Seattle Out and Proud with Downscaled Celebration
Seattle Out and Proud are preparing for a parade and festival over Pride weekend, scheduled for late June, despite having recently come close to dissolving their organization and declaring bakruptcy, Seattlepi.com reported April 25.
Organizers had announced April 24 that Seattle Out and Proud was canceling plans for their Pride parade and festival and disbanding because of arrears in excess of $100,000 owed to the city for last year's celebration at the Seattle Center and to vendors. Now, following a subsequent meeting, the group says they will be able to go through with the parade after all. "We thought, we can do this. We can make this happen," said Troy Campbell, speaking for Seattle Out and Proud and citing support from the community as the reason for the group's turnaround.
The current strategy is to scrap the festival and concentrate on the parade. "Our resources were spread really thin doing the parade and the festival," Campbell said, adding that the group believes it will be possible to "[make] it a better parade, a more colorful parade and something the city can be proud of."
In terms of paying off the current level of debt and paying for this year's Pride activities, Campbell referred to a budget and a payment plan to be worked out with the city. Previous payment plans included an arrangement to pay the city $50,000 outright and then to pay $25,000 per year for two years in order to resolve the existing debt. "What we try to do when we get the case is investigate every option for payment," Ruth Bowman,a staffer with the city attorney, said.
However, a staffer with the Washington secretary of state said that requests for Seattle Out and Proud's financial records have gone unanswered, even though non-profits that solicit funds are required to provide financial information. The staffer said that the issue would be sent to the state attorney general unless Seattle Out and Proud responded to the requests.
Campbell addressed that situation, saying, "That will happen soon, and we will be meeting that deadline."
Cindy Baccetti, a consultant for the group, had said earlier that the group had an agreement for financial assistance from corporate sponsors, including Macy's and several Seattle hotels. Campbell confirmed Bacetti's comments, but declined to provide specifics.
Another possible avenue of support comes from The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Center. Following Out and Proud Seattle's admission of financial distress, the Community Center announced a plan to provide for a parade and a festival to take place on the originally scheduled date of June 24, though it's as yet uncertain whether Out and Proud Seattle's effort to regroup has changed the Community Center's plan to help out.
"Our 2007 theme is 'coming together,' and it is our hope that everyone will do just that, support the parade and all the other community events on pride weekend," Seattle Out and Proud said on its web site.