Preface: This article assumes that you don’t have savings to access, and that you have exhausted credit and financing options, from credit cards to mortgage refinancing, and loans from family or friends.
Whether it’s for top surgery, hysterectomy or bottom surgery, lots of trans guys don’t have the funds necessary to pay for these medically necessary and often insurance-exempt procedures. If you’re planning for surgery with less than full coffers and need some ideas about how you can raise money, this article is for you.
- Saving Money, Making Money
- Surgeon Financing
- Health Insurance – USA & Australia
- Surgery Grants – USA
- Crowdfunding for Surgery Money
- Resources
Saving Money, Making Money
Here’s what it boils down to: to raise money for surgery you will need to figure out how to reduce how much money goes out and/or bring more money in. There are tons of resources online where you can get ideas about how to save and make money, from cutting living expenses and squirreling away loose change, to organizing benefit parties and selling artwork. In lieu of repetition, here are a few extra tips to help fill up the piggy bank:
- Rely on a combination of strategies to amp up your fundraising!
- Cut surgery expenses by going with a lesser known surgeon, traveling abroad for surgery, scouring the web for seat sales, etc.
- Sell stuff you don’t need. Have FTM gear to sell? List it on LiveJournal’s FTMGarageSale.
Surgeon Financing
Many FTM surgeons partner with CareCredit, a medical financing company. CareCredit works kind of like a credit card, and carries steep interest rates in the area of 30%. However, partner surgeons can set their own interest rates with CareCredit, so if you apply for CareCredit through a partner surgeon you’ll usually pay interest rates that are slashed by as much as half. CareCredit isn’t for everyone though. You need a good credit score to be eligible and must keep your account up to date or pay hefty fees.
Beyond CareCredit and similar medical financing companies, surgeon financing and payment plans for SRS are extremely rare. At the time of this writing, I’m not aware of any surgeons who offer private financing.
Health Insurance
United States
American health insurance companies are beginning to cover gender reassignment surgery with increasing frequency, and the number of big companies and universities adopting trans-inclusive health care plans is growing. If you have insurance, be sure to review your policy carefully–you may discover that your surgery is covered! If you’re denied, you can appeal. Recently, both Aetna and Anthem of Colorado reversed decisions on transgender surgery coverage.
Insurance appeal resources:
- How to Appeal a Health Insurance Denial
- Your Guide to the Appeals Process
- AMA Resolution 122 – Removing Financial Barriers to Care for Transgender Patients
- HRC Transgender-Inclusive Benefits Resources
Australia
For information about insurance coverage in Australia, see FTM Australia:
Surgery Grants
A few organizations in the United States offer grants to a limited number of applicants.
- Jim Collins Foundation
- CK LIFE Scholarship Grant
- Point of Pride Annual Transgender Surgery Fund
- Rizi Timane Annual Transgender Scholarship
Crowdfunding For Surgery Money
Ah, crowdfunding and the new economy of giving—it’s not everyone’s cup of tea! While supporting each other is a positive thing there’s a rising sense of entitlement evidenced by the surplus of crowdfunded surgery campaigns put up with little thought beyond “give me money.” To execute an effective crowdfunding campaign you have to be willing to ask people for help and this is a skill that not everyone has. If you’re planning to raise surgery money with crowdfunding, here are some best practices to plug into.
Planning Your Campaign
- Write an honest letter to your would-be funders about why you need the funds. Ask for what you need and not more.
- Keep in mind that running and publicizing a crowdfunding campaign can be quite time consuming. Delay your campaign if you’re overworked, burned out, etc.
- Have realistic expectations: more than half of Kickstarter campaigns fail to make their goal. Assume that only 1% of your contacts will contribute.
- The currency of crowdfunding is relationships, so get your target audience right. If all your friends are broke and also saving for surgery, you’ll need to re-think your plans.
- Make a great video promoting your campaign and put it on your donation page. Be creative, entertaining and honest. Solicit an emotional response.
- If you’re offering rewards / backer levels, structure them carefully and budget the cost of fulfillment. While the average donation amount will probably be under $50, use your creativity to create attractive “upper end” rewards as well.
- Study successful campaigns and try to reverse-engineer their path to success.
Examples of successful crowdfunded surgery campaigns:
- Boston Frat Brothers (surpassed fundraising goal by almost $20,000)
- Kyle’s fundraiser
Crowdfunding Services
Before you pick a crowdfunding service, consider: do you really need one? These services take a commission on the funds raised (see table below.) Many people have had good success using a self-hosted donation page (hosted on their websites or on WordPress.com/Blogspot/etc.) with a form integrated with PayPal or WePay, where fees hover around 3%.
| Service | Fees |
| DonationTo | 4% + PayPal or Wepay fees (typically 2.9% plus $.30 per transaction). 0% Paid accounts also available. |
| Fundly | 4.9% + 3% credit card processing fee |
| FundRazr | 5% + PayPal fees (typically 2.9% plus $.30 per transaction) |
| GiveForward* | 5% and 2.9% plus $.30 per transaction) |
| GoFundMe | 5% + 3% |
| GoGetFunding | 4% + 2.9% credit card processing fee |
| Indiegogo | 5% |
| RocketHub | 8% – 12% |
| You Caring | $0 + PayPal or Wepay fees (typically 2.9% plus $.30 per transaction) |
*GiveForward is specific to medical fundraising.
