A logo from the National LGBTQ Task Force National LGBTQ Task ForceThe United States Census has a long way to go before it is collecting comprehensive data on LGBTQ people—but it is still absolutely crucial for members of this community to fill it out. Meghan Maury, the Policy Director for The National LGBTQ Task Force, emphasized this when they spoke with Forbes.com about the Task Force’s Queer The Census Campaign, designed to get as many LGBTQ people as possible to complete the 2020 Census by the October 31st deadline. “We use census data to direct over a trillion and a half dollars of federal funding,” said Maury. So the census doesn’t do a great job of capturing our identities, but it does help direct an enormous amount of money for the programs we use every day.”A Census flyer from the National LGBTQ Task Force The National LGBTQ Task ForceFor the Queer The Census campaign, the Task Force has focused on ensuring the Census Bureau, itself targets LGBTQ folks in its outreach. The Task Force also has a robust game plan of its own to provide people with as much information as they need—a game plan that the pandemic required be moved completely online.

Source: Forbes July 20, 2020 21:00 UTC