Building Momentum for Change: How Local and Incremental Policy Campaigns Contribute to Statewide Victories

October 30, 2015

Here at the Equality Federation Institute, we know that local and incremental work matters. That’s why we began an investigation into the impact these campaigns have on our movement.

We interviewed state and national leaders who have been engaged with efforts to secure municipal nondiscrimination ordinances, LGBT-inclusive school district policies, and executive orders protecting our community. We talked to them about why and how they did this work, and we asked about the effect it had on their organizations, their communities, and their states.

Click here to read what we learned -- detailed in our new report, Building Momentum for Change: How Local and Incremental Policy Campaigns Contribute to Statewide Victories.

During all of our conversations, one message became increasingly clear: local and incremental work drives our movement forward.

It provides opportunities to engage in positive, productive public education; to establish facts that make creating a case for further legislation easier; to create political momentum; and to build the capacity of our movement organizations. And most importantly, this work helps us to enact real protections for LGBT people who need them.

Made possible by support from Gill Foundation and written by three Federation staff members -- Fran Hutchins, Ian Palmquist, and Jace Woodrum -- Building Momentum for Change carefully considers the power of local and incremental campaigns, making a strong case for doing and funding this work. The report also offers recommendations for movement leaders to ensure that these efforts avoid a number of common pitfalls.

Download Building Momentum for Change now.

At the end of the day, Building Momentum for Change is about a movement: a movement that started with incredible acts of courage outside a bar in New York City and has grown into an unstoppable force for fairness and equality.

I hope you’ll read it and share it with others who are interested in understanding how our movement became what it is today.

More You might like

Equality Federation Accountability and Commitment to Conference Accessibility

Equality Federation acknowledges and deeply apologizes for perpetuating the systemic harm and exclusion of disabled people at our 2025 Leadership Conference.

June 12, 2025
Equality Federation Adds Alexis Sanchez and Vincent Paolo Villano to Senior Leadership Team

We are pleased to announce the addition of two effective and experienced leaders to our senior leadership team!

June 12, 2025
National Coalition of HIV, LGBTQ+ and Health Advocates Applauds Court Decision Upholding Law that Ensures Access to PrEP and other Healthcare Preventive Services

In response to the Supreme Court decision on the Braidwood case today, June 27, a national coalition released the following statement from the Executive Directors of Lambda Legal, PrEP4All, the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation, the Center for HIV Law and Policy, and Equality Federation.

June 12, 2025
A young man looking up, smilingA young man smiling straight at the camera
Confident young woman standing with crossed arms.

Want To Make A Difference? Support Our Work

With your support, we'll be able to continue our work to build the leaders of today and tomorrow, strengthen state-based LGBTQ+ organizations, and make critical progress on the issues that matter most—like protecting transgender people, ending HIV criminalization and ensuring access to care, and banning conversion therapy across the country.