Equality Federation Institute

Through our advocacy & civic engagement program, we work collaboratively with our partners to maximize state advocacy on critical issues, mobilize the people power needed to create change, and set an expansive policy agenda to address our entire community's needs. In 2023, we worked with our state partners to educate the public about 575 anti-lgbtq+ bills introduced in state legislatures, including 414 anti-trans rights bills, as well as over 608 pro-lgbtq+ bills. Our team spent 460 hours providing state partners with one-on-one advocacy and communications support. We ran 32 paid call campaigns in 15 states, connecting 8,092 constituents to their elected officials on critical lgbtq+ legislation. (continued on schedule o)in partnership with hiv advocacy leaders, we trained over 233 advocates from 37 states on meaningful involvement of people living with hiv (mipa) practices and key hiv policies. We also worked with three state partners to continue building hiv policy coalitions with leaders on the ground.

Through our leadership & organizational development program, we prioritize developing strong leaders, connecting movement advocates, and building powerful organizations that can sustain the movement for Equality and justice in the states. Because of our ongoing relationships with state leaders, we are able to provide tailored support that meets their individual needs and follow them as their organizations grow. We believe that racial justice is a critical area for growth for many organizations and leaders and strive to integrate a racial equity perspective and strategy into all aspects of leadership and organizational development work. (continued on schedule o)we provide critical opportunities for training, peer learning, and networking through the annual Equality Federation Institute leadership conference, which has become the movement-wide go-to gathering of 350+ state leaders and national partners; our 1:1 coaching; and regular online training opportunities.our state partners form the largest national network advocating for lgbtq+ Equality and liberation. We use this network model to ensure that advocates pool resources, learn from each other, and develop best practices to avoid redundancy. This saves our members time and resources, allowing them to spend time doing what only they can do: building relationships with lawmakers, organizing the community, and showing up as strong advocates wherever they are needed. That's what we mean by advocacy accelerator: we've created a well-designed system to propel progress during favorable times, solidify achievements, and safeguard them from challenges.