The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to protect marriage and the faith communities that sustain it. Founded in 2007 in response to the growing need for an organized opposition to same-sex marriage in state legislatures, NOM serves as a national resource for marriage-related initiatives at the state and local level. For decades, pro-family organizations have educated the public about the importance of marriage and the family, but have lacked the organized, national presence needed to impact state and local politics in a coordinated and sustained fashion. NOM seeks to fill that void, organizing as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, giving it the flexibility to lobby and support marriage initiatives across the nation. Consistent with its 501(c)(4) nonprofit status, NOM works to develop political messaging, build its national grassroots email database of voters, and provide political intelligence and donor infrastructure on the state level, with a focus on developing new strategies for increasing influence in the Northeast and West Coast, where marriage is most under threat. NOM Education Fund The NOM Education Fund represents another aspect of NOM's overall effort to protect marriage, engaged solely in pro-marriage education and research, making information resources available to clergy, scholars, political leaders, and activists across the country. The NOM Education Fund is separately organized as a 501(c)(3) organization and NOM Education Fund donations are tax deductible. NOM Marriage PAC Supplementing NOM's educational, lobbying and organizational efforts, the NOM Marriage PAC will raise funds for direct involvement in targeted races of strategic importance across the country.