Triangle Foundation tapped for national capacity building project

DETROIT – The Triangle Foundation has been chosen by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force to partner in an initiative to help strengthen statewide LGBT advocacy organizations. The project aims to build a national pro-LGBT infrastructure by fostering partnerships between statewide organizations.
Triangle's inclusion makes it eligible for up to $100,000 in funding over two years, according to NGLTF's Director of Movement Building Russell Roybal who met with members of Triangle's staff and board on Aug. 17.
The capacity building project is a program of the Task Force's Movement Building department and funded by the Gill Foundation and the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund.
Roybal was enthusiastic about NGLTF's partnership with Triangle. "We're really excited," he said.
"We see Michigan as a critical state," Roybal said, adding that Michigan is considered a swing state in national elections. "There's a lot of great organizing going on in the state."
Jeffrey Montgomery, Triangle's executive director, said, "It's important that the Task Force recognizes that Michigan is a place where battles happen." The NGLTF award gives Triangle increased capacity to counter anti-gay organizing in the state, Montgomery said.
"We're very proud of it," he said.
"As effective as we are, we can be even more so and that's exactly the excitement being generated by this project," Montgomery added. "This is a great gift to Triangle, but it's really a terrific gift to the LGBT community of Michigan."
NGLTF believes that partnering with the statewide organizations builds long-term stability into the LGBT rights movement, Roybal said.
According to Roybal, the project is more than just a grant. "It's about building infrastructure for decades to come," he said. "The Task Force is about building grass roots political power from the ground up."
NGLTF board members Kathleen Russell and John Allen were present at the Aug. 17 meeting with Roybal.
Russell called NGLTF "a national organization that is about local empowerment."
"Clearly Michigan is on the move politically," she said reflecting on the post-Proposal 2 political climate. She called Triangle's partnership with NGLTF "a tremendous opportunity to build upon the momentum of 1.9 million NO votes" against the anti-gay marriage amendment in November.
Allen, who called the award "a very big deal," had praise for Triangle. "The award of this grant is a measure of the esteem that Triangle is held in on a national level," he said.
"As board members, we are proud of the opportunity the Task Force has to support proven organizations to step to the next level," said Russell.
Triangle board member Joy Geng called the award "very exciting."
"It's provided us with an opportunity we've been looking for for a long time and that's to grow [and] strengthen our organization," she said.
"It's another important reason for people here in Michigan to support the Task Force," Allen said, adding that the Task Force spent money in November against Proposal 2.
Triangle, PROMO (Missouri) and Equal Rights Washington are the latest members of the capacity building project. Kentucky Fairness Alliance and Equality Maryland were selected in the first phase of the project in December 2004.