Imagine for a moment what it's like to run a community organization with the scope of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of South Florida. That's not an easy task. You're responsible for coming to the assistance of thousands of members of the South Florida gay community every day. You're responsible for providing meeting space for several hundred members of the community on a weekly basis. And, as the official spokesperson for the organization, your phone rings constantly — business and mobile — answering questions from people in the community. You have to make sure that AIDS testing is done for as many people as possible that want such a service and you have to make sure the funding is there to support all these services. Now, throw in that you have just purchased a new location for the GLCC-SF and must get the building ready to move into and start planning that move.
Such is the life of Paul Hyman, Executive Director of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of South Florida. Though Paul would agree that the heart of GLCC-SF is the gay community itself, Paul is definitely the heartbeat that keeps everything alive.
As with any conversation with a community leader such as Paul, no conversation would be complete without a lot of talk about the agency he represents, as they often see themselves and the organization as one. Yet he gives much credit for the organization's success to all the directors, volunteers and staff of the GLCC, both present and past.
Paul got involved in the GLCC when he became friendly with some of the people on the GLCC's board through social activities. During the second half of 2004, a period when the GLCC was in turmoil, the board was looking to fill the position of the executive director. Paul, who was heading up the Broward operations of Care Resource, was approached by several members of the board to see if he was willing to become the new executive director.
Since Paul's involvement through working with the board, staff and volunteers, the GLCC has made a complete turn-around, not only financially but also in community recognition. Perhaps this was because of Paul's unique background combination of business knowledge and social work. “It's really useful to me to move between the human and human services to a more business-oriented one,” Paul told me. “But the bottom line is the bottom line. If we're going to be a sustainable employer and a source of services and a resource to the community we have to pay our bills. We have to do the right thing. We have to raise money and we shouldn't have to apologize for that. What we've been able to accomplish over the last three years or so is the [financial] sustainability of the organization.”
Paul has found his work at the GLCC personally rewarding. “It's rewarding from the standpoint of when we see 200 or more people come in here for HIV testing each month, when three years ago there was like 45 people that came in each month. It's been extremely gratifying and rewarding for us this year for us to have achieved momentum with our women's committee and, with the grant that we got from the Aqua Foundation for Women, been able to achieve diversity around gender identity. What would help me feel an increasing level of personal satisfaction is if we could really move that diversity agenda forward with the transgender and bisexual communities and also in terms of race and ethnicity.”
On the business side of the GLCC, Paul said that he found comfort in, “…the growth in the operating budget and that we're paying our bills and operating in the black and when I started we went from four [people] on the staff to fourteen. All our operating bills are paid out of operating revenue and we've got 100% financial accountability.”
“It's also very gratifying to see such strong recognition of the GLCC in the community. There is really good awareness that the GLCC exists. But where I think we have further to go is, while people are very aware of the GLCC, the community doesn't necessarily know what we're doing. So I think we need to be more systematic in our communication with the community.”
“It's very gratifying to see the board members and to work with them who have come on board in the last year and a half to two years who have really grabbed the bull by the horns and helped us navigate through the whole real estate situation and now embarking on a capital campaign and recruiting new people at the board level.
But like all community organizations, the help from individuals in the community is necessary for its survival. There are two ways to give your assistance to the GLCC: time and money.
If you can donate your time as a volunteer and you can schedule your time for a certain number of hours a week or month, volunteers are needed in the administrative area. Your assistance is also needed if you'd like to volunteer on a less-regular basis or to help out on specific projects. If you're the kind of person whose skills and personality make you want to be with people, perhaps you should consider working at one of their many events or at the switchboard. If you have any other special skills, such as using a computer, there are volunteer positions waiting for you, too. You may even want to train to do HIV testing on a volunteer basis. “There are a lot of ways we can utilize people,” Paul said. “I think it's important to help people connect with volunteer roles they would find enjoyable. We always make sure that we don't put square pegs in round holes.”
If you'd like to volunteer some of your time to the GLCC, speak to Tony White, the GLCC's Projects Manager, to ask about volunteer opportunities.
For people who have less time, a monetary donation is welcome. “One of the best ways to help on the operating side is to become a member of the GLCC. Paul added, “Our 'Founders' level membership starts at $1,200 annually and goes up from there. We have some really fun cocktail/networking parties once a month, so if you have a few cocktails and some hors d'oeuvres we're kind of paying you back a little each month. That's a really important, unrestricted source of revenue for the organization. Our budget is now over $900,000 a year now and a few years ago it was less than $400,000 Of that 900,000 only 1/3rd of that comes from grants that fund programs, the rest of the revenue comes from our membership structure that fund programs we run which we don't have grant funding.”
Your financial donations also, “…help us pay the electric bill and keep things moving administratively. One of the things we've established over the last few years is a really solid financial infrastructure. Our treasurer and financial committee and our business manager have some really good systems in place so we know where money's coming in from and where it's going. And if funds come in for a specific purpose, they are used for that purpose. And when people help us out that way we thank them and recognize them for their help.“
According to Paul, “When I took this job, some of my friends sent me sympathy cards, and they said, 'What, are you crazy?' Maybe I was. I definitely feel like I put my reputation on the line, as have a lot of people who are involved in the GLCC in terms of turning this place around. It's been really exciting. I feel like I'm really making a difference.”
