Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
Have your staff meetings started to feel like a waste of time? Do they drag on with each person reporting out in excruciating detail on what they’re doing?About a year ago, we realized our staff meetings at Equality Federation weren’t as productive as we wanted them to be and decided to try a different approach.
No student should feel too afraid to go to school. No student should face discrimination and harassment while trying to learn. No student should be denied the opportunity to succeed and thrive as who they are.
At this critical moment for our movement, the South is playing a growing role in the fight for full equality. And the state-based movement, working with local and national partners, is key to success.
State-based organizations across the country are making changes in the communities we call home -- where the work is hard, but the impact is great. Nearly every week, we hear about another victory that provides LGBT people with the protection, respect, and dignity they need and deserve, but far too often, these wins go unsung by the broader LGBT movement.
When Equality Federation Institute was looking for a city to host our annual Summer Meeting, we were looking for a place that embodies our commitment to working locally, to building a true grassroots movement, and to winning big, even when it’s hard.We found it all in Minneapolis, with member organization OutFront Minnesota as our host.
Our movement has secured historic victories in recent years because of the passion and commitment of activists and leaders who are creating incredible change in the communities they call home.
Every year, the Equality Federation Institute hosts its annual Summer Meeting, bringing together LGBT movement leaders from across the country to build skills and forge connections that strengthen the incredible work that’s happening in all the communities we call home.
Today the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case challenging same-sex marriage bans in four states in the Sixth Circuit, and a ruling is expected in June.
Last year, Idaho and Montana became two of the 36 states (and D.C.) that now have the freedom to marry. This was a great advancement for LGBT people in these states, but it also brought about a new reality: it is now legal to marry a same-sex partner in the same state where protections against discrimination are limited.
State-based organizations across the country are advancing major progress in the communities we call home -- where the work is hard, but the impact is great. We are only two weeks into 2015, and already another state has won the freedom to marry, and another could be on its way.
LGBT state organizations are led by some of the best leaders -- both new and long-serving executive directors who are working for change in their communities. To develop the skills of these amazing leaders and their organizations, our friends at the Victory Institute are offering a fellowship just for LGBT nonprofit executives.
For many of our movement’s state-based organizations, funding is often stretched too thin.Groups continue to make progress, but there is always more work to be done and more support than can be provided. Luckily, there is a new opportunity for some of our groups to receive this needed funding.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
With your support, we'll be able to continue our work to build the leaders of today and tomorrow, strengthen state-based LGBTQ+ organizations, and make critical progress on the issues that matter most—like protecting transgender people, ending HIV criminalization and ensuring access to care, and banning conversion therapy across the country.
.png)
