| Dear Chapter Leader, For so many of us, it feels like a year has gone by since January 20th—the weight is heavy, and the struggle is real. As PFLAG chapter leaders, remember that even as you are leading efforts in your community to create safe spaces of belonging for people who need them, you are not in this work alone. My team and I are here for you, as are your Regional Directors, your board members, and your community as a whole; we all need to lean on each other. If you’re feeling ready to get educated and take action on the Executive Orders that have been released to date, I encourage you to visit our newly launched Executive Orders page, with explainers and resources; our Advocacy and Strategic Communications teams will continue updating this page as more information becomes available. |
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| I also want to re-elevate the messaging brief that our Strategic Communications team has put together, password-protected and found in the Chapter Leader messaging resources on the chapter portal. As staff work with coalition partners and legal organizations to better understand the ramifications of what is being done—and recognizing that these orders are meant to sow chaos—this brief will hopefully help you address questions, whether from your community, your members, or media. The StratComms team is here to help you when needed. Please reach out to Laura McGinnis at lmcginnis@pflag.org for any questions or support. As we learn more from our partners, we will be sharing it with all of you. Finally, whether or not you joined us for our PFLAG Community Gathering last week, an abundance of resources were shared to address our four top priorities: safety, community, facts, and advocacy. In case you missed it, here they are in one easy-to-find location: |
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| | Thank you for all that you do, especially in these tumultuous times.
Jamie Curtis (she/her), Vice President, Chapter & Communities Engagement |
|  | | We want to confidentially caution you to keep an eye on your email lists, members lists, and social media signups. There are reports at the national level that OPM email addresses (such as “DEIAtruth @ opm .gov” and “deiareports @ opm .gov”) have been signing up for organization mailing lists. Some chapters have reported to us that they have found similar email addresses on their own lists. False names are being used, including possibly other “@ opm .gov” email addresses. This is not a cause to panic, only a reminder to stay vigilant. If you receive unkind emails? Do not respond. Simply report them as spam and if the email address has signed up to receive future emails, remove it. Do the same with your Facebook groups and pages: just take a glance at new signups. If you need support with anything related to this, please reach out to our digital comms team at digital@pflag.org. Here are some helpful resources for your review; we will provide more of them in the weeks and months ahead. - From EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation)
- Transparency and safety from email and online platforms
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| | The deadline for this year’s Annual Responsibilities is quickly approaching! All submissions are due by Saturday, February 15, 2025—less than two weeks away. If you haven’t started yet, please prioritize completing the IRS 990-N e-postcard and your state’s required filings. You can find a full guide, including links and visual walkthroughs, here. If you’ve already completed your IRS and state filings, please begin working on your annual report for PFLAG National. This report is required each year to help provide financial and other information that supports our IRS reporting and data evaluation. You can complete the report here. If you need help completing these tasks, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Angel Kearns at akearns@pflag.org. Additionally, she’ll be hosting two final office hours, which you can join if you need assistance. Registration links are provided below. |
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| Call For Ally Stories: The Fifth Edition of The Guide to Being An Ally to LGBTQ+ People |
| PFLAG National is looking for help to update one of our most popular publications, The Guide to Being an Ally to LGBTQ+ People (formerly the guide to being a straight ally). Please share this call for stories with your chapter and local networks; we will select a number of the responses for inclusion in the publication. Submit your stories by Friday, February 14th. Below is a sample caption you can use in your next email newsletter to spread the word. You can also reshare this post on our Instagram, Facebook, or BlueSky. For Use In Your Member Emails: PFLAG National needs your help to demonstrate the importance of active allies! Please respond to one or more of the prompts in the link below to share your experiences. Your response may be chosen to appear in the The Guide to Being an Ally to LGBTQ+ People (the upcoming updated version of the guide to being a straight ally). Your stories and insights will help us engage new and potential allies for years to come. Stories can be submitted at pflagnation.al/AllyGuideStorySubmission until Friday, February 14. |
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| | Urban PFLAG chapters have unique opportunities and challenges, including lots of chances to host events-- fundraisers, anniversary parties, holiday parties, social events, and more. The advantage of being in a city is that there are many potential attendees, partners, spaces, and ways to generate engagement. If this is something your chapter has succeeded in, wanted to focus on, or needs guidance on, then join us for a facilitated discussion in a peer-support space specifically for urban chapter leaders. Register to attend on Wednesday February 19th at 4pm PT / 7pm ET. |
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| PFLAG Academy Online: February 2025 |
| Tuesday, February 25, 2025 | 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT: Be Kind, Not Just Nice: Transforming Your Conversations We all know the phrase "if you're not going to say something nice, then don't say anything at all." But what do we do when others don't follow that rule? What about when unkindness impacts people and communities we care about, including our LGBTQ+ loved ones? What do we do when being kind means speaking up and not being so nice? Join the PFLAG National team to learn some of the skills you need to transform your conversations and stand by what you believe in without becoming unkind yourself. Register today! On-Demand Sessions |
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| | | Access through the PFLAG Member Portal to find resources, toolkits, branding materials, and more for Chapter Leaders! |
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| All of PFLAG's branding assets, including the chapter logo generator, the branding guide, and more! |
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| Use the PFLAG Member Portal to update your chapter contact info, membership lists, leadership rosters and meetings. |
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| |  | PFLAG National
(202) 467-8180 | love@pflag.org |
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