The cover of The Dru Project’s second edition GSA guide, available to download now for free from the organization’s website.
The Dru Project launched in June 2017 as a legacy foundation for Christopher Andrew “Drew” Leinonen, one of the 49 victims lost at the Pulse nightclub shooting on June 12, 2016. To date, The Dru Project has donated $250,000 in scholarships to LGBTQ+ youth and Gender and Sexuality Alliance grants in honor of Leinonen, who launched his school’s GSA in 2002.
The Dru Project released its updated, second edition GSA guide on April 11, which covers everything from LGBTQ+ history and a breakdown of knowing your rights to club engagement tools.
“It is the most comprehensive guide of its kind to date, the first edition has been downloaded in 48 States and 14 different countries. We’re very hopeful that this one is going to take off and be just as helpful as a guide for these clubs to be able to take their groups to the next level,” says Sara Grossman, The Dru Project’s board president.
Originally launched in 2017, the updated guide represents a significant evolution in resources for GSAs nationwide, The Dru Project said in a statement. This new edition builds upon the foundation of the first, incorporating diverse perspectives and experiences from a team of six editors. These contributors, hailing from various backgrounds, sexualities, genders, races, religions and nationalities have collaborated to create a guide that is more inclusive and intersectional than ever before.
Key features of The Dru Project’s second edition GSA guide include intersectional perspectives, insights and advice from a diverse team of writers, ensuring representation across multiple identities; updated resources, new content addressing contemporary challenges faced by GSAs and actionable strategies for advocacy and support; and practical guidance, tools for establishing and maintaining inclusive environments that promote acceptance and understanding.
The second edition GSA guide is available to download for free from The Dru Project’s website.
The organization is also currently working on selecting its new scholarship recipients. This year, they are offering four college scholarships and one student loan grant each worth $5,000 to applicants attending college, trade school and grad school. They are giving priority to LGBTQ+ youth in anti-equality states where their safety, education and health are threatened by legislation.
“Besides financial, one of the major barriers to receiving an education is how safe you feel,” The Dru Project Board President Sarah Grossman says.
According to the ACLU, as of April 4, they reported tracking 536 anti-LGBTQ+ bills across the U.S. for the 2025 Legislative session.
“If you’re unable to concentrate because you have a lot of things going on, like the government questioning the viability of your sexuality and gender, it might be difficult to learn in that kind of environment. So this year we decided to prioritize students who need to transfer to states that have safer LGBTQ laws on the books,” Grossman says.
According to Grossman, while they are providing special consideration this year for transfer situations, they do not plan to exclude the general population of queer students who also need scholarships.
“We really are not trying to be prohibitive when it comes to the money we’re giving out. We simply want to be able to help as many queer students achieve their education and dreams as possible,” Grossman says.
In 2024, the Dru Project saw their highest amount of scholarship applications to date. Grossman contributes this to the board’s efforts, media exposure and an increase in demand.
“I think also, obviously the need is much greater as the price of school continues to climb, and oftentimes students who are from intersections of minority are often the ones who need the money the most. I wish we could give everybody who applied the scholarship,” Grossman adds.
According to the Education Data Initiative, the average cost of college has more than doubled in the 21st century; the compound annual growth rate of tuition is 4.04%.
Last year, The Dru Project had 89 applicants and are expecting the same amount or more this year.
“It has become a very competitive scholarship. The amount of money we’re able to give out each year depends on the amount of money that we raised in the previous year,” Grossman says.
In the last two years, The Dru Project has had to adapt its fundraising efforts due to the onslaught of anti-LGBTQ+ laws and rhetoric, including a nationwide drag ban in 2023 and the Florida House’s “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” law.
Grossman remembers their fundraising event at The Hammered Lamb right after the drag ban went into place.
“They had to ask a table of donors to leave because they brought a child with them,” Grossman recalls.
Though they cut their scholarship from five scholarships and one grant to four scholarships and one grant for this year, they were able to rally through and raise enough to offer $5,000 to multiple queer students.
“Through amazing partnerships like the Ally Coalition, which is Jack Antonoff’s non-profit organization, we have been able to raise extra funds through tabling at concerts. Getting to be there around like-minded people and getting the word out about our organization helped raise extra funds as well,” Grossman says.
In their partnership with the Ally Coalition, they’ve been able to table at tours for Lizzy McAlpine, Julian Baker, MUNA and Lauren Mayberry. They also plan on being at Trixie Matel’s upcoming tour.
“Drew was the biggest music fan of any of my friends, he’s the one who I would talk to about music all the time. The fact that we’re getting to do cool things in the music industry is incredible,” Grossman says.
They’ve also worked with Concord Music group for their scholarship program and every year Capitol Records donates proceeds from their Pride merchandise.
“The music industry has been very kind to us,” Grossman says.
This year, The Dru Project has faced barriers after canceling its annual Los Angeles event due to the California fires.
“The priority for raising funds early this year was for the fire, and we did not want to intrude on that,” Grossman explains.
Despite the roadblocks, The Dru Project has planned multiple events throughout the year to boost their fundraising efforts.
“This year in Orlando we’re going to have our annual fundraiser and memorial at The Ren, it’s going to be a big drag show that’s going to feature Drew’s favorite songs, so it’ll be a big nod to him while raising fund for queer youth,” Grossman says.
The Dru Project’s GSA guide is available to view and download on their website. Their scholarship application is open from now through June 20.
“I can’t believe that it’s been nine years since losing Drew and losing such an important and safe space for our community, but I am proud to be holding the torch on the memory of those we lost that night,” Grossman says.
The Dru Project’s updated GSA guide is available as of today. Go to TheDruProject.org for more information on the guide, scholarships and all the organization’s resources and events.
