plans transition to Equality NoVa

Longstanding group to officially expand coverage to Alexandria, Fairfax

The Arlington Gay and Lesbian Alliance, which was founded in 1981 and is the oldest continuously operating LGBTQ organization in Virginia, is officially expanding its mission and activities to the neighboring city of Alexandria and Fairfax County and is changing its name to Equality NoVa.

A statement released last week by AGLA President Daniel L. Hays says the organization’s board of directors voted unanimously to begin operating as “AGLA now known as Equality NoVa,” with plans to transition in about five months to operating as “Equality NoVa formerly known as AGLA.”

Hays told the Washington Blade that in about a year, following community engagement events, including a town hall meeting, the sole name of Equality NoVa will likely be adopted. At that time, Hays said, the group will change its longstanding registration with the IRS and the state of Virginia as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to reflect the new name.

“This decision was not made in haste, but rather in recognition of where LGBTQ+ organizations stand in Northern Virginia,” according to Hays’ statement released on March 25. “Since the organization’s found -

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

ing in 1981 it has helped to form similar groups in Alexandria and Fairfax County among others,” the statement continues.

“The organizations in Alexandria (the Alexandria Gay & Lesbian Community Association) and Fairfax County (Equality Fairfax) over the past decade have ceased to operate due to a number of factors, including the inability to sustain active boards,” Hays’ statement says. “We have been going as the Arlington-Alexandria Gay and Lesbian Alliance for roughly 7 years to ensure Alexandria has had representation,” it says.

“The 2023 board of directors wanted to make sure we are operating as we need to ensure coverage for Fairfax County, too,” Hays’ statement says. “Additionally, the 2023 board of directors recognized that the name we operate under needed updating to reflect the entirety of the LGBTQ+ community, not just only gays and lesbians. This was the basis for us now operating as Equality NoVa.”

Hays told the Blade that the board’s plans include retaining the organization’s status as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that continues its longstanding three-part mission: “safe social activities; commu - nity service; and non-partisan political awareness.”

He points out that under its current status, the group cannot endorse candidates running for public office and must remain as a nonpartisan group. Hays said that although IRS rules for 501(c)(3) organizations allow a limited degree of legislative lobbying, the group long ago decided not to engage in direct lobbying.

“So, our approach has been to have town halls when issues come up to disseminate information to all of those individuals, including members who are on our mailing list, about the issues that are happening in Richmond or in D.C. on Capitol Hill,” he told the Blade. “And to not do explicit lobbying or policy advocacy, but to go the political awareness route,” he said, to enable people to “make their own decision as to whether they’re going to contact their representative or other decision-makers.”

Hays’ statement says AGLA’s immediate past president, TJ Flavell, will continue to be involved through a newly formed Advisory Committee “focused on organizational sustainability and producing a planning blueprint for long-term success.”