Equality Federation

Equality Federation is the best kept secret in the movement as it builds strong state advocacy groups to achieve lgbt equality.

EQUALITY FEDERATION: BUILDING A STRONG STATE-BASED MOVEMENT

We write as Co-Chairs of Equality Federation and Equality Federation Institute to let you in on the best kept secret in the movement for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality.

Equality Federation is the national alliance of state-based lgbt advocacy organizations. The Federation was founded by state lgbt leaders in 1997 who wanted to help each other build strong and effective advocacy efforts in every state. Today, we have 56 member groups in 41 states, and we are experiencing unprecedented growth. In 2005, we hired our first executive director, Toni Broaddus, and we currently have 6 staff.

The Federation works because we design programs and hire staff based on the needs expressed by our member organizations. We are a "trickle-up" organization, taking our direction and creating our agenda from leaders in the states. We use our collective economic power to provide resources on the state level that would otherwise be out of reach of many of our member groups. We work with funders and national allies to increase their effectiveness when working with state groups. And we share everything from talking points to development plans to strategic expertise across state lines.

As leaders in our own states - Lynne is Executive Director of Equality Ohio and Howard is the former board president of Equality Alabama and the first openly gay man elected to office in that state - we cannot overstate the importance of Equality Federation to our own work. Both our organizations have access to online technology through the Federation that helps us connect voters to legislators, recruit volunteers, increase our online fundraising, and educate our communities. Without this Federation program, we would not be able to organize our communities or grow our work as quickly as we are doing. Both of our organizations have also participated in Equality Federation Institute's Advocacy Service Project - a program that has helped us create 3-year plans to make our schools safer for lgbt youth in Alabama and to pass a statewide nondiscrimination law in Ohio. And of course, we are connected to other state groups every day through the Federation's online community, where we have access to instant advice and support from our colleagues in other states.

As Co-Chairs, we know that all states benefit from a strong Federation. Many of our state executive directors have stepped into their roles for the first time, and Federation staff - who have a wealth of experience in state-based work - provide coaching, advice, and connections to sorely needed resources. The Federation also connects state leaders to each other, ensuring that none of us need reinvent the wheel in our own states, but can learn from the successes (and failures) in other states. At our annual Summer Meeting and through additional summits, state leaders develop new skills - from becoming better fiscal stewards for their organizations to implementing successful field programs to understanding how to manage an organization that is actually comprised of multiple legal entities (think 501c3, 501c4, political action committees, and ballot measure campaigns).

FOCUS ON THE STATES

The overwhelming majority of protections for lgbt people in the United States exists not at the federal level, but through laws passed by state legislatures. Federation member organizations are at the forefront of this work - organizing voters and grassroots support, hosting lgbt lobby days, writing legislation, supporting fair-minded legislators, and educating the public about the discrimination faced by lgbt people and their families.

Thanks to laws in 20 states and the District of Columbia, over half of lesbian, gay, and bisexual Americans and one-third of transgender Americans are protected from employment discrimination. Relationship recognition is also available to lgbt couples only at the state level, with marriage equality in one state and another six states providing most of the legal rights and responsibilities of marriage through civil union or domestic partnership laws; three additional states and the District of Columbia provide limited rights and responsibilities to same-sex couples. Thirty-two states have hate crimes law that include sexual orientation and/or gender identity and expression.

Despite the critical importance of state-based work to achieve equality, the majority of resources in the lgbt movement are concentrated at the national level - not in the organizations doing the lion's share of work at the state level. And while the Federation supports federal efforts to achieve equality, our mission is to ensure that we have strong and well-resourced organizations in every state and territory. We believe that equality begins at home. History also teaches us that we cannot make progress at the national level until we have made significant progress in the states.

THE EQUALITY AGENDA

In 2007, the membership of Equality Federation adopted a five-year strategic plan for our collective work. Building a national Equality Agenda is a cornerstone of this plan. Through the Federation, we are working together to draft action plans for achieving key policy victories in every state over the next 3-5 years. These plans vary from state to state, but all focus on the kinds of victories we want to see in every state: civil rights laws, safe schools laws, hate crimes laws, and more. Taken together, these action plans will comprise the Equality Agenda: a state by state roadmap to achieving equality that can be used by our movement to increase our victories.

In addition to state-based work, the Equality Agenda includes increased work on the federal level to pass an inclusive employment nondiscrimination act. Our work in the states has taught us that we must include gender identity and expression in our legislative efforts - because if we do not stand strong on inclusion, the transgender members of our lgbt community will often face decades of legal discrimination without recourse. That is why, in the states, we have increasingly been able to pass laws that cover our entire community - and why we are standing together to bring this message to the federal level.

EQUALITY FEDERATION'S STELLAR STAFF

We are lucky at the Federation to have experienced and savvy senior staff to provide direct support to our member groups in the states. Toni Broaddus, our first executive director, has a law degree from Stanford, worked as program director for Equality California and deputy to the campaign manager for the 2000 ballot measure campaign there, as well as experience founding organizations like Californians for Civil Marriage and the first equality group in Oklahoma in the mid-1980's. Roey Thorpe, our State Services Director, is the former executive director of Basic Rights Oregon, a former elected official in New York state, and formerly field staff at Empire State Pride Agenda. Timothy Cavanaugh, Director of Development Services, has raised money for Equality California, the 2000 campaign against the anti-gay ballot measure in California, GLAAD, and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Our newest senior staff member, Michael Mitchell, will work with the states as Advocacy & Planning Specialist; he is the former executive director for Equality Utah and comes to us from his position as Marriage Campaign Manager at the ACLU Lesbian & Gay Rights Project.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FEDERATION & OUR WORK IN THE STATES

We invite you to learn more about Equality Federation by visiting our website at www.equalityfederation.org. We also invite you to download the Equality Federation Institute's 2007 State of the States Report (pdf), which will give you an overview of the capacity and priorities of our advocacy organizations in the states.

We know firsthand the importance of a strong Federation of statewide lgbt groups - it has made a difference to our organizations and to groups like ours in nearly every state. Equality Federation is the only national organization focused every day on growing strong leaders and strong organizations in every corner of this country. Equality Federation believes in our states - and we believe in Equality Federation.

Sincerely,

Lynne Bowman, Chair, Equality Federation
Howard Bayless, Chair, Equality Federation Institute