Dear PFLAG Supporter,

There is so much important content in these newsletters so going forward I'll give you a quick overview of topics right at the top, along with a brief synopsis of ongoing initiatives and items that you might easily miss. 

In this week’s edition you’ll find: 

• An invitation to a confidential virtual chapter leader check-in PFLAG v. Trump
• Information about Pride Packs 2025 
• Details about the next Rural Think Tank 
• Guidance around social media best practices 
• Resilience Roundup focused on mental health

Before I dive in, I want to give you a heads up: In the next few weeks, we’ll be inviting you to participate in PFLAG’s Strategic Refresh process! As chapter leaders, your input is crucial in helping us strengthen PFLAG for the years ahead. We’ll have a combination of opportunities available, whether that’s joining a focus group or participating in a short survey we’ll circulate. We’ll be sharing more in next week’s edition of Leadership Matters, so keep an eye open for the details.

As volunteers on the frontlines of PFLAG’s work, your input will ensure our work remains impactful, inclusive, and community-driven and will allow us to harness our collective PFLAG power to better serve the ones we love. 

Now, on to this week’s content!

Confidential Check in on PFLAG v. Trump

I hope you saw our email inviting you to join us and our legal team tomorrow, Wednesday, February 26th at 8pm ET/5pm PT for a confidential PFLAG chapter leader check-in on PFLAG v. Trump.

In order to attend—and for everyone’s safety and privacy—you must register in advance to join us. Please DO NOT share this email or link with anyone, including your fellow board members, who should also have received this email directly. This is crucial for security purposes.

While we’ve done our best to schedule this check-in to avoid as many meeting conflicts as possible, we recognize this date and time might still coincide with a chapter activity. This is a critical and confidential update for chapter leaders only, so please check in with your fellow board members to ensure one of you is able to join us.

As a reminder, we have several resources in place for you to access timely information and answers to often-asked questions.

• A public-facing FAQ that is visible to and accessible by anyone; 
• A chapter-leader only FAQ—password protected on our website in our chapter leader resources—to help you answer questions that you receive; and
• A chapter leader messaging brief—also password protected in the chapter leader resources—to help you speak about the case to your community, your members and supporters, and to media if asked.

Don’t forget: You MUST register in advance to attend.

Pride Packs 2025: Choose Your Own Swag Adventure…On Us!

The branding team has created a PFLAG Chapter Leader-Only Swag Shop at chapterswag.pflag.org/, where you can order buttons, pens, shirts, stickers, fans, and Pride flags in bulk and at a larger discount than our public-facing shop.

But here’s the BEST part: We’re giving every chapter $200 to spend on the items of your choice. Then, you’ll get an additional 50% off further orders between now and June 30, 2025.

That’s right: $200 to spend on items of your choice PLUS 50% off anything else you spend over the $200. 

Here’s how it works: 

1. For the $200 credit: You’ll use your unique PFLAG Chapter ID as your code at checkout. This ID number is commonly used when completing your PFLAG Annual Report or on documents from PFLAG National. It can be found in the Member Portal on your chapter’s “Details” page. Not sure where to find that? We’ve made a visual walkthrough for you or you can contact your Chapter Engagement staffer for support. 
   1. Once you locate your code, connect with your fellow chapter board members, visit the shop, make your decisions about what items you’d like, then place your order using your PFLAG Chapter ID to get that $200 off. Spend it all on that order—once you use that code it will NOT be usable again, and we are NOT tracking whatever is not spent, so you’ll want to spend it all!
2. For the 50% off: Use the code Pride2025. This code can be used on any additional orders between now and June 30th. This code CANNOT be applied to the initial order using your $200 credit. 
3. You can only use ONE code per order. Not ready to spend your full $200 yet? Consider getting yourself started with a few bulk items at 50% off, then come back to make your big order with that $200 credit.
4. When you place ANY order, tell us in the section called “Leave a Note With Your Order” your chapter name and when your soonest event is; our team will do its best to prioritize events that are earliers (for example, our Florida chapters who celebrate Pride in March!).

Remember: Your PFLAG Chapter ID code for $200 off your order can be used only one time, and for one order. This means that if you spend only a portion of this $200 credit on an order, you will NOT have a remaining balance to use on a future order. Please work with your board to make ONE order to use up the full $200. 

Both codes expire on June 30, 2025, so if you have Pride events later in the year please order ahead of time to take advantage of these discounts. Shipping times might be slightly longer given the anticipated volume of orders, so please plan in advance as it may take anywhere from 7-20 days from placing your order to delivery date.

This chapter leader-only swag shop will be open all year round, and items there will continue to be offered in bulk and at a lower price than in our regular store. While the 50% off code will expire on June 30th, your “chapterleader” code giving you 15% off will work year round. Please note, however, that you can only use ONE code per order. Again: This shop is ONLY for PFLAG chapter leaders.

If you are experiencing issues with your code, the shop, or need assistance with your order, please contact the team at branding@pflag.org; someone will follow up with you within 48 hours. 

We’re excited for you to choose your own PFLAG swag adventure—head on over to chapterswag.pflag.org/ and get started today.

Rural Think Tank Alert!

March's Rural Think Tank’s topic is board recruitment and development. Board recruitment and retention is a core piece of successful PFLAG chapter operations. This process can be challenging but there are many paths to a successful outcome. Register to share your challenges, and the solutions you may have found. PFLAG National also wants to hear what resources you need from us to support your board development goals. Your input will help share new board recruitment resources! Register to take part in this facilitated discussion space on Monday, March 3rd at 4pm PT/7pm ET.

Social Media Best Practices

There are growing concerns about social media, safety, and policy changes in a variety of settings and as you’re considering how your chapter will respond there are a few things to consider as your board decides how to build community safely amid these challenges. 

• Consider leaving social media in favor of building community offline or in spaces that involve one way communications such as a newsletter.
• Shift chapter social media presence to include private groups with vetting considerations, clear rules, and strong moderation. 
• Review your social media platforms privacy settings.
• Read up on our Safety Guidance for Chapters. This includes resources and guidance for chapter leaders about how to handle online trolling and doxxing. 
• Don’t forget to flyer! People have been getting the word out long before social media. Think about where you can share information about your chapter in your community. Consider coffee shops, community centers, health care providers, local libraries, and more! Not sure where to start? Check out our flyer and brochure templates on Canva.
• If you’re not already building a coalition with other organizations in your community, now’s the time to do so. Introduce yourself and your chapter to possible partners and share what you do. Consider how you can team up to boost visibility.
• Are there volunteer, non-profit, or resource fairs in your community? Consider signing up to attend. These are a great way to meet like minded folks looking to help.

Additionally, our March 2025 PFLAG Academy Online learning session, “Safety Tips for PFLAG: Social Media Safety and Best Practices” will focus on staying safe online, how to navigate tough situations on social media, and our recommendations for making the most of your social media presence as well as your time spent on these platforms. Stay tuned for how to register!

Resilience Roundup

We know these last few months may have been overwhelming to you as PFLAG chapter leaders, your chapter members, and your greater communities. Normalizing authentic conversations around mental health and safety planning is a great way to process this time together and stay rooted in community. 

As you plan for speakers to present at your chapters meetings, consider bringing in area experts on mental health. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has, like PFLAG, a volunteer-based chapter network and your closest chapter may be interested in speaking in person or virtually! Similarly, reaching out to your local NAMI chapter may yield a speaker. If it’s helpful, here are PFLAG National’s mental health resources to share with your folks as well. Please know we’re here with you and for you!

Stay safe,

Abby Shuler (she/her)

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