Board President's Column by Mary O'Sullivan

Fewer than 5% of LGBT people make financial contributions to a local, regional, statewide, or national LGBT organizations. That's what the Horizons Foundation says in its recently released report entitled, LGBT Giving to LGBT Organizations: Building a New Tradition of Philanthropy. (You can download the pdf of the full report here.)The research was conducted in California’s Bay Area, but the results are probably reflective of a wider USA LGBT population.

I challenge you to to increase the percentage of LGBT folks (and their supporters) who give to LGBT organizations. For example, even though Chris Olson gives you some good ideas for how you might use the upcoming government rebate in her column in this issue, I suggest that there might be one more good use for it: donate the money to the 7 Rivers LGBT Resource Center and/or other LGBT organizations on a local, state, or national level.

If just 20% of the subscribers to this list donated their $600 rebate, the 7 Rivers LGBT Resource Center would have enough money to hire a full time Executive Director to expand our services and to increase our visibility in our region. If 40% donated just a portion of the rebate we could achieve the same goal. (Remember that donations to nonprofits like the Center count toward a deduction from your income tax.)

Here's some of the work that your donations would allow our Director to do:

Working with the other Wisconsin LGBT Centers to implement a three year smoking cessation grant with activities directed to the LGBT community.
Expanding our Speakers Bureau.
Further developing a dynamic volunteer base.
Expanding the groups that use the Center, including an AODA group that is in progress.
Expanding our referral lists for LGBT related services and LGBT friendly professionals such as medical, legal, and clergy.
Continuing the collaborative work we do with other organizations in the area such as GALAXY, the UW-L Pride Center, Gunderen-Lutheran's Medical Library and so on.

As one of our Board members, Patty Martin says: "After realizing the need for funds to support GLBT issues my husband and I have stopped contributing to most of the mainstream organizations for heart, cancer, birth defects, lung health, etc. and contribute primarily to GLBT causes. We know there will be wide support from people for those other issues but not so much for GLBT issues. We want to fill that gap."

Francie and I will be part of the subscribers to this newsletter who will contribute. Our $1200 total will be donated to the 7 Rivers LGBT Resource Center's special fund to hire an Executive Director. Please join us in contributing to the fund. I am confident that 7 Rivers Region LGBT folks and supporters can beat the Bay Area's 5%!