Month: November 2014

Top 30 National LGBT Advocacy Websites

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Top National LGBT Websites

There are three types of media that our National LGBT organizations can use to call attention to their important causes. The first type is paid media.  This is when an organization pays for an advertisement on a website or in a newspaper.  The second type is earned media.  This is when an organization does something that is worthy of press attention and receives coverage in an article, or even a retweet or facebook mention from a third party.  The final type is owned media.  Owned media encompasses all the ways an organization can communicate directly with their supporters without relying on anyone else.  In thew not-so-new age of social media, owned media is more important than ever for National LGBT organizations.  Owned media includes an organizations’s website, blog, and social media channels, as well as any other ways the organization reaches supporters directly, like a newsletter sent through the mail.

Which LGBT organizations are dominating the owned media field and which are falling behind?  I looked at over 50 national LGBT websites to find out.  This analysis weighed several different factors.  Each ranking is based primarily on the Alexa.com ratings. Alexa’s traffic estimates are based on data from their sample of millions of Internet users using one of over 25,000 different browser extensions.  The complete breakdown of each score is as follows:

  • 60% – Alexa.com rating (lowest numbers are the highest ranking)
  • 10% – Google estimated number of backlinks
  • 10% – Facebook likes
  • 10% – Twitter followers
  • 10% – Instagram follwers

There are a few important disclaimers to consider.  First, the focus of this list is to look at the influence of national LGBT organizations.  Many state and local LGBT organizations are therefore not included in this list, but have an equal or greater influence then many of the national groups.  Similarly, this list does not include LGBT programs that exist within organizations that are not exclusively focusedo n the LGBT community.  Notable exclusions include the Family Acceptance Project at San Francisco State University; the Williams Institute at UCLA Law; and LGBT Initiatives at the Center for American Progress.

Top Ranked Websites

Included below are the rankings as of November, 2014 for the top 30 websites I identified. The entire list of websites is included at the end of this article.

Website Alexa Backlinks Facebook Twitter Instagram Score
Human Rights Campaign hrc.org 57006 225000 2067056 457194 593000 96
No H8 Campaign noh8campaign.com 604501 34322 1224646 689766 214000 79
GLAAD glaad.org 112538 56894 256573 242567 22400 67
Trevor Project thetrevorproject.org 374613 49080 308630 187703 20900 66
It Get’s Better itgetsbetter.org 376321 49183 375941 117239 0 65
Freedom to Marry freedomtomarry.org 121860 35651 514973 58374 867 65
GLSEN glsen.org 139745 22411 545752 52618 1100 64
Lambda Legal lambdalegal.org 438136 23591 221013 77253 150 62
National LGBTQ Task Force thetaskforce.org 944352 37390 92317 33608 602 60
National Center for Lesbian Rights nclr.org 422430 13581 40354 22264 8 60
IGLHRC iglhrc.org 653872 29796 41668 12978 14 60
PFLAG pflag.org 612298 13856 51574 37821 714 60
Campus Pride campuspride.org 396341 13607 4514 8211 380 60
Lambda Literary Foundation lambdaliterary.org 514535 17779 6069 8562 0 59
Transgender Law Center transgenderlawcenter.org 687135 7473 52162 14534 482 59
NGLCC nglcc.org 703463 16963 6034 2951 0 59
Family Equality Council familyequality.org 1202758 31798 11738 13716 54 58
Metropolitan Comm Church mccchurch.org 902538 7392 6854 4188 0 58
Out and Equal outandequal.org 1078521 13210 24579 3879 115 58
SAGE sageusa.org 985465 1313 7542 4533 96 57
Immigration Equality immigrationequality.org 1105060 4976 19124 11302 0 57
CenterLink lgbtcenters.org 1346060 20883 5736 10401 0 57
Equality Giving equalitygiving.org 1163307 203 0 0 0 57
Victory Fund victoryfund.org 1519667 3137 122885 16450 342 57
NLGJA nlgja.org 1507660 4025 5713 8548 0 56
Sylvia Rivera Law Project srlp.org 1471720 1602 7264 1213 0 56
National LGBT Museum nationallgbtmuseum.org 1496746 817 262 2632 0 56
Equality Federation equalityfederation.org 3633883 11958 3004 373686 0 56
Bi Net USA binetusa.org 1617622 2940 251 5650 0 56
Arcus arcusfoundation.org 2056431 19947 1369 6515 0 55

