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Dear PFLAG Supporter, As we wrap up March, we are looking forward to Pride (get your Pride Pack now!), Trans Day of Visibility, and April being Volunteer Appreciation Month. Now is a great time to be thinking about volunteer recruitment, since Pride can be a great time to get folks involved as volunteers on all levels, including board service. Check out our Regional Roundup below for an example of how chapters engage their communities (both individuals and corporations) in volunteerism– and then look to the next few Leadership Learnings newsletters for more tips and tricks on volunteer and board recruitment! In addition to Pride Planning and volunteer engagement, in this edition of Leadership Learnings you’ll also find:
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We’ve re-stocked the PFLAG Chapter Leader-Only Swag Shop at chapterswag.pflag.org, where you can grab buttons, pens, shirts, stickers, fans, and Pride flags in bulk and at a larger discount than our public-facing shop (remember: if members and supporters want to shop, they can do that at shop.pflag.org). But here’s the BEST part: We’re giving every chapter $100 to spend on the items of your choice. Here’s how it works: For the $100 credit, you’ll use your unique PFLAG Chapter ID as your code at checkout. This ID number is commonly used when completing your PFLAG Annual Report or on documents from PFLAG National. It can be found in the Member Portal on your chapter’s “Details” page. Not sure where to find that? We’ve made a visual walkthrough for you or you can contact your Chapter Engagement staffer for support. *Note: You might consider confirming your code prior to ordering. Ones can look like capital I or lowercase l, zeros can like like Os. We want to make sure you can get what you need the first time. Once you locate your code, connect with your fellow chapter board members, visit the shop, make your decisions about what items you’d like, then place your order using your PFLAG Chapter ID to get that $100 off. Spend it all on that order—once you use that code it will NOT be usable again, and we are NOT tracking whatever is not spent, so you’ll want to spend it all! It is very important that you enter your discount code during checkout to receive the $100 off. If you fail to use that code to place your order, we will need to work with our providers to get you a refund; however, we will deduct from that refund the charges incurred from having to re-add the code—which are 2.9% of the order total, plus $0.30.
When you place ANY order, tell us in the section called “Leave a Note With Your Order” your chapter name and when your soonest event is; our team will do its best to prioritize events that are earlier (for example, our Florida chapters who celebrate Pride in March!).
Remember: Your PFLAG Chapter ID code for $100 off your order can be used only one time, and for one order. This means that if you spend only a portion of this $100 credit on an order, you will NOT have a remaining balance to use on a future order. Please work with your board to make ONE order to use up the full $100. The code expires on June 30, 2026, so if you have Pride events later in the year please order ahead of time to take advantage of this credit. Shipping times might be slightly longer given the anticipated volume of orders, so please plan in advance as it may take anywhere from 7-20 days from placing your order to delivery date. The chapter leader-only swag shop is still open all year round, and items there will continue to be offered in bulk and at a lower price than in our regular store. Note: This shop is ONLY for PFLAG chapter leaders. Again, if you have members and supporters who would like to order PFLAG swag, we’d love that! Send them to our public store at shop.pflag.org. If you are experiencing issues with your code, the shop, or need assistance with your order, please contact the team at [email protected]; someone will follow up with you within 48 hours. We’re excited for you to choose your own PFLAG swag adventure—head on over to chapterswag.pflag.org and get started today.
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No Kings Protests: March 28
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Communities will participate in No Kings protests across the country this Saturday, March 28th. Many chapters have expressed interest in attending these protests, and have asked PFLAG National for guidance. Chapters are permitted to participate in protests and public demonstrations, provided safety and nonprofit guidelines are followed. Chapters and members of PFLAG may attend No Kings events but must avoid partisan messaging on signs, clothing, or swag, such as campaign slogans or candidate endorsements. You can wear PFLAG shirts and other gear, but overtly partisan apparel—for example, t-shirts and signs that encourage voting for or against a specific party or candidate—is not permitted. Safety is paramount; members are advised to follow PFLAG National safety guidelines and leave uncomfortable or potentially dangerous situations promptly.
PFLAG chapters should not sponsor No Kings protests. Showing up is fine, but limit your chapter’s involvement to attendance, not sponsorship.
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Trans Day of Visibility March 31
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Tuesday March 31 marks Transgender Day of Visibility! TDOV is a great time for your chapter to celebrate and highlight trans joy, as well as energize your community to join in your loud support of trans liberation. You can find a social media toolkit, some graphics, and messaging samples in our TDOV toolkit! Transgender Day of Visibility shouldn’t stop with a social media post! We have a lot of work to do to advocate for the civil rights of transgender people– check out our Advocacy in 10 Minutes or Less videos for ideas of advocacy activities for you to do during a monthly meeting or as a separate event. You can also host a Transgender Day of Visibility viewing party event online or in-person with your chapter to watch and discuss PFLAG National’s latest series of short films, “I Changed My Mind.” Each episode tells a story of the positive impact of a transgender or two-spirit person on their loved ones and community. Some stories are told by a parent who was moved to change their mind, and some are told from the perspective of a two-spirit or transgender person directly. Throughout the series, trans and two-spirit people are celebrated and uplifted. Check out the series and read more about it in this great feature piece from LGBTQ Nation!
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April’s Rural Think Tank is coming up on April 7th at 4pm PT-5:30pmPT / 7pm ET-8:30pm ET! As always, Rural Think Tanks are an opportunity to be in community with PFLAG chapter leaders from rural areas all over the country, discussing a specific area that affects rural communities differently. The April topic is volunteer recruitment and engagement. As you gear up for the summer, you may be needing tabling volunteers. Year-round, you may need people to help set up/tear down meetings, facilitate, manage social media, help throw events... the list goes on. More help is always needed! In a small community, where have you been able to find volunteers? How have you kept them engaged, coming back, and even potentially taking on more responsibility? Register now and come prepared to share your successes and challenges and learn from others!
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In Case You Missed It (ICYMI)
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The PFLAG Council of Northern Illinois (PCNI) has activated volunteers with their button-making program! With a few fun designs, a few button punchers, and a button maker, you can have a fun volunteer night to prepare you for tabling, Pride season, and beyond. While folks make buttons, PCNI members chat about PFLAG, our families, and how the buttons make an impact in the community. While a button maker can be a bit of an investment, its impact for PCNI has gone past button making events; they now bring button makers to tabling events and have scaled up into corporate volunteer events! Corporations are often looking to their community for volunteer opportunities (that usually come with a donation) and PCNI answered this call by scaling up their button making parties. By teaming together with surrounding area chapters, they are able to bring multiple button makers to run shifts with their corporate partners, talking about the important work of PFLAG and making buttons! Kelly Hemmer, Chief Button Maker of PCNI and PFLAG DuPage shared that at corporate events, they can make 400-500 buttons an hour. These are typically midweek events and they host multiple 1 hour sessions. Because of the fun AND educational nature of these volunteer opportunities, PCNI has plenty of return partners who schedule volunteer button making opportunities with them annually. If you’d like to learn more about the ins and outs of button making volunteer parties, you can connect with Kelly at [email protected]. Kelly has sample designs, links to where to purchase supplies, and a wealth of best practices around these events.
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Shaun Connors (they/he)Chapter Engagement Senior Manager
Eastern Region (CT, DC, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VA, VT, WV)
PFLAG National | P: (202) 558-3839
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