Serious questions about the future of the Oak Park Area Lesbian and Gay Association (OPALGA) have arisen lately, including whether the group should continue to exist. After a year of fundraising to clear itself of debt, the community-based LGBT nonprofit and its board of directors recently found itself scrambling to identify its purpose.
At one of two annual membership meetings, held May 5, approximately 40 members discussed the focus of OPALGA going forward. Board of Directors Co-Chair Greg Raub said that addressing the question of whether the organization should dissolve helped frame the discussion at the meeting.
"Now that we're not just focused on fundraising, is there still a reason for an organization like this to exist?" Raub said. "We wanted to pose that question to our members. No one expected the organization to shut down, but it was more of just a way to say 'Let's get together and talk about where do we go from here.'"
OPALGA formed in 1989 to unite members of the local LGBTQ community, provide group support in the form of programs and services and advocate for non-discrimination both locally as well as in Chicago and Illinois. One of its chief accomplishments was amending Oak Park's Human Rights Ordinance to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing and public accommodations.
In 2009, the organization closed its meeting space and focused primarily on settling its debt. Programs, such as Women Like Me, a group for women who have come out after heterosexual relationship, were relocated. Women Like Me became part of the Lesbian Community Care Project at the Howard Brown Health Center.
After a successful annual gala fundraiser back in the fall, Board of Directors Co-Chair Cheryl Haugh said OPALGA was finally able to repay worker wages, refund loans to Board members and retire a $25,000 line of credit. With finances no longer a concern, a lack of a clear focus for the organization led to the question of repurposing.
"It became apparent after we took a breath and shook out a little bit that we were much less in need of the formal structure that we've had and the kind of oversight that was necessary for employees and youth programs," Haugh said.
Both Haugh and Raub said that at the May 5 membership meeting it became immediately clear that no one wanted to lose the social side of the organization. OPALGA has sponsored a monthly potluck dinner for its members since its inception more than 20 years ago.
At the same time, they also say the group values its nonprofit status with the state and consensus at the meeting was not to re-form as purely social organization.
"I think my sense of it at this point is we'll keep a nonprofit status with the state, meet less times and go in directions of [our members'] passions," Haugh said.
Some of those passions would include raising money to provide as scholarship or to organizations that resonate with OPALGA's mission. Board of directors member and Oak Park Village Trustee Ray Johnson said the board has begun to compile a list of nonprofits that it would be interested in supporting. Acting as a "foundation" in this sense would also help repurpose the funds raised by the annual gala, which are no longer needed internally.
"We must be more connected to our organizations fighting for equality," he said. "We are putting together a list that would fit into the mission of social services and social justice that could use support as we seek to continue our annual gala."
Johnson also said that the group is working on website renovations as well as putting together a membership book to improve communication. A lack of volunteers constituted another factor for posing the question of dissolution.
"We want to move forward in creating an opportunity to connect our community at more of a grassroots level," Johnson said. "The logical next step is to have more member engagement and action. Members are not leading or driving those kinds of efforts as much as in the past."
Despite the obvious questions and even some skeptics, the majority of OPALGA members insist the organization must continue.
"Some of the people who were saying [OPALGA should consider dissolving] have been longtime members," Raub said. "They remember how much passion there was in the early days …Virtually everyone in the room raised their hands and said, 'yes, we need to make some changes and think about how we're organized and what we do, but there's still a need for this organization.'"
In the immediate future, OPALGA remains dedicated to one of its annual traditions: selling doughnuts at the Oak Park Farmer's Market on Saturday June 4. Volunteers for "Donut Day" are still needed; email Ray Johnson at info@opalga.org for more information.
OPALGA will hold a pot-luck dinner Friday, June 10, at Al Maresso, 911 Hayes, Oak Park, 7-9 p.m. See "OPALGA's June Potluck" on Facebook for more information.