Lessons from the Numbers

Welcome to Three New Players

Three new LGBT organizations did not quite make the top 30, but they did rank among the top 50.  They are:

  • The LGBT Tech Partnership.  Spearheaded by ED Chris Wood, the LGBT Tech Partnership explores the intersection of the LGBT community and technology, and has an impressive team including former OutServe/SLDN ED, Allyson Robinson.
  • Trans Women of Color Collective.  Inspired by the success of local chapters of TWOCC, Ashley Lourdes Hunter recently moved to Washington, DC to start the National Headquarters for this budding organization.
  • LGBT-FAN.  The LGBT Freedom Asylum Network (formerly the LGBT Freedom Asylum Network) is an inspiring network of local grassroots initiatives to support the growing influx of LGBT Asylum Seekers.
Goodbye to Old Friends

Although there has been no official announcement, it is pretty clear at this point that the National Office of Stonewall Democrats, once an important player in the nation’s capitol, is now defunct.  The same can be said for the National Coalition for LGBT Health.  There has been little dialogue, if any, on what the demise of these organizations means for our movement.

A Slow, Steady Decline for the Task Force Alexa Rating

I remain a huge fan of the National LGBTQ Task Force (formerly the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force), and an even bigger fan of the annual Creating Change Conference, which plays such an important role for activists across the country.

The numbers don’t lie, however.  When I first started tracking Alexa ratings more than a decade ago, the Task Force had an Alexa rating of 152, 139, which means the Task Force website was among the top 153,000 websites in the world.  Over the years, there has been a gradual decline.  As of this analysis, the number was at 944,352.  This means, that the site has dropped to being among the top million sites in the world. In contrast, several of the groups I first looked at in 2003, including NGLCC and Pride at Work, have grown their online presence.

A National LGBT Latina/o Organization

Ever since the National Latino/a Lesbian and Gay Organization (LLEGÓ) closed their doors in 2004, there have been rumblings about starting a new national organization for the LGBT Latina/o community.  Unid@s LGBT- The National Latin@ LGBT Human Rights Organization, was founded in 2007.  While their facebook page remains online, their website is now defunct, and the future direction of the organization is unclear.

What do the Numbers Tell You?

What is most interesting to me about these numbers are the comments and feedback I receive after posting them.  What do these numbers mean to you?  Are their LGBT organizations that I missed and should have included?  What suprises you about the rankings?  Please be sure to post your comments below.

