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LGBTQ Victory Fund

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LGBTQ+ Victory Fund[1]
Founded1991
Type527 group
FocusLGBTQ politicians
Location
MethodPolitical endorsement
Fundraising
Key people
Annise Parker (President and CEO)[2]
Richard Holt (Chair)
Chris Abele (Chair)
Campbell Spencer (Vice-Chair)
Mattheus Stephens (Secretary)
Chrys Lemon (Treasurer)
Websitewww.victoryfund.org
Formerly called
Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund

LGBTQ+ Victory Fund (formerly the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and LGBTQ Victory Fund),[1] commonly shortened to Victory Fund, is an American political action committee dedicated to increasing the number of out LGBTQ+ public officials in the United States. Victory Fund is the largest LGBTQ+ political action committee in the United States and one of the nation's largest non-connected PACs.[3]

Background

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LGBTQ+ Victory Fund was founded in 1991 as a non-partisan political action committee. It provides strategic, technical and financial support to openly gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer candidates and officials across the United States running for all levels of government. Its partner organization, Victory Institute, offers programs and training to elected officials.[4]

To be considered for endorsement, candidates must identify as LGBTQ+, demonstrate community support and a realistic plan to win, demonstrate support of federal, state or local efforts to advance LGBTQ+ civil rights via the legislative or regulatory process, and demonstrate support of federal, state or local efforts to safeguard privacy and reproductive freedom. These requirements are less stringent for judicial endorsements.[5]

LGBTQ+ Victory Fund employs a tiered system of endorsements. The categories are: "Game Changer," designating candidates who can become historic firsts and directly impact LGBTQ+ representation in the highest levels of government.[6] "Spotlight," designating candidates who can make history or increase LGBTQ+ representation in low-equality states or in states with few or no LGBTQ+ lawmakers.[7] Non-designated candidates are candidates who will increase the number of LGBTQ+ voices in government.

LGBTQ+ Victory Fund and LGBTQ+ Victory Institute are led by a president-CEO and a team of staff based in Washington, D.C. The Fund also has a board of directors, composed of top leaders of government, politics, and business. Additionally, the Victory Campaign Board is elected to recruit and endorse candidates, as well as provide financial resources.[8]

History

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LGBTQ+ Victory Fund was founded in 1991 by Vic Basile and William Waybourn, with Waybourn becoming its first executive director.[9] It provides strategic, technical and financial support to openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender candidates and officials across the United States, helping them win elections at local, state and federal levels. Victory has helped elect several hundred out LGBTQ+ candidates to Congress, state legislatures, school boards and city councils. In addition, it works to help openly gay and lesbian officeholders develop professionally through its collaboration with the International Network of Lesbian and Gay Officials and co-sponsorship of the annual Gay & Lesbian Leadership Conference.[10]

The group's founders, Dallas gay-rights activist William Waybourn and Human Rights Campaign Fund Executive Director Vic Basile, were inspired by the use of EMILY's List funds to power the 1990 election of former Governor of Texas Ann Richards. Waybourn and Basile planned an organization that would employ EMILY's List methodology—early money given sufficiently transforms "qualified candidates from 'fringe' status to 'front-runners'"—to propel gay and lesbian candidates to elected office.[4]

LGBTQ+ Victory Fund endorses dozens of out LGBTQ+ candidates each year, increasing exposure to potential donors and providing both strategic and material support. Past endorsees include Tammy Baldwin,[11] Barney Frank,[12] Sean Patrick Maloney,[13] David Cicilline,[14] Lupe Valdez,[15] Victoria Kolakowski,[16] Patricia Todd[17] and Virginia Linder.[18] The first candidate the Victory Fund endorsed was Sherry Harris, who was elected to the City Council in Seattle, Washington, in 1991, making her the first openly lesbian African-American elected official.[19]

In 1995, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund was a principal organizer of a meeting between representatives of the Clinton administration and several dozen leaders of gay and lesbian organizations.[20] This meeting followed on the heels of the Presidential Appointments Project, whose goal was getting openly gay people appointed to all levels of the Clinton administration (and subsequently, the Bush and Obama administrations).[21]

In 1997, activist Brian Bond was hired as executive director of LGBTQ+ Victory Fund from his position as the director of the Gay & Lesbian Leadership Council at the Democratic National Committee from to rebuild the nearly-bankrupt organization.[22] He is credited by Tammy Baldwin with helping grow the visibility and size of the organization.[23][circular reference][24] He stepped down in 2003.[25]

