Our Mission
Everyone deserves to live in the embrace of a loving family.
The Chosen Family Project’s mission is to advocate for, protect and advance the health, safety, and well-being of LGBTQ+ Chosen families - families that are not defined by gender, ethnicity, sexuality, parental status, or the partners they love, but the people they’ve chosen to walk with through life’s journey. We are committed to challenging all forms of hate directed at LGBTQ+ families and securing a world in which those families may thrive. Our foundation funds organizations that provide essential services for disenfranchised individuals within the LGBTQ+ community.
The Book
Through heartbreaking and inspiring personal stories, we discover how members of the LGBTQ+ community found their Chosen Families, what makes their family special, and the beloved traditions, old and new, they celebrate. The book will feature stunning, thought-provoking artwork representing Chosen Family traditions throughout the country – all ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds. In partnership with an award-winning documentarian, we will cross a divided America to capture images of Chosen Families and the traditions that bind them. The journey highlights the stories heard along the way about how these loving families came together to form their universal and fierce bonds of love, joy, and loyalty.
Social Justice Campaign
Screenings of the film, the book tour, and a series of podcasts will take us even deeper behind the scenes as we hear from the founders, photographers and celebrity guests who have their own stories of Chosen Family. A multi-city art exhibit will feature photographs of Chosen Families gathered in celebration to serve the same mission: To educate, bring awareness, build community, and provide information about resources.
Today’s assault of legislation, shame, and stigmatization confronts the LGBTQ+ community in a political climate that threatens to erase their rights and families. There are governmental and political forces trying to falsify history. We believe the history of the LGBTQ+ community deserves to be memorialized, and each of us can play a part.
The Film
In partnership with an award-winning documentarian, we will cross a divided America to capture heartfelt images of Chosen Families and the traditions that bind them. The journey is brought to life by the heartening stories learned along the way about how these loving families found one another to form their universal and fierce bonds of love, joy, and loyalty.
