Causes: Civil Rights, Lesbian & Gay Rights, LGBTQ

Mission: The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the grassroots power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. We do this by training activists, equipping state and local organizations with the skills needed to organize broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, and building the organizational capacity of our movement. Our Policy Institute, the movement’s premier think tank, provides research and policy analysis to support the struggle for complete equality and to counter right-wing lies. As part of a broader social justice movement, we work to create a nation that respects the diversity of human expression and identity and creates opportunity for all.

Programs: The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force ? the oldest national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) organization, founded in 1973 ? is to build the political power of the LGBT community from the ground up. The Task Force serves several unique roles within the LGBT movement for equality. First, it operates the movement?s premier think tank ? the Policy Institute ? which conducts cutting edge social science research and policy analysis on the major issues facing LGBT people, same-sex couples, and families. Second, the Task Force?s Organizing & Training department trains new leaders on and assists communities across the country in defeating anti-gay attacks by the radical right, educating legislators and policymakers, advancing pro-LGBT legislation, building multi-racial teams, and working in coalition with other communities. Third, the new Public Policy and Government Affairs department is the only department in a national LGBT organization working to leverage federal resources to support the health and human service needs of the LGBT community. And finally, through our newly created Movement Building department and capacity building work, the Task Force is the only national LGBT organization working to build the infrastructure and capacity of local and statewide LGBT organizations through long-term, comprehensive and intensive investments. The Task Force also serves a vital and unique convening role in the LGBT movement, a role that reflects the respect the organization enjoys among national, state and local organizations, leaders and activists. Currently the Task Force convenes the National Religious Leadership Roundtable (a network of pro-LGBT faith based leaders and civil rights allies), the National Policy Roundtable (a semi-annual meeting of the leaders of all national LGBT policy-oriented groups), and our annual Creating Change Conference (the LGBT movement's national conference, gathering more than 2,000 people each year). The Institute for Welcoming Resources, an ecumenical group supporting the welcoming and affirming movement within seven Protestant denominations, became a Task Force program in February 2006 and will include organizing the every-few-years ?Witness our Welcome? national conference, which attracts 1,200 people. The headquarters of the organization is located in Washington, DC, with offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Cambridge, MA, and Minneapolis, MN.