Former LGBTQ+ Victory Fund board member Chuck Wolfe was named executive director in 2003. Under his leadership, the organization's budgets grew exponentially[clarification needed].[26]

In 2008, 80 of the group's 111 endorsed candidates won their elections.[27]

In 2009, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund donated $40000 to the election of Annise Parker as mayor of Houston.[28] In electing an out lesbian as its chief executive, Houston became the largest city in the country to have elected an out gay person as mayor. Local gay groups, particularly the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, had nurtured Parker's political career and were openly supporting her race. Victory Fund became a huge player in the race by providing a much-needed source of cash for Parker's grassroots efforts and helping her stay financially competitive with her two chief rivals, both of whose campaigns were lavishly funded. After the campaign, Parker referred to Victory Fund as her "secret weapon" and thanked the organization for its help.[29]

Chuck Wolfe stepped down as president of the organization at the end of 2014. In 2015, Aisha Moodie-Mills became the new president and CEO of LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, which made her the first woman, first person of color and first lesbian to become the head of the organization.[30][31] In 2017, Moodie-Mills' departure was announced and the new president and CEO was named, former Houston Mayor Annise Parker.

In 2018, the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund and Institute was renamed the LGBTQ Victory Fund and Institute to accurately reflect the environment in which it works.

In 2019, the Victory Fund announced it was endorsing Pete Buttigieg for president, which was its first presidential endorsement.[32]

In 2022, Becca Balint won her primary[33] in part with $1 million from the Victory Fund, "putting her on a path to become" Vermont's first Congresswoman.[34] After the primaries, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund made 16 endorsements in congressional elections to expand LGBTQ+ representation in Congress by eight seats or approximately six million people.[35]

On March 3, 2023, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund announced the addition of the "plus" in their name to be formally known as LGBTQ+ Victory Fund.[1]

Programs and events

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International LGBTQ+ Leaders Conference

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LGBTQ+ Victory Institute, the non-profit sibling organization of LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, hosts a variety of events throughout the year. Its most prominent is the International LGBTQ+ Leaders Conference hosted annually between November and December, bringing LGBTQ+ elected officials from around the world for a weekend of panels, speakers, and receptions. This conference grew out of a joint conference in 2004 with the International Network of Lesbian and Gay Officials (INLGO). LGBTQ+ Victory Institute and NLGO merged in 2005.[36]

U.S. gatherings

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LGBTQ+ Victory Fund also hosts a number of champagne brunches and receptions around the United States, in cities such as Chicago, Kansas City, and San Diego. The events bring together local LGBTQ+ elected officials and supporters and serve as fundraising for the organization.[37]

Other events

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Other events include various pride receptions celebrating LGBTQ+ Capitol Hill staffers and LGBTQ+ political appointees.[38]

LGBTQ+ Victory Institute hosts events of its own as well as stewards several fellowship and internship programs. Events include LGBTQ+ Leadership Summits, which are day-long intensive trainings for LGBTQ+ leaders, and Candidate and Campaign Trainings, which are weekend-long crash courses on how to run for office. LGBTQ+ Victory Institute also hosts international trainings, and has received funding from USAID.

The Victory Congressional Internship program brings LGBTQ+ college students to Washington, D.C. for an intensive leadership program, and includes a semester-long internship with an LGBTQ-friendly member of Congress. Participants also attend the International LGBTQ+ Leadership Conference.

The David Bohnett Victory Congressional Fellowship brings an emerging LGBTQ+ leader to Washington, D.C. for a year-long intensive fellowship that supports the executive director of the LGBTQ+ Congressional Equality Caucus. It also includes a generous stipend and access to the International LGBTQ+ Leadership Conference.

The Victory Empowerment Fellowship was implemented by Aisha Moodie-Mills and helps emerging LGBTQ+ leaders of color and transgender leaders expand their campaign skills and policy-making power through a year-long membership and access to a Candidate Campaign Training and the International LGBTQ+ Leadership Conference.

The Bohnett Leaders Fellowship brings senior-level executives working with state and local governments, including government officials and elected officeholders, to a three-week intensive Executive Education program at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[39]

The Political Appointments Program works with LGBTQ+ leaders and pro-equality presidential administrations to ensure qualified LGBTQ+ representation in all agencies and levels.

