Charity/Philanthropy

HRC members and supporters are once again mobilizing for equality in the final days of the 2012 election. Thousands of you joined Brad Pitt in opening up your wallets and supporting equality for loving, committed same-sex couples. In the past 48 hours, we raised $200,000 thanks to the generosity of our members, supporters, and Brad Pitt. Those funds are going directly to the four states where HRC and our allies are in the home stretch of critical ballot measure campaigns – Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington.

At this late stage in the game, every single dollar counts. Thank you for your support – you are having an impact on advancing equality for LGBT people in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington.

Earlier this week, Brad Pitt made headlines with his $100,000 donation to HRC to support marriage equality in the four ballot states. In a message to HRC members and supporters, Brad made the case for why taking action now is so important:

It’s unbelievable to me that people’s lives and relationships are literally being voted on in a matter of days.

In Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington, voters will go to the polls to decide if gay and lesbian couples – our friends and neighbors – are worthy of the same protections as everyone else.

But that’s the system we have and I’m not going to back down from the fight for loving and committed couples to have the ability to marry. Especially when groups like the Human Rights Campaign are fighting these battles day-in and day-out.

…This is our last chance to make a difference. If you’re like me, you don’t want to have to ask yourself on the day after the election, what else could I have done?

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Following Jolie’s $50,000 donation via her charity to the Women of the World Foundation, Pitt is writing from his own checkbook to support the efforts of the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBT organization fighting for same-sex marriage.

The 48-year-old actor has gifted the HRC with $100,000, agreeing to match donations from contributors up to that amount as campaigns in Minnesota, Washington State, Maine and Maryland begin their final push ahead of the election Tuesday.

“It’s unbelievable to me that people’s lives and relationships are literally being voted on in a matter of days,” Pitt said in an email Wednesday to members and supporters of the HRC. “In Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington, voters will go to the polls to decide if gay and lesbian couples – our friends and neighbors – are worthy of the same protections as everyone else. But that’s the system we have, and I’m not going to back down from the fight for loving and committed couples to have the ability to marry.”

Read more.