Initiative 03 · 1991 onward · LGBTQ+ representation

LGBTQ+ Victory Fund

Representation changes who is heard, which issues reach the agenda, and whether LGBTQ+ people can see themselves in public leadership.

In 1991, activists and donors created the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund as a nonpartisan political action committee. The organization’s official history lists Terry Bean among its founding members.

Documented history · sources included

Terry Bean standing on a political convention floor — Terry Bean at a political convention · archive photograph

Political representation

Helping qualified LGBTQ+ candidates win.

When Victory Fund was formed, fewer than fifty openly LGBTQ+ people held elected office in the United States. The founders built a national network of donors and supporters around a focused idea: viable LGBTQ+ candidates needed early backing, credible endorsements, and resources to run competitive campaigns.

The organization made its first endorsement in 1991. It has since helped elect hundreds of openly LGBTQ+ candidates to local, state, and federal office while maintaining standards related to equality, reproductive freedom, community support, and campaign viability.

Terry’s documented role as a founding member connects his legacy to a lasting change in American political participation: moving LGBTQ+ people from advocacy outside government into visible leadership within it.

Political power also means having LGBTQ+ people at the table where public decisions are made.