Board to vote on dissolving SpeakOut

SpeakOut, which bills itself as the nation's first LGBT speaker's bureau, may soon be closing its doors. The board of directors was scheduled to meet the evening of Nov. 14, after Bay Windows went to press, and one of the items scheduled for a vote was a motion to dissolve the organization. Bernadette Smith, co-chair of the board, declined to comment on the reason for the board's vote on disbanding, but a public letter posted on the SpeakOut website indicates that the organization has been plagued both by financial troubles and by an inability to retain board members and volunteers.

The letter explains that at the Oct. 3 board meeting a board member made the motion to dissolve SpeakOut. The motion followed a study of the organization by a volunteer organizational development consultant who issued a report detailing the many obstacles faced by SpeakOut. Among these are the proliferation of gay/straight alliances in high schools and of LGBT speaker's bureau in colleges and universities, both of which may be making SpeakOut's programs in colleges and universities redundant. In terms of funding, fewer schools are willing to pay the speaker's fees that provide the main source of the organization's revenue, and there are few if any opportunities to fund SpeakOut through public money or grants. The organization also owes about $4000 to the IRS in back taxes.

Another key issue is retention of volunteers and board members. The summary of the development consultant's findings explains that of the approximately 30 people who attended the organization's last two speaker trainings, only five became active speakers, and two of those are board members. The letter on the SpeakOut website says that four of the organization's seven board members plan to resign at the end of the year and that this marks the third time in three years that a majority of the board has stepped down.

Smith told Bay Windows she would be able to comment further following the Nov. 14 meeting, which was open to the public. Stay tuned for updates on the future of SpeakOut at www.baywindows.com.