Equality Federation is a

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

advocacy Advocacy is an Action (philosophy), activity by an individual or advocacy group, group that aims to influence decision making, decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to infl ...

and

capacity building Capacity building (or capacity development, capacity strengthening) is the improvement in an individual's or organization's facility (or capability) "to produce, perform or deploy". The terms capacity building and capacity development have often ...

organization serving and supporting state-based

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

and

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

(

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

) advocacy organizations in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

History

In 1997, a group of state-based LGBT advocacy organizations came together to form the Equality Federation, which originally operated as a volunteer-run coalition. In 2005, Toni Broaddus joined the Federation as its first executive director, transitioning it to a staffed organization. In 2010, the Federation was a staff of four when Broaddus stepped down. After a nationwide search, the board of directors hired Rebecca Isaacs as the organization's second executive director in 2011. It was declared in December 2020 that Fran Hutchins would be succeeding Rebecca as the third execute director, starting January 2021.

Structure

The Equality Federation is an umbrella group of two separate non-profit organizations. The Equality Federation is a

501(c)(4) A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the Law of the United States#Federal law, federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)). Such organizations are exempt from some Taxation in the Un ...

membership organization serving organizations who advocate for LGBT equality in nearly all 50 states. The Equality Federation Institute is a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

organization with programs in

leadership development Leadership development is the process which helps expand the capacity of individuals to perform in leadership roles within organizations. Leadership roles are those that facilitate execution of an organization's strategy through building alignmen ...

, policy advocacy, and organizational development. The Equality Federation staff is distributed across the United States.

Programs

Equality Federation's programs focus on leadership development, policy advocacy, and organizational development.

Leadership development

Equality Federation staff provide coaching and mentoring to new and experienced executive directors, offer training for staff and board of advocacy organizations, and operate an internship program to connect young people with statewide organizations. The organization also hosts two annual events: the New Executive Director Boot Camp and the Summer Meeting. The New Executive Director Boot Camp is attended by new organization leaders for two days of in-depth training. The Summer Meeting provides state-based organization leaders with the opportunity to collaborate and develop working relationships.

Organizational development

Equality Federation's organizational development program focuses on strengthening member organizations to ensure they're sustainable and strategically positioned to advance public policy changes. The program's offerings include strategic planning services (organizational, advocacy, and fundraising plans), executive search support, and access to online services. The organization also works to create partnerships within and across regions. The Southern Cohort convenes annually at the Southern Leadership Summit to share best practices and form partnerships for working in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

. Similarly, the Midwest Cohort meets at the Midwest Leadership Summit to strategize for the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

Policy advocacy

The organization's policy program assists state-based organizations with their public policy advocacy efforts. The State Equality Fund (a philanthropic partnership that includes the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund,

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

, the Gill Foundation, and anonymous donors) works with the Equality Federation to build support for passage of statewide nondiscrimination laws in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. The organization has worked with a number of state-based organizations to develop plans after their state allows

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

. Equality Federation has also formed a partnership with the GSA Network to advance safe school policies in five states.

Membership

Equality Federation serves statewide LGBT advocacy organizations in the United States, including:

References

External links

Equality Federation website
{{LGBT in the United States LGBTQ political advocacy groups in the United States Organizations established in 1997 1997 establishments in California Non-profit organizations based in San Francisco