Organization

Organization
Board of Directors | Management Team | Volunteer Committees | Community Partner Advisory Council

Board of Directors

The Capital Pride Alliance was recently incorporated in the District of Columbia as a non-profit entity whose sole purpose is to support, plan, implement, and assess annual Capital Pride events and related activities throughout the year. This self-perpetuating board, initially comprised of active members of the Capital Pride Planning Committee, will expand to include additional members immediately following the transition phase. Currently, the Alliance Board is a working board comprised of community members who possess specific skills and expertise to ensure a seamless transition and start up of the organization. Ultimately, the Board members will not be involved in the daily or regular execution of Pride events, but serve as stewards, on behalf of the community, for Capital Pride. The Board will have three critical responsibilities: set strategic direction for the Alliance; provide fiduciary oversight; and select, manage, and annually evaluate the Executive Director. Read biographies of the Board of Directors.

Management Team

The Board, as described above, will select an Executive Director, who will have direct management authority for the execution of Capital Pride and its related events and activities. The Executive Director will oversee four key functional areas, each headed by an Associate Director, and described in more detail below:

Operations - ensures the effective planning, implementation, and evaluation of all Capital Pride activities and events, and includes logistics, safety, and security;
Communications and Outreach - oversees the marketing of events and activities, communications (print and web-based), media relations, volunteer solicitation and management, government relations, and the Community Partners Program;
Sponsorship and Fundraising - raises the resources necessary to implement Capital Pride’s events and activities and includes corporate sponsorships, fundraising events, individual donor solicitations and grants; and
Administration - ensures effective management systems and procedures and includes the following sub-functions: accounting/bookkeeping; information technology; office management; insurance; and contract services.

Volunteer Committees

One of the most powerful assets of Capital Pride has been and will continue to be its diverse and dedicated volunteer members, who chair and serve on various committees. The Alliance believes that establishing a social contract with the membership is necessary to preserve this asset. The Alliance is committed to ensuring multiple opportunities and clear roles for any and all members of the GLBT community and its allies to participate in Capital Pride.

Community Partner Advisory Council

The Alliance recognizes the incredible potential of the Community Partners program. These organizations have made a commitment to and investment in the success of Capital Pride. As a means to ensure that their contribution is honored, we will create a Community Partners Advisory Council, which would interact directly with the Board of Directors and the Executive Director. This advisory group will provide advice, diverse perspectives, and financial support to ensure that Capital Pride is relevant, inclusive, sustainable, and supportive of the entire community.

We fully recognize that the success and potential of Pride in the National Capital area is based on the strong relationships that exist among members of the community and the organizations in which they choose to be active. We envision a system by which we formalize many of the organic relations and activities that have occurred amongst the various groups working to participate in Capital Pride both by recruiting organizations to be sponsors and providing them the benefits as a partner, and responsibilities as a group of partners.

The Community Partner Advisory Council will be a separate portion of the Capital Pride Alliance that will represent the needs and opinions of the community partners. We envision it as a group of community organizations who come forward to help provide guidance, support, and oversight of the Capital Pride Alliance. The role of the Council will be to:

Choose one member to serve as an ex-officio member of the Board of the Alliance;
Recommend paths for the future of Capital Pride to the Board and the Executive Director;
Assess the strengths and challenges of Capital Pride;
Collect & present community feedback about Pride activities & operations; and
Distribute news and awareness of Capital Pride through the community.

The benefits and responsibilities associated with being a community partner will include:

Marketing of events;
Recruiting volunteers;
Expanding the Council;
Producing affiliated events;
Providing money to the operations of Capital Pride; and
Sit on the Advisory Council.