Family Equality Council records

This collection consists of the records of Family Equality Council, a national advocacy organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) parents, guardians, and allies. Materials in the collection consist of correspondence, annual and quarterly reports, articles and clippings, board of directors records, event records, financial and fundraising records, publications, subject files, and electronic files. The collection is particularly strong both for its documentation of the group's activism and advocacy efforts, as well as its efforts to provide community for and document the everyday lives and experiences of LGBTQ families.

Correspondence in the collection consists primarily of communication between board members and staff of Family Equality Council, as well as outgoing correspondence to supporters and constituents. Annual and quarterly reports provide the most extensive documentation of the organization's activism and advocacy efforts. Audiovisual materials in the collection consist of a copy of "Proud Families," an educational recording produced by Family Equality Council as a resource for LGBTQ parents. The Board of Directors records provide extensive documentation of the organization's development and evolution, including its expansion and merger with Rainbow Families, as well as its many organizational name changes.

Event records primarily document Provincetown Family Week, an annual vacation gathering for LGBTQ families in Provincetown, Massachusetts. This event, sponsored by Family Equality Council, provides LGBTQ parents and their children with opportunities to gather, socialize, and network with one another. The success of this event prompted Family Equality Council to sponsor similar events in other parts of the country, such as Family Pride in the Desert and Saugatuck Family Week, which are also documented in these records. Other event records document conferences organized by Family Equality Council, as well as the organization's participation in the Millenium March on Washington in 2000. Financial and fundraising records consist of budgets and financial reports, as well as grant applications and donor files. Newsletters in the collection provide further documentation of Family Equality Council's activism and advocacy efforts, and also more generally document the experiences of and issues faced by LGBTQ families from the 1980s through the early years of the twenty-first century. Publications consist of educational books and pamphlets produced by Family Equality Council for LGBTQ parents and their children. These cover a variety of issues, including healthcare access, schools and educational issues, and childrens' books for LGBTQ families. Subject files consist of an assortment of materials related to Family Equality Council's mission and activities.

Electronic files consist mainly of videos, photographs, and promotional material for conferences and Provincetown Family Week. Dates for electronic material were taken from the media labels, which were created by the Family Equality Council.