Insurance companies reject paying for Boston sophomore's female-to-male change. 
 
 Story Highlights Donnie Collins is an Emerson College sophomore 
 
 His health plan and mom's insurance wouldn't cover gender reassignment surgery 
 
 His fraternity, Phi Alpha Tau, offered to help raise money 
 
 A Boston fraternity has raised $16,000 for a transgender member's sex-change surgery after his student health plan and mother's insurance refused to pay for the breast-removal procedure. 
 
 Donnie Collins, 20, is an Emerson College sophomore and new brother of Phi Alpha Tau, the nation's oldest "communicative arts" fraternity. The Alexandria, Va., native was born female but came out as transgender at age 17 while living in an all-girls dormitory at a Connecticut boarding school. 
 
 Since then, Collins has been planning gender-reassignment top surgery, which involves a double mastectomy and male chest "contouring." The procedure cost $8,100, but it wasn't covered by insurance, so the Emerson chapter decided to raise money to help out. 
 
 The original goal was $2,000, but since posting a Feb. 9 appeal on the crowd-funding site IndieGoGo, the fund had surpassed $16,000 by Wednesday, NBC News reported. 
 
 "It's been an amazing experience, these last few weeks," Collins, who is studying visual arts and media, said in a video posted to YouTube on Monday. "My life has been absolutely changed by pledging this fraternity." 
 
 Out magazine explained Collins' insurance problems: 
 
 Collins now has a college health insurance policy through Emerson, a policy, like so many others, that is trans-exclusionary. It is common practice for insurance companies to deem female-to-male breast augmentation — or top surgery — as a cosmetic plastic surgery rather than a necessity. So Collins has been raising money for the procedure for months, but it seemed that one door after another would close in his face. His petition for a trans-inclusive policy was recently denied by the college's insurance plan, and his personal Chipin fund will cease when the crowd-funding site shuts down next month. 
 
 The extra proceeds will be donated to the Jim Collins Foundation, which provides financial aid for gender-reassignment surgery. It's not clear whether Donnie Collins is related or connected to the Connecticut-based foundation. 
 
 Donnie Collins, who has been undergoing hormone-replacement therapy, is scheduled for surgery in May. 
 
 "It's been such a long road, and it has been life-altering to find support and brotherhood," he said in a foundation news release Wednesday. "From my time in the transgender youth group, which introduced me to some of my best friends, to my brothers at Emerson and everyone who has given to this fundraising campaign, the support I have received has made such a difference in my life." 
 
 His gender was never an issue when he pledged, fraternity brothers said. 
 
 "Donnie's status as a trans student was a non-issue," one member told WHDH-TV, an NBC affiliate. "It wasn't even an afterthought. We just thought he was an outstanding man." 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/15jHqVj ||||| Excess Funds Donated to Jim Collins Foundation 
 
 February 27, 2013 (New York, NY) – As news and social media sites have caught wind of fraternity fundraiser for Donnie Collins’ surgery, there has been an outpouring of public support, and funds raised have quickly exceeded the $8,100 goal. In response, Donnie Collins has pledged excess funds to the Jim Collins Foundation, a nonprofit organization providing financial assistance for gender-confirming surgeries. 
 
 JCF co-founder and White House Champions of Change nominee Tony Ferraiolo, who founded and led a trans youth group Donnie participated in, expressed gratitude and support for the donation. “I’m incredibly proud of Donnie for overcoming the obstacles in his life, becoming the man he is today, for inspiring people to take on a cause that is larger than him, and giving back to the community in this way.” 
 
 “It’s been such a long road, and it has been life-altering to find support and brotherhood,” said Donnie Collins. “From my time in the transgender youth group, which introduced me to some of my best friends, to my brothers at Emerson and everyone who has given to this fundraising campaign, the support I have received has made such a difference in my life.” 
 
 Founded in 2008, the Jim Collins Foundation is the only national nonprofit organization raising money to fund gender-confirming surgery. Health care discrimination against trans people is known to be linked to the high suicide rate in the trans community. Gender-confirming surgery is recognized as medically necessary and often life-saving. 
 
 “There is an increasing number of people understanding the importance of trans health care,” said Dru Levasseur, JFC co-founder and national Transgender Rights Attorney for Lambda Legal. “It’s encouraging to see a fraternity – a highly gendered institution – recognizing the injustice of the denial of coverage and standing up for what is right.” 
 
 Since its inception, the Jim Collins Foundation has received hundreds of applications and will soon be announcing its 2013 grantees. JCF operates on individual donations and grants, and is run by a board comprised of medical professionals, attorneys, and activists. For more information and to donate, visit jimcollinsfoundation.org.
– A 20-year-old transgender student at Emerson College found a surprising ally in his attempt to get gender-reassignment surgery—the Phi Alpha Tau fraternity, reports USA Today. Donnie Collins was born female, but he's identified as male for years. Since coming out as a transgender at age 17, Collins has wanted a double mastectomy and chest contouring, but never had the $4,800 needed and his university insurance does not cover gender transition. However, Collins was pledging at Phi Alpha Tau, and when his prospective brothers heard the insurance company turned down his surgery, they got the idea of enlisting social media and starting an IndieGoGo campaign. More than just money, the fraternity brothers say they want the campaign to raise awareness. "We'd much rather have a hundred people donate $10 than 10 people donate $100," said one brother. With donations pouring in, the fraternity upped its goal to $8,100, but soon blew by that amount, too. With 39 days still left, the IndieGoGo campaign has raised more than $19,000—the fraternity brothers say all excess funds will be donated to the Jim Collins Foundation, which helps transgender people pay for surgery. "It's been an amazing experience, these last few weeks," Collins said in a follow-up Youtube video. "My life has been absolutely changed by pledging this fraternity."