Complete Ranking of all Organizations Researched

Website Alexa Backlinks Facebook Twitter Instagram Score
Human Rights Campaign hrc.org 57006 225000 2067056 457194 593000 96
No H8 Campaign noh8campaign.com 604501 34322 1224646 689766 214000 79
GLAAD glaad.org 112538 56894 256573 242567 22400 67
Trevor Project thetrevorproject.org 374613 49080 308630 187703 20900 66
It Get’s Better itgetsbetter.org 376321 49183 375941 117239 0 65
Freedom to Marry freedomtomarry.org 121860 35651 514973 58374 867 65
GLSEN glsen.org 139745 22411 545752 52618 1100 64
Lambda Legal lambdalegal.org 438136 23591 221013 77253 150 62
National LGBTQ Task Force thetaskforce.org 944352 37390 92317 33608 602 60
National Center for Lesbian Rights nclr.org 422430 13581 40354 22264 8 60
IGLHRC iglhrc.org 653872 29796 41668 12978 14 60
PFLAG pflag.org 612298 13856 51574 37821 714 60
Campus Pride campuspride.org 396341 13607 4514 8211 380 60
Lambda Literary Foundation lambdaliterary.org 514535 17779 6069 8562 0 59
Transgender Law Center transgenderlawcenter.org 687135 7473 52162 14534 482 59
NGLCC nglcc.org 703463 16963 6034 2951 0 59
Family Equality Council familyequality.org 1202758 31798 11738 13716 54 58
Metropolitan Comm Church mccchurch.org 902538 7392 6854 4188 0 58
Out and Equal outandequal.org 1078521 13210 24579 3879 115 58
SAGE sageusa.org 985465 1313 7542 4533 96 57
Immigration Equality immigrationequality.org 1105060 4976 19124 11302 0 57
CenterLink lgbtcenters.org 1346060 20883 5736 10401 0 57
Equality Giving equalitygiving.org 1163307 203 0 0 0 57
Victory Fund victoryfund.org 1519667 3137 122885 16450 342 57
NLGJA nlgja.org 1507660 4025 5713 8548 0 56
Sylvia Rivera Law Project srlp.org 1471720 1602 7264 1213 0 56
National LGBT Museum/Velvet Foundation nationallgbtmuseum.org 1496746 817 262 2632 0 56
Equality Federation equalityfederation.org 3633883 11958 3004 373686 0 56
Bi Net USA binetusa.org 1617622 2940 251 5650 0 56
Arcus arcusfoundation.org 2056431 19947 1369 6515 0 55
Gill Foundation gillfoundation.org 2032092 4140 3732 1918 0 54
GLMA glma.org 2180739 2743 4787 851 0 54
Astrea Foundation astraea.org 2318937 2121 4880 2293 0 54
National Gay Pilots Association ngpa.org 2536174 512 1700 104 0 53
LGBT Bar Association lgbtbar.org 3294566 2386 2324 1617 7 51
Funders for LGBTQ Issues lgbtfunders.org 3501132 1335 3577 2328 0 50
Out for Work outforwork.org 3582352 461 195 747 0 50
OutServe SLDN sldn.org 4719528 55251 28014 9288 0 49
COLAGE colage.org 4215347 8452 5084 1275 0 49
Get Equal getequal.org 4528989 9541 31412 28883 205 48
National Black Justice Coalition nbjc.org 6353583 1507 7824 2700 0 42
Bohnett Foundation bohnettfoundation.org 4395104 6481 1064 523 0 48
Faith in America faithinamerica.org 5,337,820 726 10,783 1124.00 0 45
LGBT Tech Partnership lgbttechpartnership.org 6987137 242 966 1129 0 40
Trans Women of Color Collective twocc.us 8275220 2 0 0 0 37
Center for Black Equity centerforblackequity.org 9536384 69 1978 462 23 33
Pride at Work prideatwork.org 10404989 8883 5916 2296 0 31
National LGBT Cancer Network cancer-network.org 13364027 1121 2154 20834 0 23
Military Partners & Families Coalition milpfc.org 14688889 375 7816 809 0 19
National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance nqapia.org 15381834 509 1655 2208 0 17
LGBT Faith (Freedom) Asylum Network lgbt-fan.org 17369035 3372 393 94 0 11
National Center for Trans Equality nctequality.org 19652409 1603 36333 26771 0 5
Transgender Legal Defense & Ed Fund tldef.org 20077845 4100 3448 16018 0 4
Transgender Americans Veteran’s Association tavausa.org 21252285 1429 688 104 0 0

Note: this data, along with the formulas I used to come to the final number, are available on a google spreadsheet. I will gladly share this spreadsheet with whoever is interested and I encourage you to a dd, tweek, change, and share.  I would be very interested in seeing what changes others might make.

 

International Family Equality Day

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On May 3, 2015, LGBTQ family organizations from around the world will join forces, for the fourth time, to increase the international visibility of LGBTQ families.

Regardless of different legal, political and social circumstances around the world, the dramatic increase in the numbers of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer (LGBTQ) people choosing to raise children is a global phenomenon.

International Family Equality Day will take place every year on the first Sunday in May.  Find out more at www.internationalfamilyequalityday.org.

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

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National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

HIV affects all people, but some communities have been particularly hard hit. Of the more than 1.1 million Americans living with HIV today, half are Black. Black Americans are disproportionately affected by HIV relative to their share of the U.S. population, accounting for 44% of all new infections in the U.S. while representing just 12% of the population. The epidemic has touched many lives. According to a national survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, three in five Black Americans now know someone living with HIV or who has died of AIDS.

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) is an HIV testing and treatment community mobilization initiative for Blacks in the United States and across the Diaspora.

There are four specific focal points: Get Educated, Get Tested, Get Involved, and Get Treated. Find out more at: www.nationalblackaidsday.org.

