit operating on fumes. This could be disastrous if it goes unnresolved very long. There’s also the matter of not being given an explanation.

I strongly suspect – by connecting the dots of other events – that this is a silencing tactic targeting LGBTQ+ voices. The reel below outlines my reasoning.

As of right now, we are completely reliant on Venmo @PittsburghLGBTQ and personal checks for funds. We also have our wish lists:

• bit.ly/TheRuffList
• bit.ly/TheChewyList

Every moment I spend on this quagmire is a minute I’m not fundraising or managing projects. Tomorrow, I have to trap a cat again on a very frigid day.

Between the erasure of our 16 year domestic partnership by divorce court rules and this, I feel invisible. Like my lifeforce is draining out of me, rendering me the second class citizen our President wants me to be. That’s a terrible feeling. The fact that it is not my fault – we did nothing wrong – is only a little comfort.

If you know someone at PayPal -I’ve found interns can often help navigate – please let me know. The shadowbanning is bad enough. I bet many of our allies use PayPal – I’ve been a customer since 1999.

It is all very discouraging.