NGLCC expands committees’ geographic reach

Washington, DC, Jan. 31, 2010 – The National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) recently announced the addition of two more committees, one in Los Angeles and another in Dallas, to help with a growing number of LGBT-owned businesses applying for certification through its "Supplier Diversity Initiative."

The new national certification committees join existing committees in Washington, DC and New York City. The development underscores the business advocacy group’s geographic diversity.

“LGBT businesses are all over the country and it has always been a part of our strategy to have a certification in each of the NGLCC’s five regions,” says Jeremy Fegley, supplier diversity manager and certification specialist at the NGLCC. “Launching these two new committees in the first quarter of 2010 will help us do just that.” The NGLCC divides the United States into five regions, including Pacific, Mountain/Southwest, Mid-Atlantic/Northeast, Midwest and Southeast.

Businesses seeking certification should be at least 51 percent LGBT-owned. Certification goes through an existing committee regardless of location. However, the NGLCC believes its regionally diverse committees will help to share the benefits of certification as an “LGBT Business Enterprise” with a broader audience.

The NGLCC also plans to launch two more certification committees in its Midwest and Southeast regions by the end of 2010. The group’s website, nglcc.org, offers certification information and other resources for LGBT business owners.

Dallas hosts 22nd National Conference on LGBT Equality

Dallas, Jan. 30, 2010 – Activism fuels tourism and commerce in Texas next week as an estimated 2,000 agents for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights descend on Dallas.

The 22nd National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change, spearheaded by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, will be held Feb. 3 – 7 at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel. It serves as an annual political, leadership and skills-building conference for the LGBT social justice movement.

The red-state city’s tourism officials continue to use diversity marketing to shake any stereotypes of cowboy conservatism. The effort seems to be working—the city has landed more than 32 LGBT conventions and events since the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) first began reaching out to LGBT travelers and convention business in 2003. The CVB places the total economic value on its LGBT marketing efforts at more than $37 million. 

The Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area has seen its population surge past 6.5 million in recent years. Demographers estimate that the LGBT population in Dallas ranks sixth in the country.

Such a large population translates into abundant shopping experiences and a cutting-edge culinary scene. Oak Lawn, the city’s primary LGBT district, includes a large cluster of bars, restaurants and shops along Cedar Springs Road.  Nearby a 19-block urban arts district links a variety of cultural outlets with four venues designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects, including the new AT&T Performing Arts Center. Gay travelers can learn more about the city’s attractions at the Dallas CVB-run website, GLBTDallas.com.

mDialog develops iPhone app for OUTtv’s Canadian LGBT niche

Toronto, Jan. 29, 2010 – Vancouver-based OUTtv, a gay and lesbian specialty broadcaster, has selected mDialog to develop and run its multi-show iPhone application. It uses mDialog's video ad insertion technology to place commercials on iPhone.


"Engaging our audience across multiple platforms is a driving factor behind our current media strategy," says Brad Danks, CEO, OUTtv. "Streaming our video programming to our audience on the iPhone is the next logical step and mDialog helped us make it happen. The opportunity to provide local, geo-targeted advertising is very compelling for us."


The application also lets mobile viewers access video episodes of popular programs, read the network’s primetime schedule and use social networking tools to connect over their favorite shows. mDialog taps into the latest mobile video capabilities, such as HTTP Adaptive Video Streaming technology, to give mobile audiences video entertainment.


OUTtv can use the technology to target ads based on geo-location, frequency capping and the time of day, making them relevant to its mobile iPhone audience. The broadcaster plans to use the new capability as it launches an automobile ad campaign aimed at two geographic targets. Its Vancouver-area iPhone viewers will see ads with a regional message, while the rest of Canada gets something different.


MDialog’s technology for OUTtv’s iPhone audience also introduces to iTunes the first Canadian multi-show app and first app to feature video programs for gay and lesbian audiences. It can be downloaded from the Canadian iPhone App Store and currently features four OUTtv shows from primetime. More shows will be added soon.

LGBT donors unite for Haiti

San Francisco, Jan. 28, 2010 – The American Red Cross reports that its new LGBT Haiti Relief Fund has already raised more money than many big corporate donors.  The humanitarian nonprofit reached out to the LGBT community through donors and activists and also used an email campaign to send its message to members of three LGBT cruise companies, Olivia, Atlantis and RSVP. The community responded by raising over $150,000 for the fund within a week.

"Over the last week we have seen a wonderful broadening of this initiative within our community," says Claire Lucas, a well-known community activist and fundraiser who helped the American Red Cross create the fund. It started with the LGBT cruise companies and quickly expanded to include other organizations and individual contributors. Lucas notes, "Just this morning, three very diverse LGBT groups approached us to join the initiative; the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission based in New York, the Gay and Lesbian Community Center/Pride Center representing Southern Florida and a donor-directed community fund at the Alaska Community Foundation."

The cruise companies donated cruise packages, held an upgrade auction and matched funds as pledges reached record amounts within a few hours. "We are reaching out to all LGBT organizations and individuals to become part of this relief fund effort and get the word out everywhere," said Judy Dlugacz, president and founder of Olivia Companies, which targets lesbian travelers. "If we all work together we can provide enormous support to the Haiti relief efforts."

To contribute to the fund, visit: http://american.redcross.org/LGBT-pub. 

Weber Shandwick and Gill Foundation teach businesses how to work with nonprofits to further LGBT equality

New York, Jan. 27, 2010 – Weber Shandwick and the Gill Foundation have produced a resource guide for corporate-nonprofit collaborators wanting to promote equality for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

"Weber Shandwick believes in the power of collaboration between nonprofits and corporations," says Chad Boettcher, senior vice president of social innovation, Weber Shandwick. "We're proud to author 'Business of Change' with the Gill Foundation and hope this unique publication empowers organizations to develop more effective partnerships to promote LGBT equality."

The 104-page guide offers guidelines and tips to help nonprofits and corporations advance LGBT equality. Created by Weber Shandwick’s Social Innovation team in partnership with the Gill Foundation’s Donor Resources team, the 2009 project included a summer fellowship program for LGBT student leaders and an advisory board of both nonprofit and corporate experts who are interested in LGBT equality.

“Given the rapidly changing dynamic between the private and public sectors, we hope to challenge both nonprofits and corporations to seize opportunities to drive change on LGBT initiatives,” says Patricia Evert, vice president of Donor Resources, Gill Foundation. “Taking action and partnering together is not just the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do.”

Click here to download a copy of “Business of Change.” To learn more, go to webershandwick.com or gillfoundation.org and contact either Chad Boettcher at CBoettcher@webershandwick.com or Patricia Evert at patriciae@gillfoundation.org.

Finding our way

This blog follows news and emerging trends in business targeted toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. It focuses on LGBT business owners and gay-friendly companies that embrace diversity. Content will come from a mix of company announcements, interviews, news releases, commentary and readers’ suggestions. Please subscribe and bookmark to stay informed on business topics relevant to the LGBT market. Welcome!

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