Mission
American Families for Vaccines defends the science, laws, and people that keep our communities healthy. We mobilize the pro-vaccine majority to advocate for science-based public health laws, promote accurate information, and support vaccine confidence and access in legislatures, courts, and communities nationwide.
We launch and support state-based Families for Vaccines chapters, empowering local advocates to lead the charge for stronger immunization laws.
And from the grassroots to the grasstops, we work hand in hand with partners, experts, and organizations to go the final mile in pro-vaccine advocacy—ensuring that decisions about our health are grounded in evidence and guided by the common good.
History + Vision
American Families for Vaccines began as a grassroots effort to protect families and communities from vaccine-preventable diseases. What started as neighbors organizing to strengthen Maine’s childhood vaccine law has grown into a national movement of families united by the belief that every child deserves to grow up safe and healthy.
Founded in 2020 as SAFE Communities Coalition, we first supported local advocates working to defend strong immunization laws in our home states. Amid a rising tide of anti-vaccine misinformation and coordinated attacks on vaccine policies, our work quickly expanded nationwide.
In 2025, we became American Families for Vaccines, a 501c3 nonprofit, and AFV Action Fund, a 501c4, to reflect our national mission and our work to unite families, health experts, lawmakers, and partners under one banner. At the heart of our work is a simple promise: we are raising the next generation of pro-vaccine advocates—kids who will inherit not just our laws, but our shared commitment to caring for one another.
Statement of
Independence
American Families for Vaccines and American Families for Vaccines Action Fund are independent, non-profit entities dedicated to advancing strong vaccine policy in the United States.
We are committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability in all of our work, including the pursuit and use of grant funding. Both entities and each of our Families for Vaccines chapters operate independently and free from undue influence or interference from any external parties, including current and potential funders.
Values
01
Local Focus
We work at the grassroots, amplifying the voices of everyday people who represent the pro-vaccine majority and empowering local advocates to build purposeful pro-vaccine coalitions.
We respect local expertise and seek to build on existing efforts to educate and immunize communities.
Our Families for Vaccines chapters are empowered to lead in their home communities – AFV supports their unique growth and development.
02
Integrity
Our approach is informed by our own experiences as volunteer vaccine advocates in our home states. We remain committed to doing this work in our communities and know what it takes to be effective.
Our decisions and actions are guided by our mission and values, independent of industry or political influences. We maintain autonomy in determining our strategic priorities.
We tell the truth, both to each other and to the communities we serve. We strive for accuracy, transparency, and accountability in our communications and in our actions.
03
Collaboration
We make decisions in alignment with each state’s unique culture and norms. Our strategies are informed by input from partners, experts in policy and science, and volunteers.
We’re nimble, accessible, and responsive.
We consider the impact of our actions on all communities, including the most marginalized people in society: people of color, indigenous people, the working class, women, LGBTQ+ people, and people who are medically vulnerable.