Nov 30, 2007  |  By: JOEY DiGUGLIELMO  | COMMENTS     

Local gay groups are reporting strong turnout and donations for their fall fundraising efforts.

The season unofficially began on Sept. 19 when the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club held its 31st anniversary soiree and awards and the Center: Home for GLBT in Metro D.C. held its event simultaneously but separately.

The Stein Club made its $10,000 goal through ticket sales and donations. About 90 attended. The Center exceeded its $10,000 goal by $150 with about 50 in attendance. Both groups are using the money raised for operating expenses and special projects.

The Mautner Project, a national lesbian health organization, held its 17th annual gala on Sept. 29 at the Washington Hilton and Towers Hotel and raised about $270,000 with nearly 1,000 in attendance according to Andrea Densham, interim executive director of the organization. Densham didn’t know how those numbers compare to those of previous years.

Oct. 6 was another two-event day, but they didn’t conflict. The 21st annual AIDS Walk Washington rebounded this year with more than $300,000 more raised than the previous year, according to Chip Lewis, media relations manager for Whitman-Walker Clinic, which stages the event each fall.

About $860,000 has been collected so far, though money is still trickling in, Lewis said. About 6,000 walked and another 1,000 or so ran. The run was new this year and organizers plan to continue it next year.

Organizers fell a bit short of their $1 million goal but said they’re happy nonetheless.

“We came very close so we’re very, very pleased with the results,” Lewis said.

He attributed the dramatic increase over last year with a more aggressive pre-Walk campaign. Advertising began in the spring (earlier than in previous years) and efforts to publicize the event were ramped up.

Money raised will stay in Washington and be used by Whitman-Walker to provide HIV and AIDS services such as health care, testing, counseling and government support services.

The 2006 AIDS Walk had about 5,000 participants and raised $650,000. The AIDS Walk is Whitman-Walker’s biggest fundraiser each year.
Whitman-Walker is a gay community health organization that serves Washington.

That evening, Human Rights Campaign held its 11th annual National Dinner at Washington Convention Center with about 2,900 in attendance and revenue estimated at about $600,000 once it’s all collected. Trevor Thomas, deputy communications director for HRC, said the collection is “right on target for our budget” and thus is considered successful.

Numbers were up slightly over last year’s dinner, which had 2,650 in attendance and $525,000 raised.

Revenue from the dinner is used to fund HRC’s political and advocacy work.

Equality Maryland held its fifth annual Jazz Brunch on Oct. 28 at the Sheraton City Center Hotel in Baltimore. Attendance has fluctuated in recent years; 750 attended this year and in 2005, though attendance was down about 200 last year, according to Dan Furmansky, executive director of Equality Maryland. The event started in 2003 with just 100 in attendance.

The brunch raised $62,000, almost double that of last year, Furmansky said. That amounted to 20 percent more than the group’s goal. The money will be used for general operating expenses, program work and lobbying.

“Everyone we spoke to in attendance seemed to have a good time,” Furmansky said. “People seem galvanized to be more involved in the movement and we raised significant funds to continue doing our work, so, overall, I’d say it was a major success.”

The Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League (SMYAL) was equally pleased with its 10th annual fall brunch, held Nov. 4 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington. Its numbers have continually risen with about 375 attending in 2005, 425 in 2006 and about 450 this year, according to Andrew Burnett, SMYAL’s operations and communications manager.

“It has grown substantially,” he said. “We’ve had increased sponsorship each year and made strides to improve our silent auction. Positive word of mouth has helped. We’ve put a lot of work into it and it’s become a very memorable event.”

The group’s goal was $100,000 and it exceeded that by $15,000. Numbers are up from last year ($97,000 raised) and the 2005 ($60,000).