The Lesbian Community Cancer Project Hopes that Its 13th Annual Ball is The L-Word
Tue. January 20, 2004 12:00 AM by Kennette Crockett
Coming Out Against Cancer Ball February 7th
Chicago, IL -
Jessica Halem, executive director of Chicago's Lesbian Community Cancer Project, faces a dilemma of sorts: How do you plan a fun, successful fun fundraising party for a few thousand lesbians? This question twirls in her mind especially with the lull in the economy, which has proven to be a spoke in the fundraising wheels of nonprofits. Halem hopes that the number thirteen proves to be lucky as the LCCP prepares for their 13th Annual Coming Out Against Cancer Ball (February 7th at the South Shore Cultural Center - Event Details). This year's ball departs from previous years in that it is fashioned into a dance party; the theme: She Wanted to Have a Ball with honorary chair Gretchen Helfrich.
"Well there is definitely going to be a shift toward the party element of it," shares Halem. "With DJ Meshell Ndegocello, there will be a big emphasis on dancing. It is also starting a little bit later and although there will be food, for the ticket price, it can't be a full dinner. I want people to know, yes, you can eat and yes, you can drink but think about having to go home with your shoes in your hands because your feet are going to hurt so bad from dancing. I think that so many people have gotten used to just hanging out and I really want them to dance this year." The Ball is one of the largest in the Midwest and has attracted the attention and sponsorship of Showtime's New Lesbian series, The L word.
The lesbian community can definitely use a good time especially when it is for a good cause. "I have noticed that people are not giving as much throughout the year and with the low turn outs at the events over the past years the economy is absolutely affecting people and it affects women the hardest." Many women struggle as head of households to pay their bills and yet these women are aware of the important contributions of the LCCP. Halem believes this is why so many women still make donations. "The majority of our contributions came from folks who I know stretched it. Who I know that $20.00 is a huge deal for them. While we are so excited to have larger donors in our midst, I would say that 90% of our contributions come from people who I know are working on a UPS salary or no salary." The generosity of the Chicago lesbian community helps to sustain the LCCP. "They may have one less drink when they are out or one less night out or maybe they got together some friends and had a donation party. It just became really clear that folks really dug deep and so for us that has always been the case."
The sagging economy sunk the LCCP's annual cruise; they opted for an event at the Roger's Park swanky supper club, The Speakeasy Supper Club underwrote the event. "When we moved away from the cruise," explains Halem, "people didn't understand why but I would explain that you paid $100 to come on the boat but I had to turn around and pay $60 of that to the boat for one ticket. So you have made a donation to the organization and it is a big stretch for you but I only get $40 of that donation. So we had to think about how could we do an event where LCCP gets the majority of the funds. The boat is so popular but we don't get a lot out of it. I don't want to say no to the boat but it just can¹t happen until times are better."
That is the million-dollar question. How can the LCCP raise money in the midst of the present day economy? Since the Bush administration reduced a great deal of funding to nonprofits, many of them have cut their staffing and programming and in extreme cases, closed their doors. The cuts, though devastating to many organizations, have proven to be downright lethal to lesbian and gay organizations since many GLBT organizations just recently begin to thrive from government funding. Now they hustle to replace those dollars. The Hearts Foundation, a Chicago based, volunteer run, not-for-profit corporation plays a vital role in helping GLBT organizations keep their doors open. Over the past fourteen years, the Hearts Foundation and its predecessor, the Hearts Committee, have raised nearly $2.2 million for Chicago's gay and lesbian and HIV/AIDS service organizations. This year the LCCP receives some of those dollars. "Well the exciting part about the Fireball Festival this year is that it offers the opportunity to really build a strong LGBT togetherness," shares Halem. "I hear from so many gay men that they really want to support the organization but since so many of our events are women's events. They want to respect them and may not feel comfortable attending a party with 2000 lesbians dancing but of course it doesn't compare to the way that the boys dance," laughs Halem. "So we were always looking for more opportunities for gay men and women to have some time together. So the idea of the Fireball Festival and us joining and them being willing to change the date so we could be a part of it was to give gay men an opportunity to support the organization and to give a chance for the Hearts Foundation to do what they really do well which is to show a really wonderful diverse mix of men's and women's events going on in the city."
