Who We Are

ANTI-EQUALITY LEADERS AND LEGISLATION

The alarming spate of anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced across the country in 2020 has continued to surge in 2021. These include bills that would prohibit transgender youth from receiving gender affirming care and bills that would prohibit transgender youth from participating in sports. This wave of anti-transgender legislation harkens back to the surge of anti-transgender bathroom bills that hit state legislatures in 2016, including North Carolina’s HB2. We remain committed to aggressively fighting these threats to equality by those who seek to undermine our rights. HRC will do whatever it takes to protect the rights and fundamental equality of every LGBTQ+ person in this country.

BUILDING AND DEMONSTRATING POLITICAL POWER

HRC’s decades-long work to build political power has uniquely positioned us to reach LGBTQ+ and ally voters who prioritize equality on the ballot, also known as Equality Voters. HRC has identified 57 million Equality Voters nationwide who, if they turn out to vote, will support pro-equality candidates. HRC’s early and sustained year-round engagement in battleground states like Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin bolstered historic turnout in 2018 and 2020, producing pro-equality outcomes at every level of government. In 2019, HRC’s mobilization of Equality Voters in Virginia, where lawmakers had repeatedly blocked pro-equality bills over many years, produced groundbreaking progress for LGBTQ+ Americans in the South. These victories led to the Virginia Values Act becoming law, making Virginia the first state in the South to advance statewide nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people.

ADVANCING EQUALITY IN OUR DAILY LIVES

The HRC Foundation improves the lives of LGBTQ+ people by building understanding and shaping the public debate of LGBTQ+ people and the challenges they face through innovative research and public education campaigns. We also change the policies and practices in the institutions that shape our everyday lives (hospitals, schools, workplaces, and more) and empower strategic partners, community advocates, and allies through convenings and capacity-building. Guided by these theories of change and seeking to prioritize work impacting those who are multiply marginalized, we have 11 cutting-edge programs advancing equality in the U.S. and beyond.

• All Children - All Families is the only national program dedicated to LGBTQ+ inclusion in child welfare (foster care and adoption agencies) that provides resource development, technical assistance and training.
• Public Education & Research produces written resources and conducts original quantitative and qualitative research exploring the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ people.
• Global Partnerships provides capacity-building and leadership development opportunities to LGBTQ+ advocates worldwide to strengthen movements and advance global LGBTQ+ equality.
• HBCU Program is the only national project that partners with Historically Black Colleges and Universities on establishing an LGBTQ+-inclusive campus climate.
• Health & Aging provides resources and training to help thousands of healthcare facilities adopt inclusive policies and practices to serve LGBTQ+ patients and employees better.
• HIV & Health Equity develops public education and capacity-building programs to address the disproportionate impact of HIV on Black and Latinx communities.
• Religion & Faith provides faith leaders opportunities and tools to stand up for equality even as opponents attempt to weaponize faith against LGBTQ+ people.
• Transgender Justice Initiative leads economic empowerment programs, capacity-building initiatives, community engagement efforts, and public safety education campaigns that combat the discrimination faced by transgender people.
• Welcoming Schools is the only bias-based bullying prevention program nationwide to provide LGBTQ+-specific training and resources with an intersectional lens developed for use in elementary schools.