LGBT Support for Hillary Clinton

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Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton has not yet announced if she intends to run for President in 2016, but that hasn’t stopped many members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community from coming out to show their support.  In fact, hundreds of people showed up for an LGBT ‘Out and Ready for Hillary’ fundraiser last January, and community members are not waiting for an announcement to start organizing.

A few friends and I have already joined in the planning.  You can find us on facebook at fb.com/outforhillary or on twitter at twitter.com/outforhillary.  You can also check out our website at www.outforhillary.com.

Of course, the LGBT community is very diverse so there will likely be LGBT folks involved in a number of different campaigns.  There will also be people working hard to make hold Hillary (and her supporters) accountable every step of the way.

When Bill Clinton spoke at the Human Rights Campaign back in October, Get Equal took the opportunity to encourage the Hillary Clinton to be a strong advocate for many of the broader social justice issues important to our community.

“Today’s action was a chance for the LGBTQ community to make sure that Hillary Clinton hears loud and clear that, as she readies a presidential bid, we need her to stand up for progressive values as a champion and leader, not simply as a middle-of-the-road political candidate,” said Heather Cronk, GetEQUAL co-director. “I hope Secretary Clinton hears that the LGBTQ community cares deeply not only about passing a full LGBTQ equality bill, but also about reforming our broken immigration system, ensuring full reproductive health access, ending widespread and system police brutality, and winning economic justice measures that allow us to provide for and support our families. Our community won’t be swayed simply by high-profile speeches — we need to see serious action.”

 

 

My Secret App Secrets

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My Secret App Secrets

The app secret is officially dead, and for good reason.   It has been fading away slowly for some time now, as people realize exposing each other’s secrets is not as fun as it first seems.  In honor of it’s demise, however, I would like to share a few of secrets of my own

  • I once went to trader joes and purchased a package of pre hard boiled eggs and a tub of ready-made hollandaise sauce. What happened next is not something I am proud of.
  • In my itunes collection I own the Glee version of the Justin Bieber song “somebody to love”
  • I have a purple satin sleep mask. It helps me sleep at night, and it smells nice.
  • I would much rather have a bud light lime-a-rita than the craft beer you drink.
  • Last night I played the game RISK online and took great pleasure in defeating a high school student from Lincoln Nebraska.

This is me. Deal with it.

LGBT Healthcare Bill of Rights

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Bill of Rights

At the 2011 National Coalition for LGBT Health Meeting, LGBT HealthLink’s Director, Dr. Scout, concluded a presentation by suggesting our communities really needed to create a healthcare bill of rights. The response from the experts in attendance was overwhelming; dozens of experts chimed in to concur. In the years since, our healthcare rights have only expanded yet public understanding about those rights – which is critical to their effectiveness – has not kept pace. For example, very few people know that any hospital accredited by the Joint Commission must now have an LGBT nondiscrimination policy. Or that health insurers in the new marketplaces cannot discriminate either. Making this problem worse, even healthcare institutions are not fully educated about these changes. Most hospitals that were approached by PROMO, the LGBT equality organization for Missouri, could show no evidence of having an LGBT nondiscrimination policy in place. We have many new rights, and now more than ever we need to understand what they are to get the healthcare we deserve.

In 2014, LGBT HealthLink partnered with PROMO Missouri and lawyer Corey Prachniak from Washington DC to create a short document summarizing our rights in the healthcare world now. A few of these rights are aspirational, they have protections in most cases but not a blanket ruling protecting all cases. We have included them because we feel we need to outline the moral rights as well as those which already enjoy full legal protection. After working closely with healthcare policymakers for years, we know the intent is to treat us with full equality and fairness. Outright hostility or chilly climates around LGBT people no longer have a place in health care. We know discrimination is a major reason LGBT people experience profound health disparities now; it needs to be part of our past.

The first step is to be educated about our rights and stand up when they are not met.

Learn more at: www.healthcarebillofrights.org

A Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia

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IDAHOT

May 17th is the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT).  It was created in 2004 to draw the attention of policymakers, opinion leaders, social movements, the public and the media to the violence and discrimination experienced by LGBTI people internationally.

Since then the Day has grown in both scope and depth. In 2013, actions around the International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia took place in almost 120 countries. In the United Kingdom alone in 2013, almost 200 events took place around the Day, whilst in Brazil just under 120 events were registered one month before May 17.
In short, in under a decade, the International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia has established itself the single most important date for LGBTI communities to mobilise on a worldwide scale.

