A charity that supports transgender adults has been “saved” by an emergency fundraiser that raised more than £200,000, after losing “almost all” of its corporate partners amid a DEI backpedal.

Not A Phase said the fundraising success was largely thanks to an influx of support following the UK Supreme Court’s ruling on the legal definition of a woman, including about £125,000 raised through a fundraiser started by the actor Nicola Coughlan.

The charity’s chief executive, Danielle St James, said she had been unsure the organisation would make it through the year ahead, but said: “This moment of visibility, of financial support, has genuinely saved us.”

Not A Phase, which recorded about £206,000 in income in the year to the end of June 2023, launched an emergency fundraiser on 11 April to mark its fifth birthday. 

In a statement on the launch of its fundraiser, the charity said it had lost “almost all” of its corporate partners, adding that securing new support this year had been “incredibly difficult”.

According to St James, corporate partnerships made up nearly all of the charity’s income until last year, but the organisation had begun actively applying for grants and building up a donor base.

St James told Third Sector: “What we’ve seen is part of a broader shift – in line with the rhetoric coming out of the new MAGA government in the US, many global companies are now backpedalling on their DEI efforts.

“A lot of the brands we’ve previously worked with are either headquartered in the States or have significant operations there, and they’re reacting to pressure and fear of backlash for showing visible support for trans communities.”

She said there has been a pullback in support for LGBTQ+ causes “across the board”, saying: “And the reasons given? Silence. Nobody is openly saying ‘we’re stepping away from queer causes’, but the absence of communication speaks volumes.”

Since the charity launched its emergency fundraiser, more than £210,000 has been raised, which St James said included donations made in response to the Supreme Court’s recent decision.

The judgment, made last week, ruled that the terms ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ in the 2010 Equality Act “refer to a biological woman and biological sex”, meaning even transgender people with a gender recognition certificate will not be entitled to sex-based protections.

St James said Not A Phase experienced an incredible “wave of solidarity” in response to the ruling, with people “putting their money where their values are”.

Coughlan, who starred in Derry Girls and Bridgerton, launched an Instagram fundraiser in support of the charity following the ruling, saying she was “completely horrified” and “disgusted” by the judgment.

She initially pledged to match donations up to £10,000 but the fundraiser has since reached more than £125,000 – with the target being revised to £130,000.

St James said the charity was “still in shock” after the fundraiser’s success, saying: “Nicola has been an incredible supporter of ours for a long time, and what she’s done here is a shining example of active, meaningful advocacy.”