Equality Arizona


“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” — Angela Davis
PictureEquality Arizona Lobby Day, 2019

KABF is happy to award a second grant in 2022 to the nonprofit Equality Arizona (EQAZ). Their mission is to create a welcoming and inclusive Arizona for all. Their vision is to empower the LGBTQ+ community to become effective leaders in all areas, including the civic arenas, in Arizona.

As their deputy director, Nichole Cassidy shared with KABF that “EQAZ is driven by the core belief that Arizona can and will become a liberated society where the systems that drive oppression against LGBTQ communities and marginalized people cease to exist. We organize intersectionality in queer and trans communities across AZ with the goal of empowering LGBTQ people to build a world in which every single person can not only survive but thrive.” Cassidy told us that Arizona has the fourth largest LGBTQ community in the U.S. She shared EQAZ’s goals for 2022, which includes legislative advocacy, community organizing and partnering with people of color to build on their success to date. She told KABF that in 2021 close to 350 anti-LBGTQ state bills were introduced in legislative sessions. EQAZ is fighting politicians who are trying to foster fear for their political gain.

Cassidy outlined for KABF a list of additional 2022 goals:
  • Expand and launch upgraded Trans Voter Protection Hotline
  • Develop an Arizona Judge Scorecard outlining voting records on rulings related to LGBTQ issues
  • Launch 2022 Voter registration campaign to register 100,000 new Arizona voters and update registrations for another 100,000 Arizonans
  • Launch 2022 voter education campaign including voting guide distributed to 1,000,000 Arizonan’s, ballot education workshops in 10 municipalities, and voting plans for 250,000 Arizonans
  • Launch Equality and Fairness for All Americans coalition in partnership with One Community, and includes LGBTQ organizations, faith organizations, businesses, trade associations, civic leaders, and every day Americans focused on a bi-partisan non-discrimination legislation that unites both the LGBTQ and faith community
  • Invest in organizing to recruit volunteers, identify and train volunteer leads, and develop and implement field plans around policy initiatives developed in partnership with communities on the ground
  • Develop a regional organizing plan that allows for the development of rural organizing with a focus on indigenous, agricultural, and border communities
  • Continue to shift the public narrative around key issues for the LGBTQ community through media, videos, storytelling, and video work
  • Ensure a long-term and sustained presence in northern and southern Arizona including staff and development of “member chapters”
  • Invest in a survey of the Arizona LGBTQ community - a first comprehensive survey of Arizona LGBTQ people

KABF is proud to continue our support for Equality Arizona.
For more information visit their website: www.equalityarizona.org/