The Human Rights Campaign Foundation improves the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people by working to increase understanding and encourage the adoption of LGBTQ-inclusive policies and practices.

We build support for LGBTQ people among families and friends, co-workers and employers, pastors and parishioners, doctors and teachers, neighbors, and the general public. Through the following programs and projects, we are enhancing the lived experiences of LGBTQ people and their families, as we change hearts and minds across America and around the globe.

The HRC Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization.

Click here for a comprehensive look at the work of the HRC Foundation, where you can download a .pdf of the HRC Foundation Overview of flip through the digital version. Highlights of our programs and projects follow.

HRC’s Children, Youth & Families Program

Becoming a parent, sending your 5-year-old to kindergarten, watching your teenager graduate from high school – these are life’s biggest moments. For LGBTQ parents and LGBTQ children, they can also be some of life’s most challenging moments. That’s where HRC’s Children, Youth and Families Program comes in.

Through innovative training and direct consultation with schools, child welfare agencies and other service providers, HRC’s Children, Youth and Families Program creates welcoming, affirming and supportive environments for LGBTQ prospective parents, LGBTQ-ledfamilies, and LGBTQ youth.

The program’s projects include:

• HRC’s All Children – All Families Project, which trains child welfare professionals to improve agency policies and practices around LGBTQ foster and adoptive families, as well as LGBTQ children and youth;
• HRC’s Welcoming Schools Project, which offers professional development and curriculum for schools to create learning environments that embrace family diversity, avoid gender stereotyping and end bullying; and
• HRC’s Youth Well-Being Project, which is anchored by the annual Time To Thrive conference, and promotes safety, inclusion and well-being for LGBTQ youth.

HRC’s Health & Aging Program

Going into the hospital is stressful enough without worrying about getting inferior care just because of who you are. The Health & Aging Program works to ensure that LGBTQ people receive optimal treatment in hospitals, clinics and elder care—times of vulnerability when respect and sensitivity are crucial. The program evaluates healthcare and elder facilities from an LGBTQ standpoint, trains current and future care providers, and is a powerful national advocate for LGBTQ health and aging needs.

Projects under the program include:

• The Healthcare Equality Index (HEI), which reports on LGBTQ equity and inclusion in healthcare facilities across the country and trains their staff to provide welcoming, knowledgeable care to LGBTQ patients.

• Educational outreach, which brings the heath and aging concerns of LGBTQ people to a wide range of audiences nationwide, including health professional schools, elder services providers, policymakers and researchers.

HRC’s Religion & Faith Program

People look to their faith as a source of guidance and inspiration – and LGBTQ people and our family and friends are no different. The HRC Religion and Faith Program is working to create a world where nobody is forced to choose between who they are or who they love and what they believe. Thanks in part to this work, more and more faith communities aren’t simply engaging in dialogue around LGBTQ equality, they’re leading the conversation. They do this work not in spite of their religious beliefs but because of them.

Projects helping advance this work include:

• Triumph Through Faith, which mobilizes faith communities – especially those in areas where marriage and non-discrimination measures are pending – to be at the forefront of pro-equality activities in ways that are culturally, spiritually and socially competent.
• A La Familia, focusing on inherent commitments to family and faith in the Latina/o community, this project offers a variety of bilingual resources – including a training model featuring a guide, video and in-person facilitated discussions – to build support for LGBTQ inclusion from within the community.
• The Summer Institute for Religious and Theological Study, which sparks and fosters dialogue on LGBTQ issues and religion in seminaries – and ultimately congregations and communities – by investing in the next-generation of LGBTQ and allied faith scholars.

HRC’s Workplace Equality Program

Advancing workplace equality for LGBTQ employees means looking far beyond the employee handbook—it means putting policy into practice on the factory floor, in the corporate boardroom and everywhere in between. HRC’s Workplace Equality Program is the nationally recognized voice for advocacy, information and guidance on LGBTQ workplace issues.

The program’s projects include:

• HRC’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI), an annual survey and report benchmarking best practices in LGBTQ diversity and inclusion among the nation’s largest corporations and law firms. The CEI has been a highly influential tool in moving corporate America forward and paving the way to a landscape where millions of employees can count on LGBTQ fairness in the workplace. The report also has two powerful extensions:
  • HRC Buyer’s Guide, which is the go-to resource for consumers looking to support top-ranked CEI companies.
  • HRC’s Best Places to Work, which offers an annual list of CEI leaders deserving of a first look among prospective employees seeking LGBTQ-friendly companies.
• HRC’s Degrees of Equality Project, which delivers groundbreaking reports and customized trainings to improve the climate for LGBTQ employees in the workplace. Through this project, we help bridge the gap between LGBTQ-inclusive policies and welcoming workplace environments.

HRC's Youth & Campus Engagement Program

Making the leap from living at home to living on your own is a challenge for anybody – and being LGBTQ can compound those challenges.  HRC’s Youth & Campus Engagement Program works to create empowered and self-actualized LGBTQ youth and young adults as they enter colleges, communities and the workplace. Through online and printed resources, a scholarship database and speaking engagements on college campuses nationwide, the program has reached countless future LGBTQ leaders.

Signature projects under the program include:

• The HRC U Internship Project, which provides students from all educational backgrounds leadership development and valuable career experience through HRC internships year-round.
• The Historically Black College and University (HBCU) Project, which supports students, faculty and staff at HBCUs as they address the needs of LGBTQ populations at these institutions, with a newly created Transgender Advisory Council aimed at encouraging understanding and policies supporting students of all gender identities.
• The Coming Out Project, which offers resources in English and Spanish around coming out to family and friends, colleagues and in faith communities, in addition to public awareness campaigns encouraging those who can to come out as LGBTQ and allies of equality.

HRC Global

As we grow ever closer to realizing the dream of equality here in the United States, there are millions more LGBTQ people around the world who live in fear and isolation – and under the rule of governments that criminalize their very identities. HRC Global works to advance equality for LGBTQ people around the world by empowering international LGBTQ advocates; engaging with coalition partners in the international LGBTQ movement; exposing U.S. individuals and organizations exporting homophobia and transphobia abroad; and educating Americans on global LGBTQ issues.

The program is anchored by the following projects:

• HRC Global Fellowships, which provide leadership development for international LGBTQ advocates through paid, year-long fellowships in Washington, D.C.
• International Equality Project, which collects and communicates the state of equality internationally through timely media efforts aimed at increasing awareness among LGBTQ Americans and allies around LGBTQ issues abroad.