How CREDO funding helped the National LGBTQ Task Force stand up for equality

This March, more than 51,000 CREDO members voted to donate $34,890 to the National LGBTQ Task Force, the country’s oldest national LGBTQ advocacy group and a longtime CREDO ally in the fight for equality.

This grant, powered by CREDO members who use our products and services every day, supported the Task Force’s work on the 2020 census and helped the organization launch a new campaign to educate the public and policy makers about discrimination in the LGBTQ community.

CREDO funding helped the Task Force use its role as a leader in the census advocacy community to significantly change how the Census Bureau is planning to conduct its communications and partnerships activities. As a direct result of its organizing efforts, the bureau undertook new partnerships that focus on LGBTQ people and people experiencing homelessness and rethought how it will communicate citizenship, race and ethnicity questions on the survey.

LGBTQ people cannot continue to be undercounted in the census. That’s why the Task Force’s next phase of census work is to ensure an accurate count. Because many social service programs that LGBTQ people rely on to survive and thrive, like Medicaid, food stamps and housing vouchers, are funded according to census results, the Task Force is working to educate the LGBTQ community about the long-term impact an inaccurate count could have. They are also working with partners throughout the country to encourage LGBTQ people, especially from marginalized communities, to fill out the census. 

The data from the 2020 census will have an effect for at least 10 years – until the 2030 census is fielded – that’s why an accurate count of the LGBTQ community now is so important. Access to democracy, for everyone, depends on full representation in census data, and the enforcement of LGBTQ civil rights depends on accurate census data. 

You can read the Task Force’s guide to filling out your census form here. 

To learn more about the National LGBTQ Task Force, please visit https://www.thetaskforce.org/. 

These important victories were fueled in part by CREDO members who use our products, and our members are the reason why we are able to make these donations each month. Learn more about CREDO Mobile and CREDO Energy and join our movement.

And don’t forget to check out the three groups we are funding this month, and cast your vote to help distribute our donations.