Equality Federation

“To become a member and to remain a member in good standing of the equality federation, organizations must meet the following six criteria: 1. Member organizations must have a central mission of working to win equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer people in their state. 2. Members must have statewide impact. Equality federation member organizations must demonstrate that they are working primarily for: state-level policy change (e.g. Nondiscrimination, conversion therapy bans); policy implementation at state and local levels (e.g. Rule changes with state agencies, adoption of compliant policies at the municipal level); and/or policy accountability at state and local levels (e.g. Monitoring and addressing policy violations through organizing and advocacy). An organization's statewide mission must also be reflected in its mission statement, bylaws, or articles of incorporation. 3. Members must be non-partisan. Member organizations cannot be affiliated with a particular political party. 4. Members must be independent. Member organizations may not operate as chapters, representatives, or affiliates of a national organization. 5. Members must be advocacy organizations. Member organizations must have as a central focus to be advocacy organizations on behalf of the lgbtq community. 6. Member organizations must have a governing board. Although the federation may at times provide support and advice to start-up groups, organizations seeking and maintaining membership must have a governing board and should be incorporated or planning to incorporate.”

“Delegates of member organizations shall elect member representative board members at the annual membership meeting. At the annual meeting of the membership, nominations for directors will be taken from the delegates and each delegate shall vote by secret ballot. Candidates with the most votes shall become directors. In the event of a tie, a runoff election shall be held between the candidates in question.”

“A draft of the 990 is reviewed by the executive director and treasurer of the board and approved for filing. The approved and filed 990 is then circulated and reviewed by the finance committee.”

“The conflict of interest policy covers all members of the board of directors, the executive director, and independent contractors who perform significant work for the organization. Upon notification of a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest, the chair shall advise the full board and the executive director. After review, the board will determine whether the disclosure of the conflict protects the integrity of the board's decision-making. The board may: a. Determine by majority vote that the party in conflict shall be allowed to participate in all deliberations directly relating to the actual or potential conflict, but, if a voting member, require that he/she shall recuse him/herself from any vote on the matter: or b. Determine that the party in conflict shall not take part in any of the deliberations or votes of the board involving the question concerning which the conflict arises, nor attempt to influence other directors in reaching a decision on that question. The minutes of the meeting in which the question was before the board shall disclose the recusal. The director shall not be counted as being present for a quorum in connection with that question. In the event that the party in conflict disputes the board's resolution of the conflict of interest question, any approval or limitation of his or her participation shall require a two-thirds vote of those voting members present.”

“An independent review of comparability data to determine the compensation of the executive director is conducted by the executive committee of the board. The executive committee makes recommendations to the entire board, and the entire board approves the compensation package.”

“AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.”

“These documents are not available to the public.”

“The process has not changed from the prior year.”