Our member organizations are always striving to do the best work they can to serve the diverse LGBT communities in their states. To continue to do just that, Fair Wisconsin and Equality Wisconsin have decided to combine their efforts to create a more unified, stable, and successful LGBT equality movement in Wisconsin!

We reached out to Fair Wisconsin President & CEO Katie Belanger and External Relations Director Megin McDonell with some questions to learn more about Wisconsin’s new joint organization and how it plans to better serve the LGBT community in the Badger State.

Equality Federation: Why did Fair Wisconsin and Equality Wisconsin decide to merge at this time?
Katie Belanger & Megin McDonell: In our efforts to ensure that we are effectively serving the LGBT community, over the past several months our two organizations have participated in a facilitated conversation about how best to collaborate and unify our education and advocacy programs. Through this process, led by Terry Stone of CenterLink as our neutral facilitator, our Boards have concluded that formally merging our organizations is the best path. That is why at our annual meetings at the end of June, we elected seven members of the Equality Wisconsin Boards to the Fair Wisconsin Boards of Directors, formally recognizing our merged and unified organizations.

EF: As a new unified group, how are you better equipped to educate and advocate for the LGBT community?

KB & MM: By creating one unified, aligned and stable organization, we can represent the LGBT community with one powerful voice. Unifying our educational, advocacy and electoral programs will eliminate duplication and leverage the unique histories and skills of our organizations. In addition to eliminating areas of duplication, unifying our programs eliminates potential confusion among donors and activists to maximize our combined resources to continue building a robust and engaged grassroots movement. 

EF: As a new combined organization, what are your goals?
KB & MM: Our first priority is engaging and educating the LGBT community and key stakeholders on the positive impact this merger will have on our ability to continue advancing, achieving and protecting the civil rights of LGBT Wisconsinites.  On July 10th, we held a community wide briefing at the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center. The merger team presented our key decision points, post-merger structures, and program unification process to create transparency and allow for dialogue about our movement.

Next we will focus on continuing our presence in Milwaukee through the hiring of our first regional program manager. By locating our seventh staff position in Milwaukee, we will continue Equality Wisconsin’s tradition of strong Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin programmatic focus in the years ahead.

Following the hiring of this important position, we can finalize the integration of our programs. By uniting our unique programs and eliminating duplication, we will redouble our efforts to expand our statewide nondiscrimination laws to include gender identity and expression, repeal our statewide ban on marriage equality and civil unions, and pass full marriage equality.

EF: What priorities came out of the joint briefing held on July 10th?
KB & MM: The best feedback we received after our community briefing was that it added an important level of transparency to the process and the post-merged organization. Merging our organizations is an important step forward. Members of the LGBT community, partner organizations, funders and other stakeholders appreciated the level of information we provided and willingness to be responsive that our board members demonstrated throughout the evening. It was an important step in building community around the post-merged organization that we need to continue to nurture as we move forward.

EF: What are your unified programs? What does the new structure and leadership look like?
KB & MM: Based on this work, Fair Wisconsin’s post-merger programs will have the following five focus areas:

1. Fair Communities, an initiative focused on building capacity for full marriage equality and expanded nondiscrimination laws through strategic work in local communities.
2. Statewide Task Forces, which are efforts to engage key stakeholders and allied organizations around key intersectional issues.  These task forces include T-fair, a statewide transgender nondiscrimination task force; the Rainbow Sanctuary Project, a Milwaukee area task force on youth homelessness; Voices of Faith, a group of faith leaders engaged in supporting LGBT people and issues across the state; and Businesses and Civic Leaders for Marriage Equality, a visible group of civic leaders working to build support for repealing our constitutional ban on marriage and civil unions.
3. Movement Building, focused on building a more skilled and connected network of LGBT and allied activists advancing equality in their local communities through the Wisconsin LGBT Leadership Conference. This conference is a partnership with Diverse & Resilient, the statewide LGBT public health organization.
4. Student Organizing Campaigns, which develop the next generation of equality advocates by engaging college students in issue organizing campaigns.
5. Political, Advocacy and Elections, aimed at electing pro-fairness and LGBT leaders to office and ensuring LGBT and allied people are able to participate in our democracy.

Congratulations to Fair Wisconsin and Equality Wisconsin on a successful merger! We’re thrilled to continue partnering with the new and improved Fair Wisconsin, and we look forward to celebrating your progress toward these exciting goals.