Public Policy and Allied Organizations
LGBTQIA+ and Related Public Policy Organizations
Community Action Agencies (CAAs) like us were established by the Economic Opportunities Act of 1964, a key part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s ‘War on Poverty.’ While CAAs were originally conceived as a way to empower low-income communities with direct support, they evolved into nonprofits governed by tripartite boards representing public, private and low-income interests in the community.
We formed in 1966 as the Community Action Commission for the County of Dane and the City of Madison. After expanding to Jefferson County in 1992, we became Community Action Coalition for South Central WI, Inc. Our final expansion reached Waukesha County in 1996.
We’re a member of the Wisconsin Community Action Program Association (WISCAP), which coordinates all 16 of Wisconsin’s Community Action Agencies. Many anti-poverty programs got their start within our organization, including Head Start and Madison-area community gardens, now run by Community Groundworks.
We were born out of the War on Poverty, and that purpose still motivates us today. We’re committed to evolving the way we work to help people overcome poverty and thrive in their daily lives.
Visit Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin
Community Advocates established the Public Policy Institute in 2008 to work toward preventing and reducing poverty while improving the quality of life for individuals and families in Milwaukee and throughout Wisconsin. Our varied programs and projects are united in their view that poverty is Milwaukee’s biggest problem.
The Public Policy Institute targets poverty in a number of ways – we try to reduce it through nonpartisan changes to relevant public policies and laws; we try to prevent its effects through public health efforts; and we work to increase opportunity and wellness for low-income people by fostering factors related to success, resilience and well-being.
Phone
414.270.2950
Address
728 N James Lovell St
Milwaukee, WI 53233-2408
OUR MISSION
The purpose of MMFHC is to promote fair housing throughout the State of Wisconsin by combating illegal housing discrimination and by creating and maintaining racially and economically integrated housing patterns.
WHAT WE DO
Our programs and services include case intake and counseling, investigative services, outreach and education, professional support to government agencies, and fair lending and inclusive communities programs.
OUR COMMUNITIES
The Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council serves Milwaukee, Washington, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Dane, Outagamie, Brown, Winnebago and Calumet Counties, and conducts out-of-service-area activities as well.
The federal Fair Housing Act and the Wisconsin Open Housing Law make it illegal to discriminate in housing based on the following protected classes:
- Race – A person’s race or the race of persons with whom one associates.
- Color – A person’s skin color.
- Sex – A person’s sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation. Harassment or intimidation based on sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation are also prohibited.
- National Origin/Ancestry – The country of one’s birth and/or the nationality of one’s ancestors.
- Religion – A person’s religious beliefs or denominational affiliation.
- Disability/Handicap – A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
- Family/Familial Status – Household composition, including the presence of children.
- Age – Persons 18 years of age and older.
- Marital Status – Married, single, divorced, widowed or separated.
- Lawful Source of Income – A person’s legal means of income, including such subsidized forms as Social Security, Food Stamps, Unemployment Compensation, etc.
- Sexual Orientation – Heterosexuality, homosexuality and bisexuality.
- Domestic Abuse, Sexual Assault and Stalking Victims – Persons who have been or are victims of domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking.
Sarah Jenkins
Program Manager Outreach and Education Program
Email
sjenkins@fairhousingwisconsin.com
Phone
(414) 278-1240
Address
759 N Milwaukee St., Milwaukee, WI 53202
Fair Wisconsin envisions a fair, safe, and inclusive society in which lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people are treated with dignity and respect.
Fair Wisconsin Inc. works to build a fair, safe, and inclusive Wisconsin for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people by advancing, achieving, and protecting LGBTQ civil rights through lobbying, legislative advocacy, grassroots organizing, coalition building and electoral involvement.
These efforts are designed to educate the general voting public, sensitize the media, promote a politically active and effective organizational membership, and better inform policy makers on issues of concern to the organization’s members.
Building coalitions with both progressive allies and LGBTQ partner organizations is the cornerstone of Fair Wisconsin’s success. This approach demonstrates the depth and breadth of support that LGBTQ issues and equality now have in Wisconsin. All of our entities are active partners in multiple coalitions, making Fair Wisconsin uniquely positioned to represent the LGBTQ interests in the broader community.
Address
122 East Olin Avenue, Suite 100
Madison, Wisconsin 53713
Phone
608.441.0143
Email
info@fairwisconsin.com
Leading the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.
We’ve spent more than 40 years creating the most powerful movement for equality our country has ever seen. But despite this progress, our most marginalized are still suffering from violence, discrimination and fear. Our goal is to ensure that all LGBTQ+ people, and particularly those of us who are trans, people of color and HIV+, are treated as full and equal citizens within our movement, across our country and around the world.
Sydney Lee
WI Rep, Human Rights Campaign
Email
sydney.lee@hrc.org
Changing laws and changing lives
Lambda Legal works at every level of government to stand up for the LGBTQ+ community and everyone living with HIV.
Our team of experts use their deep knowledge of the law and government to protect and advance our community’s rights through federal, state, and local policymaking. As laws and other legal measures are proposed that would affect the lives of our community—whether that’s at work, in school, or in healthcare, for example—Lambda Legal’s policy experts carefully monitor what’s happening on the ground and take action when necessary. We advocate for new policies that enshrine greater protections for our communities, such as the Equality Act, and we fight for reforms to existing laws in order to protect more people. Lambda Legal’s policy team also advocates for changes to the law that strengthen our institutions of democracy and build governments that better reflect the people they serve, such as voter protections and judicial reform.
The Award Winning Latino Entrepreneurial Network of Southeastern Wisconsin, Inc., (LEN), provides services and educational programs for individuals and business owners in the Wisconsin community. LEN’s focus is on youth programs and English as Second Language (ESL) entrepreneurial programs, educating low income and underserved individuals on numerous business topics.
