IE Awarded Grant

INDIANAPOLIS – An initiative to help local communities pass LGBT-inclusive Human Rights Ordinances and educate the public and elected officials on the need for statewide civil rights protections has been announced by Indiana’s statewide advocacy group for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender equality.

Indiana Equality (IE) has been chosen as a grant recipient by the Tides Foundation’s State Equality Fund, a philanthropic partnership that includes the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr Fund, the Gill Foundation, and anonymous donors.  The award will provide major funding for the multi-year civil rights effort, but the group will be working on raising additional contributions that will be needed to fully fund the project.

“It is clear that we are winning the fight for equality for all Hoosiers,” remarked Kathy Sarris, President of Indiana Equality. She added “the efforts of Indiana Equality are making a difference each day in the lives of LGBT citizens, and this challenge grant from the State Equality Fund will help us continue to educate Indiana’s citizens about the need for statewide protections in the workplace, education, housing, and in public accommodations.”

To help secure statewide civil rights protections for LGBT Hoosiers, the project focuses on expanding the number of Indiana communities providing LGBT protections via a local human rights ordinance. Project activities will include educational and outreach programs, an enhanced Speakers Bureau, earned media, polling, and community mobilization.

Project collaborators include Midwest Office of Lambda Legal (Lambda Legal), American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana (ACLU-IN), American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Council 62 (AFSCME), Indiana AFL-CIO (AFL-CIO), state and local LGBT groups, and several other allied organizations.

“With this funding from the State Equality Fund, Indiana Equality is uniquely positioned to make change happen in the State of Indiana,” said Lettie Oliver of AFSCME Council 62. “We are proud to be a partner in this important three-year project and look forward to helping advance equality across the state.”

Seeking an end to discrimination in Indiana based on sexual orientation and gender identity, IE facilitates and coordinates the efforts of the LGBT and allied community, through research, education, and community mobilization. For more information about Indiana Equality, please visit: http://www.indianaequality.org/