July, 1989

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE Page 5

our special programs, such as the Living Room, and our organizational growth. The Center has received support from the Cleveland Foundation for board training and recently was approved by the Cleveland Neighborhood Partnership Program for assistance with accounting and long-range fund-raising development.

Where we are falling short in our financial support is in membershipsthe mainstay of the Center's operation. There are 100,000 to 200,000 gays and lesbians in the Greater Cleveland area. Of this number, 900 lesbians will attend a women's concert, thousands of gays and lesbians will go to bars each weekend, 4,000 will show up for "Dancin' in the Streets," but less than 300 are members of the Center. To continue to be successful and expand its services, the Center needs your financial support. It takes real money to pay the rent, the staff, the light bills, the fire-code-required repairs, and the hot line phone bills. Good wishes and even good volunteers are not enough, though deeply appreciated.

The article in the Chronicle mentioned that the Center has a budget of $120,000, and that's true-but that's a budget, a plan, not money in the bank. So far, we have raised about half of what is needed, and, since the year is moving rapidly to being half over, that leaves a pretty healthy gap to fill before the year is over. So if you and the community want the Center to be there for the future, it's time to encourage people to join, or to renew or increase their commitment to a supporting membership.

We would also like to point out that GEAR, while experiencing many difficulties associated with trying to keep a small, under-funded organization viable, deserves better from the Chronicle than to be labeled a "private club filled with big egos." Few gay organizations in the country managed to survive as long as GEAR. For 14 years it somehow always managed to keep the hot line open and be a resource for Cleveland gays and lesbians. If GEAR had not held on somehow, there would have been no foundation upon which to build the present Center. Praising some people's good work does not require putting down the work of others.

It is not easy to build an all-volunteer organization into a smoothly-functioning, fully-staffed, self-supporting one, as I am sure you know from your own experiences at the Chronicle. We must all learn to be more supportive of each other's efforts because we need each other's energy and caring to strengthen our community.

Judy Rainbrook and The Board of Trustees The Lesbian-Gay Community Service Center

Clarification on WBP

To the Editor:

I am writing in response to Benita Chernyk's "Open letter from the Women's Building Project (WBP) Board," which appeared in the June issue of WSW and the Chronicle. I want to correct some misinformation because I believe it is important to keep our herstories accurate.

First, the impetus for the Women's Building Fund (as it was originally named) was the Cleveland Feminist Conference held in May 1981. The conference was organized locally and attended by approximately 70 women from this area. The motivation for a common space came from the fact that existing organizations were looking for more permanent housing and opportunities to grow, and a hope that the existence of a space would encourage and support the emergence of new organizations. Women from the Women's Wholistic Center, What She Wants and Oven Productions formed the core organizing group of the WBF. The WBF opened its

doors in rented space at the Civic in October of 1982 with these groups as the major tenants.

From these beginnings, the tenant base grew. The Women's Coffeehouse, NCLA, several 12-step programs and other organizations (new and existing) started using the space and sharing resources. Over the years many women worked hundreds of hours to keep this community space open and they deserve our thanks and appreciation.

Second, there are some money issues that need to be clarified. The OhioChicago Art Project realized a net profit of $62,000 from the 1981 exhibit of Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party. This profit was distributed in June 1983 as follows:

$14,000 A.C.L.U. Foundation (women's rights project)

$8,000 Akron projects determined by the Akron board members

$40,000 Jointly to the Women's Building Fund and the Women's Revolving Loan Fund, both of whom agreed before receiving the monies to work together to build a women's foundation in Cleveland.

The WBF and WRLF each agreed to take $5,000 for operating funds and put aside the remaining $30,000 as seed money for the new foundation's endowment. The WBF was to receive 75 percent of the interest on this initial endowment and the WRLF, 25 percent. The WRLF went out of existence, and the WBF became the WBP, an independent project of the WCF.

