LGBTQ+ Victory Fund was founded on May 1, 1991 by a small group of activists and donors with one simple mission: build lasting political power for the LGBTQ+ community by electing LGBTQ+ leaders to public office. Today, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund remains the only national organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ+ candidates at all levels of government.
Founders
Vic Basile
Chevy Chase, MD
William Waybourn
Linden, VA
Founding Board Co-Chairs
Lynn Greer
Columbus, OH
David Mixner
New York City, NY
Founding Board Members
Dianne Abbitt
Hollywood Hills, CA
Roberta Bennett
Beverly Hills, CA
David Detrick
San Francisco, CA
Jane Dolkart
Washington, DC
R. Christine Hershey
Los Angeles, CA
Scott Hitt
Hollywood, CA
Howard Menaker
Washington, DC
Tim McFeeley
Washington, DC
Avi Rome
Boston, MA
Hilary Rosen
Washington, DC
John Thomas
Dallas, TX
Early Board Members
Tom Goodwin
Washington, DC
Bill Lewis
Phoenix, AZ
David Nixon
St. Pete Beach, FL
Van Sheets
Washington, DC
Joseph Steffen
Mexico
Tom Stoddard
New York City, NY
Sally Susman
New York City, NY
Joy Tomchin
New York City, NY
Jeff Trammell
Washington, DC
Steve Tyler
Los Angeles, CA
Andrew Barrer
Chicago, IL
Jeremy Bernard
Los Angeles, CA
Nancy Clack
Silver Spring, MD
Chuck Forester
San Francisco, CA
Jeff Gibson
San Francisco, CA
“Gail Shibley [an early candidate for Oregon state legislature] later told me how she would sit at her kitchen table at night after a long day of campaigning and open a newly arrived Victory Fund packet of checks. She would hold each check and wonder about the person who wrote it—why people she didn’t know and people from other parts of the country who couldn’t vote for her would send money to help elect her to public office in Oregon. It gave her an incredible feeling of support. Those early victories underscored that we were on to something: the Victory Fund would occupy an important place in our movement.
– William Waybourn, Victory Fund’s First Executive Director