Feel Good Friday - Victory Fund

It's the last Feel Good Friday in Pride month and it's election season so today I'm highlighting the "only national organization dedicated to electing openly LGBTQ officials", Victory Fund.

Victory Fund was founded in 1991 with a mission "to change the face and voice of America's politics and achieve equality for LGBTQ Americans by increasing the number of openly LGBTQ officials at all levels of government."

Modeled after EMILY's List, an organization dedicated to electing pro-choice, Democratic women, Victory Fund recruits, trains and supports openly LGBTQ candidates for public office around the country.

Candidates are given strategic, technical and financial support. In addition, endorsements from Victory Fund help increase the candidates' exposure to potential donors.

These methods work. In 1991, the first candidate Victory Fund ever endorsed won her election. Sherry Harris became the first openly lesbian African American city council member in Seattle. Since then, Victory Fund has helped over 600 candidates win elections all across the country! You can read more of their success stories on their history page and visit this interactive map to view 2019 election results.

Victory Fund wants to ensure the LGBTQ community has a voice at the table and there are many ways you can get involved to help them. Search this list of current candidates to see who needs your vote in November. Support multiple candidates with a donation to Victory Fund.

You can also join a virtual Sunday Social on June 28th to hear elected officials discussing the impact of LGBTQ leadership and how current events will influence their decision making.

To stay in the loop for future events, like Victory Fund's Facebook page and follow them on Twitter @VictoryFund. Happy Pride!

Feel Good Friday - CREW

Concerned about ethics violations in politics? So is Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, aka CREW, and that's why they're today's Feel Good Friday organization.

CREW is a non-partisan legal watchdog group that was founded in 2003. As explained on their website, "in a political moment where profits are prioritized over ethics and anonymous money damages the democratic process, CREW highlights these violations of the law and abuses of power through aggressive research and legal action."

As you might imagine, they've been quite busy lately and have taken over 450 legal actions since the beginning of the current administration.

Their work focuses on three areas: legal, research and policy. The team at CREW researches the flow of money in politics and identifies violations of campaign finance, ethics, tax or other rules. The first step is to file complaints asking the appropriate government agencies to investigate. If those agencies don't follow up, the second step is to file lawsuits to compel them to enforce the law. CREW also supports government agencies and public organizations working to reform campaign finance systems, strengthen federal corruption laws and increase government transparency.

You can go to this link to read up on the latest actions such as filing a complaint against Rudy Giuliani for violating the Hatch Act, requesting DOJ records on Roger Stone's reduced sentencing and requesting Army records on the removal of Lt. Col Vindman. These were some of the latest stories when I was writing this on Tuesday. Who knows what will be there by the time Friday rolls around.

There's an entire section of their websites devoted to reports they've compiled on unethical behavior. Reading them will get you riled up and ready to act. Then what? If you're an attorney, you can sign up with their pro bono program to volunteer your skills. Everyone else can make a donation so CREW can continue their work or send in tips if you've found evidence of unethical behavior. Keep up on the latest news by reading their blog, liking their Facebook page or following them on Twitter @CREWcrew.

Feel Good Friday - Code for America

Code for America founder, Jennifer Pahlka spoke at a conference I attended on Monday and given the organization's mission "to make government work in the digital age", they are my Feel Good Friday pick of the week.

Founded in 2011, Code for America explains their work as follows: "We partner with governments to redesign public services in three high-impact focus areas. Together, we work on projects to better serve communities and transform how governments use technology."

Those three areas are healthy communities, criminal justice and economic development. One example is the GetCalFresh app. It's a service that makes it easier for people to apply for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps). There are 2 million people in California who are eligible for the program but not receiving the benefits. GetCalFresh allows them to apply from their mobile phones, get their questions answered via text, online chat or email and upload photos of documents instead of faxing them. See the demo here.

Other programs include Clear My Record, a free online tool that helps people with eligible convictions navigate the complicated process of clearing their records and The Integrated Benefits Initiative. That focuses on creating application systems where user experience and user needs are put at the center of what gets built. Pilot programs are currently running in Michigan, Colorado, Alaska, Vermont and Louisiana.

If you like what Code for America is doing and you've got the skills to help, you can apply for a job in government or volunteer on a local project at one of the 77 brigades around the U.S. My local brigade, Open Oakland is having a Civic Hack Night on November 13th.

No matter what your skills are you can always show your support with a donation or by liking their Facebook page and following them on Twitter @codeforamerica.