To simplify bookkeeping in 1986, the interest percent was changed to a flat amount of $100 a month, which is currently being paid by the WCF to the WBP. This money was specifically separated from the rent the WCF was paying the WBP so that the monthly payment would continue despite the location of the WCF offices. All of the financial arrangements between the WBP and the WCF (and OCAP and WBF) were made with the full consent, and often recommendation, of the WBP.

The WBP has also benefited from its association with the WCF in other ways. For example, the WCF assumed all of the bookkeeping costs and tax preparation for the WBP, and rightly so. The WCF has, in turn, benefited from the association, including receiving office space at less than market value (as do all of the WBP tenants).

A third point I'd like to clarify has to do with the WCF moving out of the WBP space. It is very important that people understand that the Civic has changed management several times since the first lease was signed. They have grown harder and harder to work with. The heat is literally "out-of-control" and the evening hours have been severely restricted (at whim). It was these hardships that motivated the WCF to look for a different space. The WCF wanted to leave the Civic, not the WBP. The move should not be construed as a lack of support for the WBP. It just is not so.

Lastly is the issue of the WBP's ongoing finances. The WBP covered most, but not all, of its expenses from community support in the form of rent revenues, pledge drive donations, and fund-raising events (parties). It also received foundation grants from the Chicago Resource Center, Gerson Foundation, Fox Foundation and Eastman Foundation which helped make up the deficit for several years. Building a fund to purchase a building never became the focus of the WBP, and understandably so. When an organization is raising money to meet its yearly operating budget, it is very hard to simultaneously fund-raise for future ventures. The WCF knows this dilemma quite well as we try to raise money for our endowment and operating expenses at the same time.

The WBP never represented in any of the fund-raising materials I have seen that the monies raised would be for anything other than operating expenses. From the beginning, budgets were presented in writing and at community/tenant meetings indicating the sources and uses of funds.

I do not know anything about the current internal struggles around disclosure of information. I do know that the commitment to open information did exist in the organization. All you had to do was come to the building, attend a community event, or be on the mailing list to receive or pick up the information. As a financial supporter of the WBP, I never had any questions as to how my contribution would be used.

I believe the WBP served a very valuable function in the Cleveland women's community and especially in the lesbian community. Many organizations and events found housing and support over the years, and the "togetherness" we felt sustain the individuals involved in these activities. The Civic was never perfect, but we were all able to define a little piece of it, house our large community parties and events, and feel some sense of ownership, even in a rental property. We all shared in the feeling of ownership, and we now share in the sense of loss. Credit should be given to all of the women who envisioned the space at the 1981 conference and to all of the women who participated in the WBP either as tenants, visitors or supporters. Whether you came for a massage, aerobics class, 12-step meeting, organization meeting, party, conference, art show, memorial service, Variety Show rehearsal or any other activity which brought you to the "building," you benefited from the dedication of the WBP and the hard work of all of the tenants who kept the place going. Let's give them (us) our thanks, and move on to our next dream together.

Debra Hirshberg Former treasurer of OCAP Founding and former WBP member

Founding treasurer and current WCF finance committee member

P.S. The What She Wants Feminist Lending Library and the Women's Fitness Center continue to operate at the Civic. The WBP continues to raise money to provide for some shared services and some groups will continue to meet in the library. They need your sup-

port so give them a call and go visit them today.

Traditional roles

The following was received in response to A. Paul's letter, published in the June issue.

Thank you for contacting me regarding my introduction of Senate Bill 162.

I realize this is not a perfect world, and there is no way to insure that every child will be raised in a perfect traditional family environment. I do believe that a heterosexual couple instills traditional roles and values in a child saying marriage and heterosexuality is good. Likewise, I would expect a homosexual couple, through parenting, to instill an attitude of an acceptance of a homosexual lifestyle. I do not agree with the latter.

I have heard gays state that they would not raise their adopted children to be homosexuals. What message is this sending to the child when they know what the parent practices, yet they are preaching the opposite.

If our previous generations had practiced homosexuality, you and I would not be here. I support traditional family values because I believe that is in the best interest of children.

Gary C. Suhadolnik State Senator 24th District

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