Executive directors

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Years Name
  1991–1996 William Waybourn
  1996–1997 David Clarenbach
  1997–2003 Brian Bond
  2003–2015 Chuck Wolfe
  2015–2017 Aisha Moodie-Mills
  2017–present  Annise Parker

Controversy among LGBT Republicans

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LGBTQ+ Victory Fund has attracted controversy from LGBT Republican politicians, such as Richard Grenell, the first openly gay person in the United States to hold a cabinet-level position[40] who leveled criticism at their alleged bias against LGBT Republicans.[41] The LGBTQ Victory fund donated over 100,000 dollars to candidates in the 2020 election cycle, and over $90,000 in the 2018 election cycle, with none of that money going to Republican candidates.[42]

The organization's abortion stance has also come under scrutiny. Robert Turner, head of the D.C. Chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans wrote an op-ed for the Washington Blade criticizing the then-Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund's pro-choice litmus test as harmful to its goal of electing LGBT candidates.[43] The Victory Fund, however, has said that its vision of the "Right to Privacy" can be as conservative as supporting abortion only in cases of rape and incest.[44]

LGBTQ+ Victory Fund refused to endorse Carl DeMaio, a gay Republican who ran for the House of Representatives in California.[45] DeMaio also claims that the Victory Fund gave campaign documents of his, given as part of the Victory Fund's endorsement process, to his opponent.[46]

Additionally, Victory Fund has rejected the prospect of endorsing Caitlyn Jenner, a transgender woman running in the California gubernatorial race, citing her positions on transgender minors and athletes.[47]

