From Staff Reports

From Staff Reports

Officials with Black Tie Dinner Inc. announced this week that the application and selection process for the 2019 event has begun, and all LGBTQ-inclusive 501(c)(3) tax exempt organizations in North Texas are encouraged to apply.

The complete list of qualifications and the completely web-based applications are available online at BlackTie.org/Beneficiaries. Completed applications are due by 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 15. For more information about the application process email corela@blacktie.org.

Black Tie Dinner, now beginning its 38th year, is the largest sit-down dinner of its kind in the country. Over the last 37 years, the organization has distributed more than $23 million to local nonprofits in the LGBT and HIV/AIDS communities and to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, Black Tie’s national beneficiary each year.

The 2019 dinner will be held Nov. 2 at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel. For information, visit BlackTie.org.

Each year, Black Tie’s board of directors chooses up to 20 LGBTQ-supportive organizations from the North Texas area to share in proceeds from that year’s dinner. To be eligible, candidates must have a tax-exempt status as determined by the IRS, be able to demonstrate significant service to the North Texas LGBTQ community and must use a majority of the money they receive from Black Tie for direct programs and services.

“Our beneficiaries are the reason our board works so hard throughout the year to raise funds” Black Tie Dinner Co-Chair Nathan Robbins said this week. “Our local beneficiaries make a huge difference in the North Texas community, so we are always excited to read about their impact each year during the application process.”

Robbins said Black Tie is offering its “First-Year Beneficiary” program again this year, for the third consecutive year.

This program allows organizations chosen as beneficiaries for the first time to participate with fewer requirements — for example, they are responsible for selling fewer tables and raffle tickets and for donating fewer auction items and volunteer hours, he said. As a result of the lighter requirements, Robbins explained, first-year beneficiaries receive a proportionally lower financial distribution.

This program, Robbins said, gives organizations new to Black Tie a chance to “get acquainted with the Black Tie Dinner family.” After the first year, they will have to apply as a full beneficiary.