When the federal government officially ended its funding for suicide prevention services for LGBTQ+ youth last year, The Trevor Project lost $25 million in support almost overnight. For the long-running nonprofit best known for its crisis hotline and mental health services, that cut meant shedding 200 staff members, including many crisis counselors. Months later, MAC Cosmetics stepped in with a major assist. The beauty brand, which has partnered with The Trevor Project for three years, announced a $1 million grant from its Viva Glam Fund, financed entirely by sales of its Viva Glam products. “They leaned in during what we called our emergency campaign, when we said we cannot just stop servicing this many people,” Deborah Barge, chief advancement officer at The Trevor Project, told Retail Brew. Thanks to the new grant, she said, the nonprofit can now “empower nearly 20,000 crisis contacts,” totaling nearly 44,000 minutes of crisis services. “In the US, we estimate that every 45 seconds an LGBTQ+ youth attempts suicide,” Barge added. “So those minutes are critical to us serving our mission.” Beyond financial support, MAC also launched “Makeup Services for All,” a gender-inclusive training program for MAC artists created in partnership with The Trevor Project to help them better serve gender-diverse customers. MAC is hardly the only brand redirecting dollars toward social causes. Kenneth Cole is among the brands that continues to invest in mental health advocacy through the Mental Health Coalition, in addition to longtime efforts around HIV/AIDS, women’s rights, and gun-violence prevention. Keep reading here.—JS | 
