Whenever I’m faced with a hard decision or a question that seems to have both endless answers and no right answer, Jeanette Winterson’s words, “What you risk reveals what you value,” from Written on the Body echo in my head, urging me to dig deeper into what is really at the heart of it and how it relates to the ongoing struggle for LGBTQ+ rights.

Every time, when I hold my values at the center, those decisions and answers show themselves to be crystal clear. Admittedly it doesn’t always make the next steps any easier, but I know I can move with the confidence that my whole heart is guiding me.

In the coming months, we—individually, organizationally, and collectively, are going to be confronted with decisions and actions that will reveal our values to ourselves, our community, and our world.

At Pride Foundation, our values are the compass guiding our work and relationships, shaping how we show up for our grantees, partners, supporters, community, and each other. Our values in the ongoing struggle for LGBTQ+ rights are not just ideals, they are wholehearted commitments to how we will navigate challenges, triumphs, and hold ourselves accountable to the communities we serve.

We wanted to make sure our organizational values reflected who we are and how we want to show up for the ongoing struggle for LGBTQ+ rights and for our community—especially during a time when we know much could take us away from our vision for a world in which all LGBTQ+ people live safely and openly, as our whole selves, in all the places we call home.

We wrote them together because we wanted to make sure they were crystal clear for our whole team and infused in every part of our work and our organization. And we wanted to make sure that they had teeth, that they could be our tangible, guiding force to support us on our path toward collective liberation.

Read the full article about the ongoing struggle for LGBTQ+ rights by Katie Carter at Pride Foundation.