Nothing is as inspiring as a gathering of grassroots activists to remind you of the power of communities organizing for change.

In April and May, I traveled to North Carolina and Ohio with my Equality Federation colleagues, Roey Thorpe and Jace Woodrum, to join activists working in those two states. The Federation’s role was two-fold:

• To help ensure that the convenings were a success by working with the host equality organizations on the goals and agenda; and
• To provide nondiscrimination messaging training as part of our partnership with the Movement Advancement Project (MAP).

Over the past four years, Haas, Jr. Fund’s Gay & Lesbian Program—under the direction of Matt Foreman—has strategically supported a variety of organizations dedicated to advancing nondiscrimination protections and marriage equality.

These first-ever convenings were an opportunity to build and strengthen relationships between the organizations working in these states by learning about each other’s work and thinking about and planning for next steps in these collaborative efforts.

The May convening in Charlotte was hosted by Equality North Carolina and included representatives of the Haas, Jr. funded groups: Get Equal, More Light Presbyterians, Many Voices, SAGE, The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the Task Force's Institute for Welcoming Resources and the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies / The Umoja Project. Also attending were the LGBT Center of Raleigh, PFLAG and SONG.
The groups focused on asset mapping and outlined a plan for the state to help propel North Carolina towards fully inclusive nondiscrimination policies.

"This convening was an important moment of building a plan based on our shared values and shared work in North Carolina,” said ENC Executive Director, Chris Sgro. “We thank the Haas, Jr. Fund for the opportunity, and look forward to reconvening in the fall.”

A month later, I headed to Columbus for a similar gathering of Ohio grantees. The primary difference in this grantee cohort is that other than the Small Business Majority, which is engaged in helping to mobilize and educate small businesses to speak out in support of LGBT nondiscrimination, the Ohio group is comprised entirely of grantees who do some or exclusively faith-based work: Believe Out Loud, Faithful America, Integrity USA, More Light Presbyterians, Reconciling Ministries Network, The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the Task Force's Institute for Welcoming Resources, Open and Affirming Coalition of the UCC and the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies / The Umoja Project.

Equality Ohio served as our host, and the Task Force’s Evangeline Weiss provided the facilitation for the two-day gathering. As in North Carolina, a primary focus was to build relationships and align public education and organizing goals. At the close of the convening, Equality Ohio Faith Organizer Suzy Ujvagi stated,

“It was very exciting for me to meet other faith leaders from Ohio who are committed to protecting LGBT individuals and families in the workplace, housing and public accommodations. We left Columbus with a clearer sense of each other’s priorities and how we can work together effectively.”

Too often, activists are working so hard that it seems easier to put our heads down and plow ahead than to stop and reach out to others who can support and grow our work. These convenings show the true power and opportunity of simply pausing to consider collaboration and partnership.

At Equality Federation, we were founded by state-based movement leaders who understood the power of coming together as one. Roey and I were proud to have been a part of convenings that are sure to strengthen the movement in North Carolina and Ohio by bringing together and supporting the hard-working advocates who are making incredible progress in all the communities we call home.