LGBTQ+ Victory Institute works to achieve and sustain global equality through leadership development, training, and convening to increase the number, expand the diversity, and ensure the success of openly LGBTQ+ elected and appointed officials at all levels of government.
LGBTQ+ Victory Institute was launched as Victory Foundation in 1993 to begin training current and future LGBTQ+ candidates and campaign workers to ensure a successful career in public service. LGBTQ+ Victory Institute expanded its programming to include the Presidential Appointments Initiative – which works to place openly LGBTQ+ appointees in pro-equality presidential administrations – and the International LGBTQ+ Leaders Conference, an annual conference that attracts hundreds of openly LGBTQ+ elected and appointed officials.
In 2013, LGBTQ+ Victory Institute expanded its footprint to serve LGBTQ+ communities in developing countries, partnering with the U.S. Agency for International Development in a groundbreaking program to deliver programming in Colombia, Peru and the Balkans. In recent years, the program has expanded to the Dominican Republic, Honduras, India and South Africa.