Officials with the National Latino Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Organization abruptly shut down the organization last week laying off all 14 of its employees in the face of a $700,000 deficit, sources familiar with the group said.
Rodger McFarlane, the executive director of the Gill Foundation, which gave LLEGĂ" $90,000 this year and a total of $400,000 over the past 10 years, said that 'sheer financial desperation' and a over-reliance on government contracts instead of a 'serious and sustained' donor base was the death knell for the 'the only national nonprofit organization devoted to representing' the needs of gay and lesbian Latinos.
'My heart is broken because we were utterly committed to the work of LLEGĂ",' McFarlane said. 'No other organization can speak credibly for Latino queers. This is a tragedy. I've spoken to a number of other funders, and we all remain committed to their mission. When the dust settles, we will talk about how we can carry on that mission.'
LLEGĂ" faces an operating debt of more than $700,000 between now and next March and a $200,000 operating deficit over the next two months, McFarlane said.
Former LLEGĂ" president MartĂn Ornelas-Quintero, who said he left the organization in July to spend more time with a recently adopted child, was the sole manager of LLEGĂ"'s finances, according to McFarlane.
Neither Ornelas-Quintero nor Gloria Nieto, LLEGĂ"'s interim president, were available for comment.
Abandoned employees
According to a former employee who spoke on condition of anonymity, none of the 14 employees let go last week has been paid in two weeks. The source added that employees lost their health benefits two months ago. A LLEGĂ" board member declined to comment.
Employees reportedly received a letter from LLEGĂ" dated Aug. 25 on Aug. 27 informing them that they were being fired, the source said. The former employee also said that employees were not paid for accrued vacation time.
LLEGĂ" has not issued a formal announcement regarding its apparent closure.
LLEGĂ"'s revenue in 2002 was $2.8 million and Ornelas-Quintero's salary, at the time, was $68,960.
Ornelas-Quintero headed the organization since 1996, when it had fewer than a dozen employees and a budget of $500,000.
LLEGĂ" received financial support from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, the Human Rights Campaign, American Airlines, and other corporate and private sponsors, according to its Web site.
Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, said that the group's closure would not make it more difficult for other Latino and gay groups in the future to get funding from the federal government.
'It is always profoundly sad when our organizations go through these incredibly painful times, and I don't think [LLEGĂ"] reflects on others,' Foreman said. 'By and large, our community organizations, from the tiny ones to the big ones, are remarkably well-managed financially and I get concerned that people extrapolate the exception—take one particular incident and extrapolate that across the community. It is just not the case.'
However, McFarlane said that LLEGĂ"'s experience should teach organizations that to be an effective advocate, you cannot depend on government help for your well-being.
'You must have your own revenue,' McFarlane said. 'Then you can take the government contract that serves your mission and criticize them for not issuing a contract for your mission. Otherwise, your advocacy voice is completely silenced and you are subject to the changing fashions of politics.
'[LLEGĂ"] never made a serious effort in recent history to create a serious and sustained donor base. They had no development plan and possessed a board incapable of executing it. This is not a case of groups like the Gill Foundation giving more money. We gave as much money as we would give to anybody.'
Joe Crea can be reached at jcrea@washblade.com . This article originally appeared in the Washington Blade.
