Activate LGBTQ Voters with Stonewall Network

I'm creating something big to help activate LGBTQ+ voters in the most important election in modern history. I'm also turning (redacted) on February 10th. Will you help me fund this vital project for my birthday?

A team of more than two dozen volunteers and I are building an online platform that will connect grassroots LGBTQ+ organizations and volunteers and amplify their work.

The FBI's latest Annual Crime Report found that hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people are up: 13.8% based on sexual orientation and 32.9% based on gender identity. The ACLU is currently tracking 374 anti-LGBTQ bills across the US.

The good news is that there are enough LGBTQ+ voters in each swing state to prevent hateful lawmakers from taking--or staying in--office.

Hello! I'm Ryan (he/him), and I've been working in grassroots LGBTQ+ politics for more that 15 years. I started out volunteering with local groups and worked my way up to being an Advisor to the 2020 Biden for President campaign (I'm so fancy).

Fighting for the LGBTQ+ community is my jam. Here's something cool I did recently that got more than 2 million views:

Now, I'm setting out to solve a big problem.

There are more than 200 LGBTQ+ Democratic Party-aligned grassroots political groups across the US (most have "Stonewall Democrats" in their title), and hundreds more that are non-partisan. All of these groups are volunteer-led, locally based, and fight for LGBTQ+ people in the worlds of civics and politics with their own blood, sweat, and tears - not big budgets.

The problem? They're not connected to each other at all. They can't coordinate, share resources, or learn from each other because, with only a few exceptions, they don't even know about each other.

These groups are also really hard to find by people who want to get involved in the political process but don't know where to start.

The Stonewall Network will connect all of these groups to each other *and* make them easier to find by LGBTQ+ people and allies who want to get involved.

Our team includes software engineers, UI/UX/product designers, data experts, project managers and others who are building the digital infrastructure that will be the backbone of our network.

Here's where you come in.

Getting this platform online and out into the world will cost money.

Please give what you can and share this fundraiser with others. The more, the merrier, but any amount helps.

In addition to getting the initial funding in place, there's another important reason why you should support this fundraiser. The more dollars and *the more donors* we raise now, the more credible we'll be to the news media, the political community, and even big dollar donors when it comes time to ask for those fat checks.

Here are a few examples of what you'll be helping to pay for:

I wanna do more!

Awesome! The next best thing you can do is pick 3-5 people in your network and ask them, directly, to contribute to this fundraiser.

If you're interested in volunteering, connecting as a part of your own work in the political space, or are interested in giving/raising major gifts, please reach out!

ryan [at] stonewallnetwork [dot] com