The LCCP's Winter Ball pulls in women by the thousands and remains one of the few events where you are bound to see women you have not seen in some time. Halem imparts that the Ball, along with other LCCP fundraisers, does double duty as fundraiser and a social. "It is hard because even though we are an organization dedicated to access and health care we know that visibility and getting out and socializing especially for lesbians. We need this one to be big especially after how hard this year had been. It is one of our most important fundraisers and it became so clear doing the financial times when we went public and began to really ask for support, I would get a donation from somebody and the first thing that people would say was, "What about the Ball? What about the Ball?" We already knew that this event has a meaning that is so much deeper than anything that we could ever imagine. And it is so meaningful for people on so many different levels; it is about visibility and pride and celebrating and coming together and building community and we didn't want to lose it."
"Well there is definitely going to be a shift toward the party element of it," shares Halem. "With DJ Meshell Ndegocello, there will be a big emphasis on dancing. It is also starting a little bit later and although there will be food, for the ticket price, it can't be a full dinner. I want people to know, yes, you can eat and yes, you can drink but think about having to go home with your shoes in your hands because your feet are going to hurt so bad from dancing. I think that so many people have gotten used to just hanging out and I really want them to dance this year." The Ball is one of the largest in the Midwest and has attracted the attention and sponsorship of Showtime's New Lesbian series, The L word.
The lesbian community can definitely use a good time especially when it is for a good cause. "I have noticed that people are not giving as much throughout the year and with the low turn outs at the events over the past years the economy is absolutely affecting people and it affects women the hardest." Many women struggle as head of households to pay their bills and yet these women are aware of the important contributions of the LCCP. Halem believes this is why so many women still make donations. "The majority of our contributions came from folks who I know stretched it. Who I know that $20.00 is a huge deal for them. While we are so excited to have larger donors in our midst, I would say that 90% of our contributions come from people who I know are working on a UPS salary or no salary." The generosity of the Chicago lesbian community helps to sustain the LCCP. "They may have one less drink when they are out or one less night out or maybe they got together some friends and had a donation party. It just became really clear that folks really dug deep and so for us that has always been the case."
The sagging economy sunk the LCCP's annual cruise; they opted for an event at the Roger's Park swanky supper club, The Speakeasy Supper Club underwrote the event. "When we moved away from the cruise," explains Halem, "people didn't understand why but I would explain that you paid $100 to come on the boat but I had to turn around and pay $60 of that to the boat for one ticket. So you have made a donation to the organization and it is a big stretch for you but I only get $40 of that donation. So we had to think about how could we do an event where LCCP gets the majority of the funds. The boat is so popular but we don't get a lot out of it. I don't want to say no to the boat but it just can¹t happen until times are better."
That is the million-dollar question. How can the LCCP raise money in the midst of the present day economy? Since the Bush administration reduced a great deal of funding to nonprofits, many of them have cut their staffing and programming and in extreme cases, closed their doors. The cuts, though devastating to many organizations, have proven to be downright lethal to lesbian and gay organizations since many GLBT organizations just recently begin to thrive from government funding. Now they hustle to replace those dollars. The Hearts Foundation, a Chicago based, volunteer run, not-for-profit corporation plays a vital role in helping GLBT organizations keep their doors open. Over the past fourteen years, the Hearts Foundation and its predecessor, the Hearts Committee, have raised nearly $2.2 million for Chicago's gay and lesbian and HIV/AIDS service organizations. This year the LCCP receives some of those dollars. "Well the exciting part about the Fireball Festival this year is that it offers the opportunity to really build a strong LGBT togetherness," shares Halem. "I hear from so many gay men that they really want to support the organization but since so many of our events are women's events. They want to respect them and may not feel comfortable attending a party with 2000 lesbians dancing but of course it doesn't compare to the way that the boys dance," laughs Halem. "So we were always looking for more opportunities for gay men and women to have some time together. So the idea of the Fireball Festival and us joining and them being willing to change the date so we could be a part of it was to give gay men an opportunity to support the organization and to give a chance for the Hearts Foundation to do what they really do well which is to show a really wonderful diverse mix of men's and women's events going on in the city."
The LCCP's Winter Ball pulls in women by the thousands and remains one of the few events where you are bound to see women you have not seen in some time. Halem imparts that the Ball, along with other LCCP fundraisers, does double duty as fundraiser and a social. "It is hard because even though we are an organization dedicated to access and health care we know that visibility and getting out and socializing especially for lesbians. We need this one to be big especially after how hard this year had been. It is one of our most important fundraisers and it became so clear doing the financial times when we went public and began to really ask for support, I would get a donation from somebody and the first thing that people would say was, "What about the Ball? What about the Ball?" We already knew that this event has a meaning that is so much deeper than anything that we could ever imagine. And it is so meaningful for people on so many different levels; it is about visibility and pride and celebrating and coming together and building community and we didn't want to lose it."