The LGBTQ community is primed to focus on 2020 Census advocacy, having fought for inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity question in federal surveys for decades.  At the same time, we’re distinctly aware of how gaps in federal funding and entrenched political power can severely impact everyone in our community, but especially the most vulnerable among us.  It is essential that LGBTQ funders learn how they can support a fair and accurate census because it could fundamentally change the structure of economic and political power in this country for the next decade.

Grantmakers will leave this session with (1) a clear understanding of why the LGBTQ community is uniquely positioned to address this issue, (2) a summary of key upcoming census milestones and a timeline for 2020 Census advocacy and outreach, (3) a sequence of options, from the simple to complex, to inform funders of the multiple ways that they can promote, influence, and invest in the census and a step-by-step toolkit on how to engage in these different roles, (3) an overview of the coordinated strategies and practical structures and tools available at the national, state, and regional levels for funders to immediately plug in to, (4) a basic workplan, created by attendees, on how their foundation might engage on the 2020 in their city/state/region or at the federal level (they can use this plan to scale to fit their needs or to collaborate with other funders).