YEAR-END GIVING and REPORT - 2022

As 2022 winds down, we at Chosen Family Law Center are feeling inspired and grateful.  Despite the year’s political and legislative challenges for the LGBTQ+ community, we were able to accomplish many things and achieve our planned goals.  Here is a short wrap-up of what went on at CFLC in 2022.

• Our Executive Director Diana Adams’ TED talk, “Why US laws must expand beyond the nuclear family,” was released in March 2022.  The video now has almost 2 million views, and is translated in 6 languages worldwide! Check it out if you missed it!

• In May 2022, we were able to have our first in-person fundraising gala in NYC since we launched our services in 2019. Thanks to our generous donors, we were able to raise  $30k during an EPIC first gala that was so inspiring, and set the tone for an amazing annual event that we hope to repeat year after year! 

• In September 2022, Diana was invited to speak to the Biden Administration at the Capitol! Diana was part of a delegation of bisexual+ leaders, BiPlusOrganizingUs, that they helped start this year to advocate for increased public health resources, research, & funding for bisexual and pansexual communities, including to combat intimate partner violence and advocate for more inclusive public health responses to crises like MPV (monkeypox).  Diana is now continuing to work with the Administration to offer policy guidance for the LGBTQ+ community, and CFLC will support President Biden's Health and Human Services with LGBTQ+ initiatives in New York!

• In October 2022, we celebrated a huge win in New York City for an inclusive definition of Family in rent control succession, in which our work for poly families was cited as legal basis by the Judge, including both views shared in media as well as the multi-partner domestic partnership laws Diana and Andy helped pass with Polyamory Legal Advocacy Coalition!  Check out the FAQ page we made to read more about it.

• In November 2022, CFLC was awarded a $25,000 grant from the Educational Foundation of America, which (in addition to donations from you!) will enable us to expand our operations in 2023 and finally hire a Development Director!

• Also in November, the incredible Black, bisexual, Muslim author and educator @BlairImani made a #SmarterInSeconds segment on chosen family & promoted CFLC!!  Check out the video and share here!

• All year long, CFLC has continued to serve low-income LGBTQ+ clients in NYC with legal services such as name and gender marker changes for our trans and GNC/NB communities, parentage petitions for non-biological parents, prenuptial agreements, known sperm donor agreements, family formation documents for platonic and polyamorous partners, and green card paperwork for LGBTQ+ asylees, all while operating with a part-time staff on a low budget.  

To keep this sustainable and help us grow, we need your donations to climb to the next level as a nonprofit.  Please donate now to help us get there!

2023 Goals You Can Help Us Achieve!

Your donations support our life-saving and life-affirming free legal services for low-income LGBTQ+ New Yorkers:

• With a donation of $1,200, you can provide a low-income Transgender or Gender Non-Conforming person with a legal name change and gender marker change support, so that they can update their ID documents to find employment, travel, and move more safely and freely through the world.
• With a donation of $1,500, we can assist an LGBTQ+ person with Will and Estate documents, including Medical Advance Directives, to support their end-of-life decisions and emergency medical care.
• For $2,500, we can provide a same-sex couple or non-biological parent with a Judgment of Parentage to protect their legal relationship to their child anywhere in the U.S.,  providing them with invaluable peace of mind.
• With a donation of $10,000, you can make sure an LGBTQ+ asylee fleeing persecution in their home country can stay safely here in the U.S. with a green card, and continue a path to citizenship.
• In this time when the LGBTQ+ community is so often attacked, you can support some of the most marginalized in our community with legal documents that bring them much needed security and peace of mind.  

Also - We’re hiring!  One of the main goals for us for 2023 is to hire a new staff member to work as a Development Director to assist us in expanding our capacity - to serve more clients, to coordinate more outreach, to expand our educational programming, and to assist in procuring more funding. To make this position possible, we need your support in order to grow.

Other ways to support CFLC:

• Please make sure you’re following us on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) and share our fundraisers for end of year with a note about why our work for chosen families and queer families are important to YOU.

• Please stay tuned for our Development Director job posting and spread the word to wonderful people.

• Refer low-income LGBTQ+ clients in New York to us! We have capacity for more cases. Read more on the kinds of cases we’re taking and eligibility.