The Gill Action Fund is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

501(c)(4) A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the Law of the United States#Federal law, federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)) and is one of over 29 types of nonprofit organizations exe ...

issue advocacy organization founded in 2005 by philanthropist and entrepreneur

Tim Gill Tim Gill (born October 18, 1953) is an American computer software programmer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and LGBTQ rights activist. He was among the first openly gay people to be on the Forbes 400 list of America's richest people. He is the fo ...

to provide resources to individuals and organizations on both sides of the aisle working to advance equality for LGBT people through the legislative, political, and electoral process.

Overview

Gill Action's Political OutGiving program works to engage a network of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, (

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

) and allied political donors to advance full equality for LGBT people. Gill Action is independent from the

Gill Foundation The Gill Foundation is an American philanthropic foundation based in Denver, Colorado. It is one of the largest funders of efforts to secure full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the United States. The foundat ...

. As a

organization, Gill Action can support political and other organizations that actively lobby for the passage of legislation that protects LGBT people and their families.

History

Prior to founding Gill Action, Tim Gill's 2004 political contributions helped Democrats take control of the

Colorado General Assembly The Colorado General Assembly is the state legislature of the State of Colorado. It is a bicameral legislature that was created by the 1876 state constitution. Its statutes are codified in the ''Colorado Revised Statutes'' (C.R.S.). The ses ...

and elect

Ken Salazar Kenneth Lee Salazar (born March 2, 1955) is an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat who is the United States ambassador to Mexico. He previously served as the 50th United States Secretary of the Interior in the administration of President Ba ...

to the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

. During the

2006 midterm elections The 2006 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 7, 2006, in the middle of Republican President George W. Bush's second term. Democrats won control of both houses of Congress, which was the first and only time either party did so ...

, the national network of donors Gill Action works with contributed more than $2.8 million to 68 political campaigns in 11 states with the aim of protecting pro-LGBT politicians or unseating elected officials they saw as anti-gay; 56 of Gill Action's targeted campaigns won. In 2010, Tim Gill provided seed funding for a bipartisan

independent expenditure An independent expenditure, in elections in the United States, is a political campaign communication that Issue advocacy ads, expressly advocates for the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate that is not made in cooperation, consulta ...

campaign to unseat New York state senators who voted against marriage equality. The campaign, called Fight Back New York, successfully ousted Sen.

Hiram Monserrate Hiram Monserrate (born July 12, 1967) is an American politician and convicted felon from the State of New York. A Democrat, Monserrate represented New York's 13th State Senate District in Queens from January 1, 2009 until February 9, 2010, when ...

(D-Queens), Sen.

William Stachowski William T. Stachowski (born February 14, 1949) is an American politician from New York. Biography Stachowski attended Bishop Ryan High School in Buffalo, New York. He graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, wh ...

(D-Buffalo), and Sen.

Frank Padavan Frank Padavan (October 31, 1934 – October 8, 2018) was an American engineer and politician. He served as a New York state senator representing District 11, located in Queens County. His district included the communities of Queens Village, ...

(R-Queens) replacing each of them with senators who support marriage equality. Since its inception, Gill Action has played a role in passing and protecting nondiscrimination legislation in

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, and municipalities in Michigan. Gill Action also played a role in passing and protecting relationship recognition (civil unions, marriage, etc.) legislation in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

References

External links

Gill Action Fund

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force: reprint of Washington Blade article "Gill finds niche in results-oriented activism"Bay Area Reporter: "The Gill Action Fund: Serious LGBT politics"
501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations Organizations established in 2005 2005 establishments in the United States Tim Gill {{US-poli-stub