From: HRCFCOMM@aol.com Date: Mon, 9 Oct 1995 18:17:18 -0400 Subject: LARGEST NATIONAL LESBIAN AND GAY POLITICAL GROUP LAUNCHES BOLD NEW IDENTITY _________________________________________________________________ NEWS from the Human Rights Campaign 1101 14th Street NW Washington, DC 20005 email: communications@hrcusa.org WWW: http://www.hrcusa.org _________________________________________________________________ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, October 9, 1995 LARGEST NATIONAL LESBIAN AND GAY POLITICAL ORGANIZATION LAUNCHES BOLD NEW IDENTITY Changes Reflect Dramatic New Approach to Building Political Strength, Membership, and Enhancing Dialog With America THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN... so much more than a fund Washington -- The Human Rights Campaign Fund unveiled its new organizational identity this week, including new communications tools, representing the culmination of an intensive eight-month internal and external review of programs and community opinion. The changes reflect a new approach to building political strength, membership and enhancing the dialog about lesbian and gay issues with America. The new identity includes dropping the word fund from the organization s name, emphasizing the fact the country s largest national lesbian and gay political organization is so much more than a fund, said Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign. Birch, who joined the Human Rights Campaign as the organization s new executive director in January, 1995 vowing to bring new and robust marketing and communications technologies to the organization, said We are changing to meet the challenge of an evolving political environment. I believe we are at a critical turning point in the fight for lesbian and gay equality in America. Our vision, approach, and new look reflect an organization reaching out to more people than ever -- to build hope and political power for change in America. Our new name reflects our growth and diverse programs. In concert with the unveiling of the new look and feel, the Human Rights Campaign announced new methods for communicating with its members and others whom the organization hopes to motivate to become more politically involved. In July, the Human Rights Campaign introduced the premiere issue of HRC Quarterly, designed to provide political news for lesbian and gay America. The second issue of the magazine, reflecting the new look and new name will be distributed to Human Rights Campaign members in mid-October, and will be available at most major lesbian and gay bookstores. This month, the Human Rights Campaign debuts its new site on the World Wide Web, designed to provide users with the up-to-the-minute information they need to communicate with Congress on a regular basis. The address is http://www.hrcusa.org. Users enter their zip code and their members of Congress are displayed with up-to-the-minute voting records on gay and AIDS-related issues. Special instructions are displayed if the member requires special action because of committee membership, or sponsorship or lack of sponsorship of a particular bill. During the past eight months, I ve worked with everyone at the Human Rights Campaign to undertake a rigorous look at our organization -- its vision and purpose, programs, and services. In focus groups, membership polls, and at HRC functions and events, we ve talked with thousands of HRC members and non-members alike. What we heard is shaping where we re headed, said Birch. The Human Rights Campaign has completely reorganized its programs, services, and teams. We emerge with a plan that will enable us to be an even more effective player at the federal level -- while empowering our membership, said Daniel Zingale, the Human Rights Campaign s political director. As we work to build an even stronger relationship with our members, supporters, community-based Human Rights Campaign leaders, and partner organizations, and to gear up for Campaign 96 -- there s never been a more important time to unify the voice of the gay community. We are reinventing our organization to make us an even more effective voice for the community, said Zingale. A cornerstone of the new organizational identity is the Human Rights Campaign s new vision statement, reflecting a sharper focus to guide the organization s mission: The Human Rights Campaign envisions an America where lesbian and gay people are ensured of their basic equal rights -- and can be open, honest, and safe at home, at work, and in the community. The Human Rights Campaign also unveiled its new logo: a simple equal sign that symbolizes the fight for basic equal rights for all gay and lesbian people. It s bold. It s simple. It s colorful, said Birch. The Human Rights Campaign has had the privilege of working with some of the best marketing and creative talent this country has to offer, said Cathy Nelson, membership director of the Human Rights Campaign. This talent has come to us out of the vibrant high technology and publishing industries -- and much of it on a pro bono basis. The team was led by Susan Schuman, a marketing consultant, along with the San Francisco-based design and advertising firm of Stone Yamashita. Both are highly respected in their fields and have led corporate marketing overhauls for some of the fastest growing high-tech companies in the country. Assisting this team and the Human Rights Campaign was an equally respected and talented group of individuals who provided marketing and design support to various projects within the overall marketing effort. HRC Quarterly was designed by Roger Black, internationally known designer of magazines such as Newsweek and Rolling Stone. HRC Quarterly is produced by Out Custom Publishing. Our new web site was designed by Mark Crumpacker, president of Clement Mok Design, Inc., with overall coordination support from Tom Rielly, president of Planet Out. The combination of HRC s political competence and the leading-edge marketing and creative strategies of this incredible team has pushed us light-years ahead, said David M. Smith, the Human Rights Campaign s communications director. Birch summed up the changes at the Human Rights Campaign -- We ve changed our name and logo. Perhaps a subtle change to most, the dropping of fund from our name is a particularly strong symbol for us. When we started in the early 1980s, we were primarily a fund for supporting fair-minded political candidates. Today, we re so much more than a fund: We have the most visible and most effective gay equal rights lobbying team on the Hill. We conduct some of the country s most comprehensive polls on gay-related issues. We mobilize our membership through our rapid-response programs: the Field Action Network, Action Alerts, and SpeakOut Action Grams. We also sponsor huge outreach and education efforts, including hundreds of events during the year through our National Coming Out Project. In addition to this work, we ve added more than 100 community events to the more than 35 HRC galas around the country. Just as important as our federal work, we ve also been an effective partner in state and local efforts to defeat anti-gay legislation on the state level. Of course, we will continue our work as an effective PAC, but the time has come for our name to reflect the full scope of our work. So we ll now simply be known as the Human Rights Campaign, a campaign for lesbian and gay equality. - 30 -