CAUTION
If you receive social assistance, food stamps, Medicaid, school grants etc., money you raise for surgery can negatively affect your benefits. Crowdfunding can also affect your tax return. Consult a tax advisor for further information.Publicizing Your Campaign
- Don’t spam Facebook, Twitter and other social networks. Be selective about where you post, and customize your message to the audience you’re trying to reach. You wouldn’t just walk into a party and approach every person with a request for money, so why do the equivalent online?
- Social networks are NOISY and it can be hard to get a message heard. In addition to sharing the link to your fundraiser on social networks, you’ll need to do some one-to-one communications. Even then, reaction from your contacts could be slow and you’ll probably need to hit them up a few times.
- Add a link to your fundraising page in the FTM Surgery Forums and it will be shared on Twitter.
- Update your campaign regularly, and don’t forget to THANK your funders! Be grateful!
Paying It Forward: Some guys who crowdfunded their surgery money went on to crowdfund for others. How cool is that? See Point5cc and Save Charlie Bracelets.
More Surgery Fundraising Resources:
- Tips for Trans Men: Some Variables to Help Budget for Surgery
- Mailing list: Finances_SurgeryFTM – This group is specifically for Trans* Men seeking discussions on how to pay for surgery.
- 7 Ideas for Raising Money to Cover Medical Expenses
- David Branin’s Crowdfunding Cheat Sheet
- The Ultimate Guide to Crowdfunding
- Crowdfunding Bible
Good luck with your fundraising!
Have a surgery fundraising tip? Add it in the comments below!
Last updated: 07/13/17
You should have included Canada.
3 provinces – Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta cover the cost of SRS.
In Ontario, the government last year paid for 52 MTF surgeries and 38 FTM surgeries.
These are 100% paid for.
I know, my surgery is next year.
Some of this is useful advice. I don’t think it is ever a good idea to go to an out of country surgeon just because it is cheaper. Often it is less expensive because they have little to no oversight and it is easy to get an infection or a botched job that can cause so many more expenses, not to mention a lot of suffering.
My boyfriend is trans f-m and he has been saving for several years for his top surgery. Just this last year our company adopted trans-friendly health insurance policies. This is really fantastic because the thousands he has saved up will be a windfall for additional expenses. The world is slowing changing to give more access for necessary trans surgeries.
Thanks Nina, I’m Canadian myself and I deliberately left out info about SRS funding in Canada because including trans health care coverage from around the world was outside the scope of this piece. Unfortunately, the picture for trans men in BC is not as rosy as your info makes it sound. We currently have a *10 year* wait for bottom surgery coverage here.
Thanks Cass, I mostly agree, but I think you may be overstating things, after all, infections and botched jobs happen in North America too. There are several high quality clinics around the world offering trans surgeries and if money is an obstacle, these options definitely deserve a look.
how to save up for top surgery im 28 been on testosterone for 7 months now
How Am I ever going to save for this surgery?
Love your site can I learn more
Um hi I’m only 16 but I’m like 100% sure I can’t save up for FTM surgery by my self so what do I do?
Hey Lyric, I understand how saving for top surgery can look like a huge mountain to climb, but there are ways to get there. Saving money boils down to getting a source of income and limiting what you spend. This of course sounds easier than it is, but tons of guys who didn’t think they had a shot at top surgery worked hard and hit their target.
If you are in the US, do you have any health insurance, through parents maybe? Insurance in the US is covering these surgeries with more and more frequency.
Hey I’m 23 transman. I’ve been wanting the top surgery ever since I was younger. Any advice for around virginia? I had a friend tell me to go to Florida Dr. Charles garramone.
Hey Renee, here’s a list of surgeons who offer top surgery in Virginia. Hope this helps!
I’m 18, in MS, and still have barebones military health coverage from my parents but nothing that covers transitional surgeries–but I’m leaving for school next year. I can’t get a real job right now for a couple reasons, but I was considering starting an online store to start raising extra money for top surgery so I maybe I won’t have to wait until after uni. Do you have any knowledge/experience/advice with using host sites like Etsy for commission funding?
When applying for schools, look for those that have health plans with trans health care included! More and more colleges and universities in the U.S. are offering this coverage.
Running an online store IS a real job! LOL. Seriously, it can take a lot of work to develop a successful store. You’ll need a great product, a well-executed website, and a solid marketing plan. Treat it like a real job and it can pay just like a real job! I hope you can self-fund this way, Mat!!