In the 2022 United States House of Representatives election in New York's third congressional district, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund and Human Rights Campaign endorsed Democrat Robert Zimmerman over Republican nominee George Santos, in the first congressional race where both candidates were openly gay.[48]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c LGBTQ+ Victory Fund [@VictoryFund] (March 1, 2023). "Allow us to reintroduce ourselves. Hello 👋 We're LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, the only national organization that recruits, trains and supports LGBTQ+ candidates at every level of government across the U.S. Join us today at https://t.co/vKxAzIq1qW https://t.co/mV4GqHv64E" (Tweet). Retrieved April 7, 2023 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Ring, Trudy (December 18, 2017). "Aisha C. Moodie-Mills Leaves Victory Fund, Succeeded by Annise Parker". The Advocate (advocate.com). Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  3. ^ "Homepage". Victory Fund. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund". Ballotpedia. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  5. ^ McDonald, John. "Victory Fund Gearing Up For Elections". southfloridagaynews.com. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  6. ^ "LGBT Victory Fund endorses Maloney in AG Dem primary". blogs.hudsonvalley.com. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  7. ^ "Victory Fund Endorses 36 More LGBTQ Candidates for 2018 - Gay Lesbian Bi Trans News Archive". Windy City Times. August 21, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  8. ^ "Board of Directors". Victory Institute. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  9. ^ Rimmerman, Craig A.; Wald, Kenneth D.; Wilcox, Clyde (July 1, 2000). The Politics of Gay Rights. University of Chicago Press. pp. 71–. ISBN 9780226719986. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  10. ^ "NALP - National Association for Law Placement - LGBTQ Organizations". www.nalp.org. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  11. ^ "First LGBTQ U. S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Wins Reelection; Defeats Anti-LGBTQ Opponent in Key Senate Race". Victory Fund. November 6, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  12. ^ Rosenstein, Peter (April 12, 2018). "Victory Fund Crucial to Electing LGBTQ Candidates". Washington Blade. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  13. ^ mthomas. "Our Candidates". LGBTQ Victory Fund. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  14. ^ Younker, Lauren (November 15, 2017). "Victory Fund Endourses Nine Congressional Candidates; Wins Can Secure Pro-LGBTQ Majority in House". Victory Fund. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  15. ^ "Lupe Valdez Makes History With Texas Gubernatorial Primary Win; Gina Ortiz Jones Takes TX-23 Democratic Nomination". Victory Fund. May 22, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  16. ^ "Transgender judge breaks barriers". Bay Area Reporter. November 11, 2010. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  17. ^ "Patricia Todd Wins - For Real This Time". The Atlantic. August 26, 2006. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  18. ^ Nicola, George T (March 27, 2017). "Community Profile: Virginia Linder". GLAPN Northwest LGBTQ History. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  19. ^ mthomas. "Our Mission". LGBTQ Victory Fund. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  20. ^ New York Times: David W. Dunlap, "Clinton Names First Liaison To Gay and Lesbian Groups", June 14, 1995, accessed Dec 9, 2009
  21. ^ "GLAAD thanks Victory Fund CEO & President as he announces departure". GLAAD. September 12, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  22. ^ "Brian Bond to Be Tapped as Deputy Director of Obama's Public Liaison Office". www.advocate.com. January 8, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  23. ^ Brian Bond (activist)#cite note-eisenla-7
  24. ^ Grant, Japhy (January 8, 2009). "Brian Bond to Be Obama's Deputy Director of Public Liaison, LGBT Point Person". www.queerty.com. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  25. ^ July 8, Peter Rosenstein; pm, 2011 at 5:22 pm EDT at 5:22 (July 8, 2011). "Bond leaves White House for DNC". washingtonblade.com. Retrieved April 28, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  26. ^ "Charles A. Wolfe". www.stetson.edu. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  27. ^ "Victory Fund reports gay candidates elected across U.S." PrideSource. November 6, 2008. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  28. ^ McKinley, James C. (December 13, 2009). "A Fallen Barrier, but Little Fanfare". New York Times. Archived from the original on January 28, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  29. ^ Adam, Seth (December 14, 2009). "Annise Parker Becomes First Openly Lesbian Mayor of Major U.S. City after Houston Win". GLAAD. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  30. ^ Bendix, Trish (March 27, 2015). "Morning Brew - Gillian Anderson would date a woman again". AfterEllen. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  31. ^ "Leading National LGBT Organization Names First Woman, First Black President - BuzzFeed News". Buzzfeed.com. July 24, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  32. ^ Nation's Largest LGBT PAC Endorses Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Thedailybeast.com (1970-01-01). Retrieved on 2019-06-30.
  33. ^ "Live Vermont House Election Results 2022 – NBC News". www.nbcnews.com. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  34. ^ Gregory Krieg (August 10, 2022). "Becca Balint will win the Democratic nomination for Vermont's House seat, CNN projects". CNN. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  35. ^ DeSilver, Drew (May 31, 2018). "U.S. population keeps growing, but House of Representatives is same size as in Taft era". Pew Research Center. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  36. ^ Rosenstein, Peter (December 9, 2017). "International LGBTQ Leaders Conference a rousing success". HuffPost. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  37. ^ "Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund's Champagne Brunch". CultureMap Houston. March 24, 2013. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  38. ^ Sloves, Todd. "Victory Fund and Institute Pride Reception". Archived from the original on September 15, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  39. ^ "Is an internship for you?". The Central Voice. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  40. ^ John Riley (July 22, 2020). "Gay former Trump appointee Richard Grenell unleashses tweetstorm attacking Joe Biden". Metro Weekly.
  41. ^ Brad Polumbo (July 25, 2020). "The fake mission of the LGBTQ Victory Fund". Washington Examiner.
  42. ^ "LGBTQ Victory Fund donations, OpenSecrets". OpenSecrets.
  43. ^ Robert Turner (March 31, 2011). "No pro-choice litmus test for Victory Fund".
  44. ^ John Riley (July 20, 2020). "Path to Victory: Annise Parker on helping elect LGBTQ people across America". Metro Weekly. Candidates have to believe in some level of a right to privacy, which includes the right to abortion. Some of our candidates only believe in it after rape and incest, all the way to others who support the full Planned Parenthood position.
  45. ^ "Gay Republican House Candidate Hasn't Won Fans In LGBT Community". NPR.
  46. ^ DeMaio, Carl [@carldemaio] (July 20, 2020). ".@AnniseParker Stop lying - Victory Fund claims to be non-partisan, but it is hyper-partisan in all its actions. In '14 you hosted my gay-baiting Democrat opponent at an event you organized in my district. You worked against the gay candidate in a top-tier race. #TrueColors https://t.co/U2uZ8uXib4" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 12, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2023 – via Twitter.
  47. ^ Jim Becker. "The LGBTQ Victory Fund won't endorse Caitlyn Jenner". Baltimore OutLoud.
  48. ^ "In first gay v. gay Congressional race, the candidates are "just very different," Gay City News". Gay City News. September 23, 2022.

Sources

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  • New York Times: Dunlap, David W. (November 6, 1994). "The 1994 Campaign: Homosexuality". The New York Times. Retrieved December 9, 2009. Some 130 candidates nationwide requested financial help from the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, a political-action committee, said its executive director, William W. Waybourn. The fund has supported 27 candidates this year, he said, almost twice as many as in 1993.
  • New York Times: Jeffrey Schmalz, "As Gay Marchers Gather, Mood Is Serious and Festive," April 25, 1993, accessed Dec. 9, 2009. "At a celebration lunch sponsored by the Victory Fund, half a dozen appointed and elected officials who had not previously been known to be gay made an appearance."
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