Human Rights Campaign Named 2011 Nonprofit Organization of the Year by DMANF

Press Release (Aug. 3, 2011) — The DMA Nonprofit Federation is very pleased to announce that the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is the 2011 recipient of its prestigious Nonprofit Organization of the Year Award.

The award will be presented Wednesday, August 17th, at the opening day gala luncheon of the Federation's 2011 New York Nonprofit Conference. Presented annually, the award recognizes outstanding achievement by a nonprofit organization using direct response marketing to advance its mission.

As the largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender Americans, HRC represents a grassroots force of over 750,000 members & supporters nationwide.

Founded in 1980, HRC mobilizes grassroots actions in diverse communities, invests strategically to elect fair-minded individuals to office & educates the public about LGBT issues such as relationship recognition & families, workplace fairness & health issues. A decade of dedicated HRC advocacy resulted in the passage of the Matthew Shepard & James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Matthew Shepard was a gay college student tortured & murdered in Laramie, WY, and James Byrd, Jr., was an African-American man dragged to his death in Jasper, TX.

Since its 1984 inception, direct mail has traditionally been the foundation of HRC's direct response fundraising program, with telemarketing as a secondary critical component. But since 2004, HRC’s online fundraising efforts have grown exponentially, resulting in a truly integrated, multi-channel, multi-faceted direct response program. The direct marketing program is currently responsible for generating between $12 million & $13 million in gross income annually. This represents years of steady & sometimes explosive growth, with gross income increasing 47% since 2004.

HRC fiercely guards the privacy of its members while maintaining complete financial transparancy. Saying no to silos inside & outside the organization, an in-house membership department fields over 10,000 emails & 1,000 phone calls annually & regular day-long meetings place all of HRC's various agencies & consultants — including the canvassing firm, list broker, database and online software providers — in the same room at the same time (yes, it works & works well) so everyone remains on the same page.