For Funders, Sponsors & Partners
Own the narrative.
Fund the infrastructure.
POLISH Media is a Black trans-led independent media platform built to cultivate community — not chase traffic. Here's how funders, sponsors, and grant partners help us build it to last.
"We are not built to chase traffic. We are built to cultivate community."
The Landscape
Covered constantly. Rarely the author.
Extraction, not investment
Mainstream outlets parachute in for trauma and tragedy, then move on — with no lasting infrastructure left behind.
Nuance sacrificed for virality
Complex lives get flattened into single-issue headlines built for traffic, not for truth.
No seat at the table
Editorial decisions about Black and brown trans and queer communities are still made almost entirely without them.
Of every $100 U.S. foundations awarded to LGBTQ causes in 2023 went to trans-focused work — exactly why POLISH has to own its audience relationship. (Funders for LGBTQ Issues)
Mission & Vision
What POLISH Media exists to do
Mission
To center Black and brown trans and queer people with the authority and nuance their stories deserve — through journalism, commentary, and community-driven storytelling that refuses to compromise.
Vision
An independent media platform where Black and brown trans and queer people own the narrative, set the standard, and build the infrastructure for storytelling that doesn't depend on mainstream validation to survive.
POLISH is not built to chase traffic. It is built to cultivate community.
Our Position
The lane only we occupy
Rigorous journalism + cultural authority + intimacy + a defined worldview — reported from inside Black and brown trans and queer community.
Depth over breadth
We don't compete with general-LGBTQ outlets on volume or speed. We win on depth, authority, and a voice no one else has built at scale.
A moat, used deliberately
Strategic partners bring real distribution and credibility from day one — compressing a timeline that took solo creators years to build.
What We Do
Three ways we show up
Journalism
Reported news and features held to a hard editorial firewall — sourced, dated, and verified before it publishes.
Commentary
Opinion and columns in a voice mainstream outlets can't replicate: informed, embodied, unafraid to take a position.
Community Storytelling
Social-forward formats built for where our community already lives — Reels, newsletters, live conversation.
Editorial Coverage
Eight pillars, one whole person
Your Heart
Love, identity, intimacy
Your Spirit
Community wisdom, spirituality
Your Mind
Mental health, healing
Your Politic
Power, policy, advocacy
Your Body
Health, embodiment, beauty
Your Plate
Food, culture, queer chefs
Your Coin
Business, finances, wealth
Your Place
Home, design, sanctuary
The Ecosystem
One mission, several front doors
POLISH Magazine
Flagship editorial home — News, Culture + Lifestyle, Trans + Queer Joy, Health, Opinion, and Columns.
polishmag.com
The Transgender Laureate Initiative
POLISH Media's initiative honoring trans leadership and legacy — elevating community voices instead of chasing headlines.
@thetranslaureate
POLISH with Marie-Adélina
Executive Editor's syndicated column and brand, carrying the flagship's authority into a personal register.
POLISHwithAdelina.com
The Adélina Letters
Weekly newsletter — reported, personal, always linking back to the wider platform.
Every Wednesday, 11am ET
Leadership & Strategic Partners
Built and backed by people who've lived it
Marie-Adélina de la Ferrière
Executive Editor, POLISH Media
Angelica Ross
Technology & Production
Tiq Milan
Media Strategy
Indya Moore
Global Cultural Ambassador · writes Your Heart
Zariah Gosha
Director of Community & Partner Relations
Editorial Integrity
The firewall is absolute
Sponsors, advertisers, and consulting clients receive no favorable or protective coverage — ever.
Paid, sponsored, and co-branded content is clearly labeled and values-reviewed before it runs.
Every partnership is weighed against the same standard: does it serve Black and brown trans and queer communities, not just the platform's bottom line.
Source safety and informed consent come before any scoop, backed by a digital-security baseline and a harassment-response protocol for our team.
How We Sustain Ourselves
A revenue model built on community, not clickbait
Sponsorship & Partnership
Editorial, Content, Community, and Platform sponsor tiers — plus vertical sponsorships for flagship franchises.
Community Donations
Tax-deductible giving channeled through our fiscal sponsor, W.A.V.E. Women Inc.
Reader Revenue
Membership and subscription infrastructure we're building deliberately, not rushing to monetize — see The POLISHed 100 below.
Illustrative Year-1 mix: sponsorship and donations lead the launch phase; reader revenue grows as the long-term backbone. Guardrail: no single funder or sponsor exceeds ~15–20% of the operating budget — an editorial-independence protection, not just a finance rule.
Reader Revenue, Reimagined
The POLISHed 100 — membership as governance, not a paywall
The journalism stays free, always. What members buy is standing — a seat in the room and a vote in how it's run.
A vote for the POLISH Media Advisory Board — and the right to stand for one of eight seats.
The Salon: a monthly members' call, plus a monthly members' letter.
Name on the Founding Wall, permanently. Rate locked at $250 for life.
One dollar in every four underwrites the Bernadine Casseus Transgender Laureate Program through W.A.V.E.
No closing date, a hard cap: seats open only as members lapse, offered to the waitlist in order. Governance only — the Advisory Board never touches editorial.
Momentum
Where we are, and where we're headed
Incorporated and structured. Flagship verticals and pillars defined. Newsletter live as infrastructure. Publishing cadence being proven.
Lock a reliable publishing rhythm. Grow the newsletter as our owned asset. Build out the contributor pipeline. Pilot audio and/or video.
Pursue a platform distribution partnership. Launch The POLISHed 100 and paid membership. Scale the Transgender Laureate Program.
Ways to Partner
Multiple doors in, one editorial standard
| Annual Sponsorship Tier | Rate |
|---|---|
| Editorial Sponsor | $5,000 |
| Content Sponsor | $2,500 |
| Community Sponsor | $1,500 |
| Platform Sponsor | $1,000 |
| General Supporter | $500 |
Vertical Sponsorship
Franchise-specific placements, including POLISH Longform and Emerging Voices, each subject to a values-alignment review.
Tax-Deductible Giving
Charitable support channeled through our fiscal sponsor, W.A.V.E. Women Inc.
Grant Partnership
Programmatic support for coverage areas, the Laureate Program, or newsroom capacity.
Consulting Engagement
Communications, social, and content consulting — kept entirely separate from editorial.
We'd love to build with you.
Every partnership passes a values-alignment review before it runs — and earns no coverage in return. That's the point.
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