LGBT grantmaking organization Delaware Valley Legacy Fund will host its second-annual Platinum Day June 25 to promote LGBT philanthropy.
The organization will feature several workshops geared toward specific groups within the local LGBT community, and will give out its third-annual Platinum Awards to honor individuals who have made significant strides toward ensuring the financial stability of the community.
The day will kick off with a Professional Advisors Breakfast from 7:45-9:30 a.m. at the Philadelphia Foundation, where attendees will be able to network with other legal and financial advisors and discuss the importance of educating members of the local community about LGBT charitable possibilities.
“We want to make the business case for why professionals should include philanthropy in discussions with their clients,” said Perry Monastero, DVLF executive director. “Data has shown that when we engage clients about philanthropy, we’re more likely to have access to new funds and assets that we wouldn’t have had before. Prompting clients to think about philanthropy opens the door for them to think about something they might not have thought about before.”
Following the breakfast, the steering committee of DVLF’s Wonder Women group will gather to address their goal of heightening female participation in local LGBT organizations.
“Wonder Women is working to develop a strategic plan as to how we can engage more women in our community,” Monastero said, noting that DVLF is currently being led by its third consecutive female president, Angela Giampolo, but that it’s “not often the case with a lot of LGBT-service organizations.”
New to this year’s Platinum Day is a program for executive directors of local LGBT organizations and groups that work with the LGBT community, where participants will explore the possibility of creating a monthly executive-directors’ meeting to address the progression of the LGBT community.
“We’ve seen other communities, such as in Milwaukee and San Diego, do this, and they’re appropriate models for this program based on the size of the cities,” Monastero said. “Having these meetings every month would create collaboration possibilities and even build cost-sharing strength.”
Monastero said one of the first things the directors would evaluate is the feasibility of providing collaborative health and benefits packages to cut down on costs and ensure proper healthcare for all employees.
“This would be a huge, amazing leap. Some of the organizations can’t offer health packages at all, so by partnering and creating this association, we can try to find high-quality, lower-cost healthcare for all people involved in the LGBT movement,” he said.
While most of the day’s activities are focused on the future, during the Legacy Society and Platinum Awards Reception, 6-7:30 p.m. at PNC Bank Center, 1600 Market St., third floor, DVLF will take time to concentrate on the present and recognize the many individuals who have donated money and time to fuel the growth of the local LGBT community.
This year’s Platinum Awards will be presented to DVLF board members Jeremy Gussick and Ted Greenberg, who Monastero said have successfully worked with their clients to communicate the need for continued investment in community causes.
“They’ve put in a lot of volunteer time to educate members of the community about leaving a legacy for the LGBT community,” Monastero said. “Sometimes these gifts are very large and other times they’re small, but each is very special and unique because it represents people putting to paper a permanent way of how they want to build the community.”
Monastero said the reception is a way to spotlight a few of the countless individuals who work to guarantee the future successes of the LGBT community.
“This is not something that people get recognized for very often, but we find it very important to do this. Both the donors and Jeremy and Ted are people who do a lot of behind-the-scenes work, and this is our chance to thank them for their work and for their charity.”
The Platinum reception is open to the public.
To RSVP, contact Monastero at (215) 563-6417 ext. 117.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].