You’ve come to this corner of our webpage because you believe in our work and in us. Thank you for being here. We are an autistic‑led 501(c)(3) that operates with the values of grassroots mutual aid, building systems of care, community, and access in Chattanooga — from food‑security support shaped by autistic needs, to community events that center autistic culture, to partnerships that make our city safer and more welcoming for neurodivergent people. Your support helps us keep that work rooted in lived experience and accountable to the people we serve.
Ways to Give
We offer several ways to support our autistic‑led work in Chattanooga. Whether you prefer direct giving, monthly support, or contributing through our Community Store, every gift helps us build systems of care designed by autistic people, for autistic people.
We accept Venmo, but Zeffy allows us to receive 100% of your donation, with no platform fees taken out.
1. Autistic Pride Chattanooga’s Community Store (Zeffy)
Our Community Store supports the full scope of our work: Autistic Pride Day, the Autistics for Safe Food Program, and our neuroDIVERSEcity initiative.
Autistic Pride Chattanooga is an autistic‑led grassroots organization committed to building communities where neurodivergent people can exist safely, joyfully, and unmasked. Your contributions help us build systems of care designed by autistic people, for autistic people. The items we offer promote autistic culture and self‑accommodation, helping dispel the stigma and shame that unrightfully clouds the neurodiverse experience in our society. Every item in this shop directly supports one of our core projects:
Autistic Pride Day A cultural event celebrating autistic identity, autistic joy, and autistic ways of being. Support helps us create an accessible gathering with sensory‑considerate design, accessible seating and quiet areas, communication supports, and autistic‑led art and culture activities.
Autistics for Safe Food Our ARFID and food‑insecurity program provides safe‑food support for autistic individuals and families across Chattanooga. Contributions help us expand outreach, resource navigation, and direct support for those whose food needs are often overlooked by traditional systems.
neuroDIVERSEcity Our initiative to endorse Chattanooga businesses and workplaces that welcome autistic and neurodivergent people as themselves. Support helps us develop standards, training materials, communication tools, and community partnerships that promote dignity, accessibility, and unmasked belonging.
Every contribution strengthens a movement led by autistic people and guided by lived experience.
2. Autistics for Safe Food Campaign (Zeffy — Monthly or One‑Time)
Autistics for Safe Food is the first campaign of Autistic Pride Chattanooga. It served as our start‑up cost fund and continues to seed our work in addressing food needs that often cannot be met through traditional food banks or community pantries, including:
- ARFID
- Cultural or religious food needs
- Food sensitivities and allergies
- Medical and developmental dietary needs
- Infant and toddler nutrition
This campaign helps us build the systems, resources, education, and advocacy that center autistic leadership in food justice
Fund Stewardship Policy
We always maintain a $100 reserve dedicated to fulfilling direct Safe Food requests.
Any donation not used within 45 days is redirected to partnered food‑insecurity relief work with the Chatt Pride Food Coalition.
Connection to Community Crisis
Chattanooga is facing a growing food insecurity crisis. Autistics for Safe Food ensures autistic people and other marginalized groups are not overlooked in broader relief efforts.
Mission Alignment
This campaign embodies our mission to Amplify, Center, and Empower Autistic Voices — especially in areas where autistic needs are routinely ignored. It demonstrates that autistic people are the leaders, the authority, and the problem‑solvers in our community, particularly when it comes to issues that directly affect us.
3. Autistic Pride Day Fundraiser (Zeffy)
This fundraiser supports the creation of Chattanooga’s first autistic‑led Autistic Pride Day celebration. Contributions help us build an accessible, sensory‑considerate, community‑centered event shaped by autistic culture and autistic leadership.
Why Autistic Pride Day Matters Autistic Pride Day is not an awareness event. It is a cultural event — created by autistic people, for autistic people — that asserts our right to exist in public life without masking, without apology, and without being framed as a problem to solve. It is a day where autistic identity is understood as culture, community, and shared experience, not as deficit or disorder.
Autistic Pride Day matters because autistic people rarely get to gather in spaces designed with us in mind. Most public events require masking, navigating inaccessible environments, or enduring being talked about rather than being centered. Autistic Pride Day reverses that dynamic. It creates a space where autistic ways of being set the tone, shape the environment, and define what “welcome” actually means.
It matters because autistic leadership is often dismissed or overlooked in conversations about autism. This event makes it visible — showing that autistic people lead, organize, create, and build community. It demonstrates that autistic culture is real, vibrant, and worth celebrating.
It matters because Chattanooga has never had an autistic‑led celebration of autistic identity. Creating one signals to autistic people across the region — children, adults, families, late‑identified folks, multiply marginalized autistics — that they are not alone, and that there is a community here that honors them as they are.
It matters because public visibility changes what is possible. When autistic people gather openly, joyfully, and unmasked, it challenges stigma, expands understanding, and shifts the narrative from “awareness” to belonging, dignity, and pride.
Your support helps us build a celebration that reflects all of this: sensory‑considerate design, accessible seating and quiet areas, communication supports, autistic‑led art and culture activities, and a space where autistic people can show up fully as ourselves.
4. Venmo
We accept Venmo for those who prefer it. However, Zeffy allows us to receive 100% of your donation, with no platform fees — making it the most supportive option for our work.
5. Cash
We would love to see you at our next event!
Visit us at our upcoming events. We try to bring items from our Community Store, along with occasional exclusive “merch,” to every event we host. These items support our mission of visibility, education, advocacy, and self‑accommodation while also sustaining our work. We also offer exclusive “merch” to our NAP members, so join us if you feel led to do so. We will always offer you a receipt for your donation, in keeping with our 501(c)(3) requirements.
6. Amazon Wishlist - Outreach & Production Materials
Our Amazon Wishlist includes the practical supplies we use every week to keep our autistic‑led work running. These are the behind‑the‑scenes materials that make our outreach possible — from printing educational pamphlets, to assembling sensory tools, to producing fidgets for community events.
These items help us:
Create educational materials Paper, cardstock, ink, laminating sheets, and other supplies used to produce accessible pamphlets, handouts, and communication tools for events and outreach.
Produce fidgets and sensory supports Filament and components used to print and assemble the fidgets we distribute through our fundraising campaigns, community tabling, and other outreach efforts.
Sustain event and outreach logistics Basic office and organizational supplies that keep our work efficient, accessible, and ready for community engagement.
Purchasing from our wishlist is a direct way to support the infrastructure of our work. These items free up our budget for direct support, programming, and community‑led initiatives — while ensuring we always have the materials we need to show up prepared, organized, and accessible.
