CEO Cece Cox and other representatives were on hand Thursday night at the Black Tie Dinner’s 2018 Wrap-Up Party to accept a check for $48,906, the largest amount Black Tie allocated to a local beneficiary this year. Visit DallasVoice.com for a slideshow of more photos from the event. (David Taffet/Dallas Voice)

From Staff Reports

Officials with the Black Tie Dinner distributed a total of $1,185,000 to 19 beneficiaries Thursday evening, Dec. 6, at the organization’s 2018 Wrap Party and Beneficiary Distribution event at the Winspear Opera House.

“With the help of our 2018 sponsors, table captains, and supporters, the Board of Black Tie Dinner is excited to distribute well over $1 million to the work of our beneficiaries in the LGBTQ community,” said BTD Co-chair David Gifford-Robinson. “Giving away these checks tonight makes the thousands of hours our board and volunteers contribute throughout the year worth every second.”

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, BTD’s national beneficiary, got a check for $569,375. The two local organizations receiving the largest amounts were Resource Center, which received $48,906, and Rainbow Roundup, an LGBT family organization, which received $48,030. The third largest local check went to Equality Texas, which received $47,181.

“We are always grateful” for Black Tie’s donation to Resource Center, said the center’s CEO Cece Cox.

Jeremy Hawpe, pictured, joins Nathan Robbins as co-chair of the 2019 Black Tie Dinner. (David Taffet/Dallas Voice)

“Every nonprofit always likes cold, hard cash. We do have bills to pay and programs to run and services to offer,” she said. “But the opportunity for engagement with the community is very important to us, too. It gives us exposure to a large local audience, and that is very valuable to us.”

Cox also noted that BTD’s donation to the Resource Center comes in the form of “unrestricted money,” which can play a vital role in the center’s budget.

“Much of the money we get through other sources, like government funding and grants, is restricted to specific programs and specific purposes. But no grant ever completely covers the cost of that program. So we always have to fill the gap, and unrestricted money [such as the BTD donation] allows us to fill those gaps.”

Kimberly Kantor, executive director of Rainbow Roundup, said Black Tie’s donation to her organization would help pay to develop a free, downloadable Rainbow Roundup app.

Much of Rainbow Roundup’s event are coordinated and announced through the organization’s Facebook page and other social media platforms. But, Kantor said, there are families out there who aren’t on Facebook and don’t use social media very often.

“So we want to offer them a free app that will let them connect with their communities and keep track of events happening in their area,” Kantor said. “The money will help us connect families to resources and make a difference for them and for our community.”

Kantor’s wife, attorney Lorie Burch, added that while Kantor never “toots her own horn,” she has always been dedicated to making sure that Rainbow Roundup is able to provide free or low-cost events, giving LGBTQ families the chance to connect with each other and with individuals and organizations offering resources they need. That, Burch said, “is really critical,” because it helps those families that don’t have the financial resources to make those connections otherwise.

BTD officials also announced that BBVA Compass is returning as the presenting sponsor for the 38th annual dinner, set for Nov. 2, 2019, again at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel.

Co-chair Nathan Robbins offered a huge thank you to Rey Ocañas and BBVA Compass for their continued and generous support.  As we enter our third year with BBVA Compass as our presenting sponsor, we are excited for the impact we are making on the community together.

Robbins continues as BTD co-chair for 2019 and will be joined by Jeremy Hawpe, whose election as co-chair was also announced Thursday. Brad Pritchett was announced as co-chair elect, with Caleb Patterson as secretary, Doug Bedell as treasurer and Brandon Baker, John Mason, Ethan Skinner, Stacey Stevenson, Nick Totin and Liliana Villarreal as new board members.

The other 16 local beneficiaries receiving donations from Black Tie this year are, in alphabetical order:

  • AIDS Outreach Center ($27,306)
  • AIDS Services of Dallas ($37,381)
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star ($34,205)
  • Cathedral of Hope United Church of Christ ($34,271)
  • Celebration Community Church ($29,325)
  • Congregation Beth El Binah ($30,382)
  • Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund ($45,002)
  • Legacy Counseling Center ($29,831)
  • Legal Hospice of Texas ($31,092)
  • Northaven United Methodist Church ($31,928)
  • Promise House ($31,806)
  • Trans Kids and Families of Texas ($16,726)
  • Turtle Creek Chorale ($30,481)
  • Uptown Players ($32,127)
  • The Women’s Chorus of Dallas ($29,646)

The DFW Black Tie Dinner is the largest LGBT event of its kind. The first dinner, in 1982, raised $6,000 for HRCF. In its 38 years, Black Tie has distributed more than $24 million for HRCF and local beneficiaries. █