An online petition in 2003 pushed the Human Rights Campaign into the world of online fund- and friendraising. And the organization never looked back.

By Margaret Battistelli Gardner

Starting in May 2007, HRC launched a campaign to support passage of the Matthew Shepard Act, which would strengthen existing federal hate-crime laws. In addition to e-mails and a Web presence, the organization created a video featuring survivors of hate crimes and scored it with Cyndi Lauper’s hit song “All Through the Night.” It then partnered with Lauper on her True Colors tour, using concert dates around the country as platforms for educating the public about violence based on sexual orientation. The video was shown at the concerts, made it to YouTube and was included in HRC e-mails, resulting in nearly 500,000 views.