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in Equality Funds to State Groups |
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Compiled by GayToday
Washington, D.C.--The Human Rights Campaign announced Wednesday it has awarded
twenty-three Equality Fund grants totaling $104,000 to lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender state lobby groups across the nation. The grants
should help these organizations further advance LGBT equality at the state
level, says HRC.
"The Equality Fund grants have become an essential component in the struggle for equality and shows HRC's dedication to achieving success at the state level," says HRC National Field Director Seth Kilbourn. "Unlike most of the grants that tend to be available to organizations, the Equality Fund grants can be used directly for lobbying purposes. This means that GLBT groups can spend more time working to directly impact the decisions of lawmakers." "I truly believe that the work being done on the grassroots level, state by state, is absolutely essential to the success of our movement not just locally, but nationally," says Beth Robinson, chair of Vermonters for Civil Unions, which is the lead lobby group working to protect civil unions from those who seek to overturn them. "HRC's allocation of significant resources to state organizations to do that work is vitally important." Thirteen of the 23 grants totaling $62,000 will be used for lobbying efforts to advance state legislation. Two $5,000 grants will help pay for voter file projects that will help to pass further nondiscrimination legislation and three $10,000 grants will be used towards ballot measure campaigns. South Carolina's Alliance for Full Acceptance has been awarded $3,000 to arrange for a strategy meeting with LGBT organizations. Two states have received $5,000 grants that will help in their process of each hiring a field organizer to help mobilize the grassroots on legislation efforts. Polling has also become a key issue in helping to achieve equality, and two states will be receiving $4,000 and $5,000 grants respectively to help with these strategies. The $4,000 grant HRC awarded to Unity Utah, a new state political action committee, will help them launch the group's inaugural advocacy efforts. "In this, our first year, this grant is incredibly important as we lobby the Salt Lake City Council to permanently codify sexual orientation as part of the city's anti-discrimination policy. The grant allows us to mount a viable campaign for the change in policy," said Unity Utah's executive director Michael Mitchell. In several states with organizations receiving a grant for a second year, the grant money will assist in funding the continuation of the project that began last year. Equality North Carolina, for example, is continuing its efforts to repeal the state's "crimes against nature" law by conducting a poll that will determine effective messaging for the legislative campaign. OutFront Minnesota is also carrying on their work from last year by continuing to advocate for domestic partner benefits in the state employee's contract. The California Alliance for Pride and Equality has received a $5,000 grant in order to continue their work of compiling a database of one million pro-gay voters, which will help with grassroots lobbying efforts. Seven new state organizations receiving Equality Funds are the Arkansas Equality Network, the Delaware ACLU Lesbian and Gay Rights Project, Idaho's Your Family, Friends and Neighbors, Inc., Nebraska's Citizens for Equal Protection, Oklahoma's Cimarron Alliance Foundation, South Carolina's Alliance for Full Acceptance, and Unity Utah.
"The experience and perspective that Kylar brings, from having worked with state and local policymakers in a heartland state, will add another dimension of depth to our field team," said Kilbourn. "We expect that he will help us to meet the increasing number of requests for project partnerships and assistance from the state lobby groups." |
