Visibility Through Affirmation

Maintains and recommends the Rainbow Access Initiative LGBTQ+ Resource Directory, an interactive and downloadable PDF, to help community members access safe and affirming services.

Provides comprehensive training, presentations, and professional development to health providers, K-12 schools, colleges, businesses, government agencies, and community organizations to improve services for LGBTQ individuals. Also offers free 15–30 minute Pride Center Information Presentations to agencies and community groups.

Provides health and human services, educational programs, and community support to LGBTQIA+ individuals across a ten-county region centered in Albany, NY, through a physical location in Albany and outreach across the Capital Region. The organization operates as the longest continually operating Pride Center in the United States.

Runs the Partner-in-Pride recurring donor program to ensure consistent financial support for organizational operations.

Produces the Pride Guide and Gala Journal as part of ongoing efforts to promote education and awareness within the LGBTQ community.

Offers counseling and case management services that are affirming of LGBTQ+ identities to individuals, families, and allies aged 13 and older.

Trains volunteer facilitators in trauma-informed care and conflict resolution before they lead support group sessions.

Supports LGBTQ+ families in sharing personal stories, provides trainings to lawmakers and corporate partners, and connects media outlets with LGBTQ+ advocates and experts through a Speakers Hub and media referral service.

Conducts advocacy at local, state, and national levels to advance legal protections for LGBTQ+ families, including efforts to pass the Respect for Marriage Act, legalize surrogacy in New York via the Child-Parent Security Act, and support confirmatory adoption laws in Vermont and New Mexico.

Operates an LGBTQ+ Speakers Hub and provides Open Door Professional Training Courses to equip advocates, service providers, and media with tools to support and represent LGBTQ+ families effectively.

Provides parenting guides, toolkits, webinars, and information on policies and laws affecting LGBTQ+ family rights through mail, online platforms, and referrals, including a historical network of 160 local chapters.

Organizes an annual weeklong gathering in Provincetown, Cape Cod, for hundreds of LGBTQ+ families from across the U.S. and internationally, featuring community-building events such as a Family Pride Parade, Beach Bash, Family Dance Party, Drag Storytime, and affinity spaces for youth and caregivers.

Leads advocacy efforts to update federal forms—including Social Security, passport, and FAFSA applications—to remove gendered parental terms such as “mother” and “father” and ensure inclusive recognition of LGBTQ+ families.

Maintains and operates a directory of LGBTQ+ affirming fertility clinics, cryobanks, midwives, doulas, and surrogacy clinics, listing only those providers who have completed Family Equality's Open Door Professional Training Courses.

Offers in-person and virtual peer support spaces, daily gatherings, yoga sessions, and affinity groups for parents, caregivers, and youth to connect and share experiences, expanded during the pandemic to include virtual programming.

Files amicus briefs in key national cases such as United States v. Windsor and Obergefell v. Hodges, and led litigation against Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay and Trans” law, resulting in an historic 2024 settlement that rolled back key provisions.

Offers educational initiatives such as The Queer Learning Series, which features talks and discussions on LGBTQ+ history, literature, and culture with scholars and writers, and broader programming aimed at reducing prejudice and discrimination through community education.

Provides ongoing support group programming for LGBTQ+ adults and youth, including monthly in-person groups for transgender and non-binary adults, queer adults, and weekly or monthly virtual and in-person groups for LGBTQ+ youth ages 10–18. Meetings include facilitated discussions, educational workshops, and peer-led activities.