Family Equality is thrilled to welcome Molly to our Development Department!
Molly Lukschander, CFRE
Director of Individual Giving
Molly Lukschander (she/her) joined the Family Equality Team as Director of Individual Giving in April 2023. As a proud, queer fundraiser, Molly is ecstatic to apply her professional skills towards serving the LGBTQ+ community. Molly wants to ensure that she’s doing all she can to advocate for legal and lived equality for LGBTQ+ families for our children and the generations to come.
Molly has built her career in mission-driven nonprofit fundraising over the last 10 years, previously serving as Annual Fund Officer for United Network for Organ Sharing. She earned her Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) certification in 2022 and is a 2023 board member for AFP’s Central Virginia chapter.
Molly is committed to building a more just and equitable society for all. She works actively to create a more community-centered fundraising landscape through her work with AFP Central Virginia’s Inclusive Fundraising Fellowship, currently serving as co-chair.
Molly and her wife, Kelly, live in Richmond, VA with their 3 dogs, and are extremely grateful to be surrounded by such a loving queer community as they grow their family.
Top 3 favorite podcasts, books, or TV shows?
Truthfully, I don’t read enough books for fun and I’m too often caught doomscrolling through the news. But some of my favorite reads have been Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield, M Train by Patti Smith, and The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?
I’m always scoping out concerts to catch in town or classic movies playing on the big screen. I love listening to records and playing rummy with my wife, spending time outside with my dogs, and moseying through Richmond City parks with good friends.
What drives you to do this work?
I’ve been out and proud for nearly half of my life. I know that’s largely possible because of the generations of queer and BIPOC activists that came before me who paved the way for more widespread societal acceptance and representation in media, marriage equality, and workplace protections. As more and more hatred is hurled at the queer and trans community, I’m committed to continuing the fight for LGBTQ+ equality and making the world a safer, more accepting, and loving place for generations of queer people and families to come.
What does family equality mean to you?
One of the most magical, pure feelings I’ve experienced is being in community with queer people. Whether at pride festivals, Stonewall Sports kickball games, or the local lesbian bar, nothing compares to the bliss that comes from freely expressing yourself in a loving space with others who are so beautifully themselves too. Family Equality means that LGBTQ+ people must be able to authentically build families, biological or chosen, where they can experience true belonging and love in community without lived and legal barriers.
Life motto:
“It’s such a wonderful thing to love.” – Florence Welch