The International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia is not one centralised campaign; rather it is amoment that everyone can take advantage of to take action.
The date of May 17th was specifically chosen to commemorate the World Health Organization’s decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder.
The International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia has received official recognition from several States and such international institutions as the European Parliament, and by countless local authorities. Most United Nations agencies also mark the Day with specific events.

LGBTI organizations, governments, cities, human rights organizations, corporations and celebrities have all taken action on May 17th to:

  • Draw media attention to the issue of homophobia and transphobia
  • Organise events which mobilize public opinion
  • Demand attention from policymakers and engage in lobbying activities
  • Network with like-minded organizations and develop new partnerships, at home or beyond
  • Mobilize existing constituencies and address new audiences

Find out more at www.dayagainsthomophobia.org

 

 

Six Things I Would Say to Tom Daley

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Tom Daley

1. Congratulations. Living your life openly and honestly is not always easy, but it is always worth it in the long run.
2. Some people are calling you gay, some people are calling you bisexual. Forget them. You are nineteen years old! What matters is that you are in a relationship with someone who makes you happy, you have plenty of time to figure out the rest.
3. You owe it to yourself to be honest and open not just with us, but also with your doctor, and he may actually want to know some more personal stuff. As a guy who is in a relationship with another guy, you may want to consider things like the HPV Vaccine, Hep Vaccines, and regular HIV testing. Take care of yourself, you deserve a long and happy life.
4. You got a lot of love and support today, and that it because of the people who came along this path before you. Those people who came before you and their stories are now a part of you and your journey. You owe it to yourself to seek out these stories. The struggles of LGBT folks are not told to you by your mother at bedtime, and they are rarely shared by the family around the table on Christmas day. You have to discover them yourself. Find them on the bookshelf, but also find them from mentors in our community. Their stories and struggles are amazing and powerful, and they will help you.
5. You’ve surely figured this out by now, but your legions of gay fans are interested in you for more than just your brain. Many men seem to be a lot more focused on physical appearance than women are, which may make you more prone to judge yourself by your appearance. Don’t fall into this trap. You have a lot more to offer the world than just your looks. Make a point of hanging around people who recognize this truth. And with regards to your good looks, as Rufus Wainwright once said, ‘Watch your head about it’.
6. You are the same person you were before this video came out. With all the same talent and drive. All the same capacity to love and be loved. The same worth, and the same dignity. Don’t ever doubt this for a moment. There is a brotherhood of men who have fought, and continue to fight, for our right to live our lives openly. That brotherhood of men, those who still live today, and those who are no longer with us, take great joy in knowing that your path will be even a even the slightest bit easier than our own. Your happiness, your love, and your honesty … well it makes the struggle all seem worthwhile. Be Happy.

Transgender Day of Remembrance

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Transgender Day of Remembrance

The Transgender Day of Remembrance takes place every year on November 20th.

The Transgender Day of Remembrance was set aside to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. The event is held in November to honor Rita Hester, whose murder on November 28th, 1998 kicked off the “Remembering Our Dead” web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999. Rita Hester’s murder — like most anti-transgender murder cases — has yet to be solved.

Although not every person represented during the Day of Remembrance self-identified as transgender — that is, as a transsexual, crossdresser, or otherwise gender-variant — each was a victim of violence based on bias against transgender people.
We live in times more sensitive than ever to hatred based violence, especially since the events of September 11th. Yet even now, the deaths of those based on anti-transgender hatred or prejudice are largely ignored. Over the last decade, more than one person per month has died due to transgender-based hate or prejudice, regardless of any other factors in their lives. This trend shows no sign of abating.

The Transgender Day of Remembrance serves several purposes. It raises public awareness of hate crimes against transgender people, an action that current media doesn’t perform. Day of Remembrance publicly mourns and honors the lives of our brothers and sisters who might otherwise be forgotten. Through the vigil, we express love and respect for our people in the face of national indifference and hatred. Day of Remembrance reminds non-transgender people that we are their sons, daughters, parents, friends and lovers. Day of Remembrance gives our allies a chance to step forward with us and stand in vigil, memorializing those of us who’ve died by anti-transgender violence.