At least there are options for people in america. There is no financial help in Australia and the government seem to be actively ignoring trans people. I’m broke and too proud to ask for help. Looks like I’m going to be surgery-less for a long time yet.
I’m a 49 yr old living in Alabama. I’ve begun my transition only recently, and the key is save, know the right answers to the questions you’ll be asked, and gather support.
Hello. I would like to offer my help to everyone.
I know about different problems, and I can tell you about the great opportunity to raise the required amount for medical treatment faster.
If I can be helpful to you – write me, please irina.shimko@quarter-back.org. I will do everything possible to save someone’s life.
Do you possibly have a list of ftm surgeons in Iowa? I am having a very hard time finding any myself. Since you have done a lot of research and might have access to resources that I don’t, maybe you have a list for Iowa?
I’m only aware of two surgeons offering Top Surgery in Iowa:
1. Dr. Konstantinos Lekkas at The Iowa Clinic in Des Moines (I’ve heard good things.)
http://www.iowaclinic.com/doctor/konstantinos-lekkas/
2. Dr. David Coster, Grinnell Surgeons, does Top Surgery and Hysterectomies. (Nice man, LGBT-friendly staff.)
http://www.grinnellsurgeons.com/en/general_surgery/
Do you know of any surgeons in Utah, I know of one so far and the cost is about 6 grand out of pocket, any others? I’ve been saving and saving for about 4 years and am almost there I hope to get it done by next fall!
Hey Judah! Top surgery? The only surgeon in UT that I’m aware of is Dr. Agarwal, and I assume that’s the one you know too. Good work saving up for surgery! Keep it up and next fall will be here before you know it!
Thank you Joshua for answering my question, that is more then I knew before at least. 🙂
Well this is helpful I’m actually thinking about doing a fundraiser for my bff Damion to get male parts
Hi
Am 18yrs. I would like to inquire on the following issues….
Do you have any idea of any East African Transgender surgeons??
.Is it also a must for me to go for counselling so that i can have my top surgery ????
or
i can have the top surgery then begin the counselling??
And also do you have any information on international insurance companies that can cover for the transition process of the transgender community in Africa????
Thanks
I hope to get your feedback on this.
Concerned Transguy
Thank you for your comment, Liam.
The only surgeons I’m aware of in Africa are down in South Africa, most notably Dr. Kevin Adams. http://www.drkevinadams.com/transman
I don’t know what kind of requirements the surgeons in ZA have, but presumably you would require an assessment by a mental health professional before having surgery.
You might try inquiring here about a surgery grant: http://mytransitionfunding.org/
Hi,
I am a FTM from South Africa.
I have not undergone any surgery nor have I begun taking testosterone.
I would like to begin my process of transitioning, hopefully within next year, however I currently suffer from Endometriosis, and I am taking the progesterone pill Visanne to help with its effects. The Visanne has nasty side effects, and because of this I am also on Sertraline.
I am not sure what my options are with regards to taking testosterone and currently having endometriosis. Is it possible for you to assist me with further information
Hello Andy! I don’t know much about endometriosis, but my understanding is that stopping menses helps, and testosterone does this! There’s some discussion about this here: https://www.reddit.com/r/ftm/comments/2v8d0y/experiences_with_endometriosis_and_t/
Hey,
I live in North Texas and have been researching top surgery lately and I found a doctor in Plano called Dr. Peter Raphael, I was wondering if you have any knowledge about his prices and results? I would really like to find out more about his surgery but I can’t find much information, so please help me!
Hey Val! Dr. Raphael has been doing Top Surgery for almost 20 years now. You’ll be in good hands. Check out TransBucket.com to find photos of results. Good luck!
Joshua R it seems you are well versed in the FTM issues and how to solve those issues.
I’m 46 yrs old and have decided to began the transition process. I’m have begun to save for my top surgery. I will begin hormone therapy in the next few weeks.
Do you have any advice for me and how long I should wait before getting top surgery after testosterone therapy is started?
Does the testosterone help reduce breast size? I’m one of the unfortunate transmen with very large breast.
Thank you for any advice or assistance you may be able to provide.
Thanks for your comments, Taz! That’s great news, congrats! There’s not much reason to wait to have Top Surgery after starting Testosterone. Testosterone won’t reduce chest size in a noticeable way. FTMguide has a bit more information here. It can help you develop chest muscles if you do pushups, and that can give the surgeon more contour to work with, but this isn’t required and an experienced Top Surgery Surgeon wouldn’t need this to produce good results. I had Top Surgery the same month that I started T. It was quite a month!
Hey, I’m currently living in Florida. I’m 26. Soon to be 27. As I get older it’s becoming more of a big deal for me.i have some money saved my insurance doesn’t cover. But all the help I could get . I’d appreciate. Maybe even finding insurance that covers FTM.
Since this post seems to be the most commonly shared guide to fundraising, I want to add the following comment: Spamming trans people’s Twitter DMs asking for money is super obnoxious.
Ugh, people do that?