Reflections on the election

Hello everyone,

By now, we have had a day to process the election of Donald Trump as our 47th President. I am not going to sugar coat it: the next four years will be tough for many minority communities. As a gay parent, I am scared for the status of my relationship as well as attacks on my family. The attacks this campaign have been especially awful for the transgender community; so much time and effort was spent attacking a small minority group. The next couple of years we may see legislative and legal attempts to delegitimize the transgender community and preventing them from getting the gender-affirming care they deserve. Waging Nonviolence has a great list of things that you can do to respond to the Trump Presidency.

Below are a few thoughts on things you can do, based on the election, to support the LGBTQIA+ community:

1. Take care of yourself. Process your feelings. Take a break from social media. I personally went for a walk on Weds. through the nature reserve near my house. It was a nice way to focus on the here and now and my feelings.

2. Check in on your clients and community, especially your LGBTQIA+ clients. Let them know that you are there to support them.

3. Check in with your staff. Allow them time to process their feelings and concerns. They cannot help the community unless they have time to understand their feelings.

4. Get active. This can be many different routes, including making a statement on your website supporting LGBTQIA+ rights or putting out a pride flag. Be involved in the LGBTQIA+ community.

5. Sign up for a 501(h) election so you can do advocacy and lobbying. Many nonprofits assume they cannot do advocacy and lobbying but that is not true. While the laws are complicated on what a nonprofit can and cannot do, signing up for a 501(h) election can provide guidance on what you can and cannot do. You can find information on how to do a 501(h) election, click here.

6. Collaborate. Don’t expect to do all of the work on your own. Many organizations already have started the groundwork. Find out if there is local coalitions with the LGBTQIA+ organizations and what they are doing/what they need. By starting a conversation, you can work with other organizations instead of just doing it alone. You also will not have to reinvent the wheel.

7. Help people lawyer up! Some LGBTQIA+ people are worried about their status and what rights might be taken away. Helping people get paperwork together now can help protect them later.

Sadly, there is going to be a lot of work to do, and much of it will be reactive. Creating these coalitions and working on protecting your individual clients now will help in the long run.