Our mission is to promote entrepreneurial awareness and education through bilingual coaching, professional development, and networking.
Address
3419 A W Forest Home Ave
Milwaukee, WI 53215
Phone
414-509-6009
Visit Latino Entrepreneurial Network of Southeastern Wisconsin, Inc.
WI BOPM formed in June 2011 and the first protest of our organization was at Chase Bank in downtown Milwaukee to protest the mass foreclosures in the city. WI BOPM is a a completely independent organization funded entirely by poor and working people’s hard earned funds.
Since then WI BOPM has taken up the most crucial issues facing workers, students and ordinary people: including jobs; foreclosures and evictions; education and student rights; immigrant and worker’s rights; stopping racism and hate groups like the Tea Party; opposing the ongoing wars that are bleeding the economy dry; fighting to stop billions of dollars being given to the bank for ‘debt service’,: advocating for health care for all; demanding reproductive freedom and justice for women and rights for LGBTQ people and much, much more.
Email: wibailoutpeople@gmail.com
Phone: 414-395-0665
Facebook: Click here!
Rid Racism Milwaukee is an action-oriented coalition of individuals and organizations dedicated to dismantling all forms of racism and racial inequities through collaborations, education, dialogue, advocacy and action. We have a network of more than 500 individuals, a working group of about 25 active volunteers, formal and informal partnerships with key community organizations and an Executive Team of experienced, accomplished community leaders, activists and consultants. We are an all-volunteer nonprofit. We serve the metro Milwaukee area.
Call the LGBTQ Room to Be Safe Anti-Violence Resource Line at (414) 856-LGBT (5428) to talk to an LGBTQ advocate or to help connect you to services. Our advocates work with programs all over the state and can reach culturally sensitive LGBTQ+ and comrade allies all over. We recognize that LGBTQ+, particularly Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, those with Disability and Other People of Color survivors do not always have an easy time in mainstream shelters and many have faced discrimination and harm by staff and residents. Diverse & Resilient’s Room to Be Safe Anti-Violence Program is committed to traveling throughout the state to help train and provide technical assistance to IPV/SA programs all across the state.
Our coalitions, funders and our laws now require that ALL shelters in Wisconsin to fully integrate serving all genders. Thank you to the Office of Victims of Crime, the Dept of Children and Families and to the coalitions of End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault in helping us change the culture to serve ALL survivors in Wisconsin.
SOPHIA is a coalition of diverse faith communities in Waukesha County dedicated to building and deepening relationships within and among our communities. SOPHIA empowers people to work together on issues of justice and the common good. SOPHIA builds relationships in the public and private sectors, uniting people with common values to have a powerful voice; to stand together to change injustices affecting those who are marginalized. We seek to form a community of neighbors who can, together, make our communities places where everyone has a chance to succeed.
Address
100 E Broadway
Waukesha WI 53186
Email
admin@sophiawaukesha.org
LGBTQ+ leaders, allies, and advocates committed to addressing key issues disproportionately affecting the LGBTQ+ community.
Pride United is supporting the latest United Way Key Initiative, Safe and Stable Homes. This initiative is about changing the way our systems respond when a family is faced with losing their home.
When you join Pride United, you can:
- Connect with LGBTQ+ leaders who are elevating their voices and working together for change in our community.
- Volunteer at organizations that support the LGBTQ+ community and learn how you can support their mission.
- Attend events focused on creating an inclusive space for awareness and celebrating the work and people in our LGBTQ+ community. Including the annual Pride United Homecoming where all were welcome and celebrated.
For questions or more information about joining Pride United, contact Diamond Herring-Rodgers at 414.263.8152 or via email.
The Waukesha County Green Team is a voluntary organization of Waukesha County residents who care about the environment in which we live and raise our families. We are concerned about the quality of our water, our food, the air we breathe, and preserving the phenomenal natural resources, abundant in our County. We believe that Waukesha County will continue to be a great place to live for years in the future if we continue to educate ourselves on the wise use of our resources and take action to preserve those resources for today and future generations.
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan, grassroots political organization established in 1920. We advocate for informed and active participation in government. The League welcomes anyone who wishes to improve our systems of government and impact public policies through education and advocacy.
The League does not support or oppose candidates for office at any level of government. At the same time, the League is wholeheartedly political. We work to influence policy through advocacy.
The League of Women Voters is an organization fully committed to diversity, equity and inclusion in principle and in practice, and believes there should be no barriers to participating in the League. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are central to the organization’s current and future success in engaging all individuals, households, communities, and policymakers in creating a more perfect democracy.
Are you looking to get involved? Join us to make democracy work in Wisconsin!
Make Your Voice Heard!
Don’t wait to get ready to vote! VoteRiders can help you figure out what ID and documents you need to vote. We’re here to provide you with the practical, legal, and financial support to secure it.
VoteRiders offers resources for transgender and non-binary individuals. Many transgender and nonbinary people face barriers accessing the ID they need to register and vote safely. For transgender and nonbinary people whose ID doesn’t match their name and gender, voter ID laws can make the experience of casting a ballot invalidating and intimidating.
VoteRiders and HeadCount’s Vote with Pride team are here to make sure you have everything you need to vote safely and confidently.
For Wisconsin Voters
Voter ID in Wisconsin
Changing Your Legal Name
Updating Gender Markers
VoteRiders Digital Communications Coordinator Erin Carden spoke with Drag Out The Vote’s Executive Director Christopher Diaz about Pride, partnership, and Drag Out The Vote’s mission. — JUNE 25, 2024