Strategic philanthropy for LGBT donors is based on a sound equality strategy for strategic giving. Check what is needed...
START BY FOCUSING YOUR OBJECTIVE...
eQualityGiving is focused on obtaining legal equality for LGBTQ
Americans. There are many other very important causes for the LGBTQ
community that donors should fund, but the information that we provide
here is focused on achieving legal equality.
A STRATEGIC ANALYSIS BEGINS WITH WHERE WE ARE NOW...
The promise of the American Declaration of Independence that "All Men Are Created Equal" and
the right to the "Pursuit of Happiness"
are still unreachable dreams for certain Americans. In many parts of the
United States, your friends, family members, coworkers and neighbors who are
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer/questioning (LGBTQ) do
not have basic human rights as they can be legally discriminated for
just who they are:
- They can be fired from or denied a job
- They can be denied housing and loans
- They can be harassed in schools and workplaces without recourse
- They can be denied visiting their loved one in hospitals and nursing homes
- They can be denied public accommodation
- They cannot serve openly in the US military
- They cannot adopt children
- They cannot immigrate a foreign spouse
- They cannot marry the person they love
A STRATEGIC ANALYSIS NEEDS TO BE BASED ON THE FINAL OBJECTIVE... EQUALITY GOALS
The final objective for most people is a world without prejudice, in
which people are judged by their accomplishments and instead of their sexuality or gender. Real equality is very difficult to achieve due to human
nature. A more realistic intermediate step for the LGBTQ community is to
reach legal equality.
Note that different strategies are possible for advancing to another state. Also, different organizations may want to reach different
states.
eQualityGiving focuses on reaching legal equality in the USA. We define this as achieving the Equality Goals.
The Equality Goals that need to be achieved for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer population are:
- HATE CRIMES PROTECTION at the federal level
- NON DISCRIMINATION at the federal level in employment, housing, credit and public accommodation
- LIFT THE BAN IN THE MILITARY (Don't Ask Don't Tell)
- MARRIAGE EQUALITY including all the federal protections and obligations
- FREEDOM OF GENDER
- PROTECTIONS FOR YOUTH
- SAME SEX PARENTING RIGHTS
Equality Goals are used by eQualityGiving as the basic way to structure
and analyze how organizations contribute to achieving equality. We
review which organizations contribute significantly
to achieve a given Equality Goal. What is important is not how many
goals an organization contributes to, but how significant the
contribution is for a given goal. No one organizations
contributes significantly to all seven Equality Goals, not even the largest organizations. Several well-managed organizations are laser-focused on a single Equality Goal and can be very good investments.
Equality Goals are also used by eQualityGiving to classify politicians. See our criteria for endorsements.
STRATEGY TO REACH LEGAL EQUALITY
eQualityGiving's strategy is based on four prongs, working in coordination, to achieve each of the Equality Goals:
1. CHANGE THE LAW THROUGH THE POLITICAL SYSTEM
The purpose of
supporting pro-equality candidates is to ensure that they propose legal
equality legislation. So after the election, donors need to continue
working with the newly elected (or re-elected) officials to ensure that
legislation is passed.
2. CHANGE THE LAW THROUGH THE LEGAL SYSTEM
An independent
judiciary is critical to obtain the legal equality that the majority of
voters may not be willing to grant or advance as a priority since it does not concern them.
3. WIN HEARTS AND MINDS
This affects the public, which influences politicians, and helps evolve the societal norms that are considered by judges.
4. BUILD LGBT COALITIONS
Not only with other GLBT groups, but also with GLBT ally groups who share goals of privacy and basic respect for all Americans.
Check also: Giving Tips | Giving Center | Tax Wise Giving | Philanthropy Books
Exclusively for Registered Members: Strategies for Each Equality Goal | Giving to Reach Equality Goals
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