National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
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The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force ( The Task Force) is an organization working for the civil rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in the United States. This organization was founded in 1973 in New York. The current executive director is Matt Foreman.
The first national LGBT rights organization, they remained relatively uncontested as the political voice of LGBT Americans until the late 1980's when the Human Rights Campaign began federal lobbying. Recently they have seen a resurgence in political power and have even started a Department entirely devoted to federal affairs.
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[edit] Organizing and Training
The Task Force's Organizing and Training Program is designed to build a powerful political infrastructure nationally by bringing together the best and most experienced trainers as faculty with local and state activists and leaders to strengthen the grassroots of the LGBT movement. The programs that make up the Organizing and Training department include Electoral Leadership Trainings, LGBT Power Summits, and the National Action and Training Initiative. All of these trainings involve seeking out strong leaders or those with the potential to become leaders and training them in the areas of fundraising, voter identification and volunteer recruitment.
[edit] Policy Institute
The Policy Institute of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is a think tank that conducts social science research, policy analysis, strategy development, public education and advocacy to advance equality and greater understanding of LGBT people. The Policy Institute is the leading LGBT research institute in the U.S., and conducts groundbreaking research and analysis to document the demographics of the LGBT community and ways various policy frameworks affect LGBT people and families. The Policy Institute provides both in-depth, comprehensive studies and reports on key issues and research and data to respond to immediate challenges. The Policy Institute's publications and research studies are used by academics, other national and local organizations, grassroots activists, and the media.
[edit] Creating Change Conference
Creating Change is the premier national grassroots organizing LGBT conference, proven year after year to be a thought provoking and skills building conference with over 2,000 attendees from all over the country. Each year the conference is held in a different region of the United States and is well known for providing a unique environment where activists and leaders come together from diverse places and backgrounds to create a unique community that is both strengthening and inspiring to the participants. Plenary sessions provide a common meeting ground for the conference to explore current issues in the LGBT community. In 2003, the conference featured the first ever Skills Academy for Leadership and Action, an all day session dedicated to skills training for grassroots activists.
[edit] Transgender Civil Rights Project
The primary goal of the Transgender Civil Rights Project is to increase the number of state, local, and federal laws that prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and expression. It provides legislative and strategy assistance, including evaluation of legislative language, to activists and organizations working to pass trans-inclusive anti-discrimination bills or to add transgender protections to existing laws. Although the primary work centers on nondiscrimination laws, the project provides assistance to policymakers and activists working to develop other policies or laws relating to transgender equality.
