You are KGS! The amazing journey continues.

In our last post in May, we shared ideas of transforming KGS into a nonprofit. We are happy to report we have accomplished this goal and are now a 501(c)3. The reason this was decided as a next step for KGS is simple: We wanted to maintain our work as a low-cost and sustainable community resource. The path to creating this was more challenging than just completing applications. 

I want to thank our incredible team for all their hard work in achieving this goal. Many of you are aware of the bi-weekly events we facilitate for our members. However, what you may not know is how many hours our leadership team volunteers at bi-weekly meetings discussing policy and protocols, website functionality, planning events and their venues, making connections with community partners, documentation, and all the shared calendars and coordination involved. All of this was work that was never anticipated, yet these were challenges that the team took on to create the KGS we have today. For all that they have given, I can never say thank you enough. The passion this team shows in finding more ways to build community and meet the needs of its members is truly awe inspiring. 

The inspiration to pursue this endeavor started with a member who had faith in the work KGS was doing, a generous heart, and also an interesting bucket-list idea. I’d like to introduce and thank our very first sponsor and member, Lily Wilbur. Lily is a local business owner of Sleek and Destroy Barber Shop. She is an amazing barber but also an incredible supporter of the community, actively seeking ways to give back. Lily always checks in with KGS and its journey. When discussing how some of our members had the crazy idea of possibly participating in the Knoxville Pride Parade, she didn’t take a second thought and said she wanted to sponsor us. The idea became reality when we submitted our application to participate in the 2024 Knoxville Pride Parade and Festival. To Lily - from all of us on the leadership team, the members who share in our gratitude, and the future members to come because of support like this - thank you. Lily has specifically said she has no intent to promote her business as a reason for donating, but I can’t help but give a shout out to her amazing shop and work. Seriously go check her out at https://www.instagram.com/sleek_and_destroy/.

KGS has always been an act of service to our community with no expectations of financial support. All of our work was made possible by the generosity of its leadership team by way of time, skills, and personal funding. KGS’s events have been possible by finding/creating events that would be free or below $50 for members. This we felt was feasible and reasonable. Any materials or meals that were provided were voluntarily provided by leadership with no expectation for reimbursement. KGS members could/would volunteer if they so chose. After Lily’s generous offer, KGS had to decide what was the most ethical way to navigate financial support. Becoming a 501(c)3 was the solution. By becoming a nonprofit, KGS now has more ability to continue its work with the benefits of being a nonprofit but also has a means for our members to benefit from their support. As a nonprofit, any financial support would then be eligible as a charitable donation for a tax credit, and time given could be documented as community service hours. 

KGS is committed to becoming what its members need and want for their community. That's the heart of the message of this post. When members come together, it’s amazing to see what is accomplished. We want to thank you for entrusting and supporting this effort.

If anyone is interested in supporting KGS, we welcome your ideas, feedback, and service. If you wish to make a donation, we now have a section on our home page for this: https://www.knoxgaysocial.org/donate.

Any financial support we receive will be utilized in creating opportunities that benefit our members entirely. Ideas include creating more events for our groups and implementing the ability to offer a sliding scale for any event that has a potential cost because KGS always strives to remove obstacles. All donations will be recorded, and a receipt for members to claim their charitable donation tax credit will be mailed in the month of January. 

Knox Pride 2024 was a success for our group! We received a lot of  words of encouragement and belief in what we are doing. Thank you to all of our members who participated in the parade and visited our info booth. I can't begin to describe how amazed I am at where we are now, what we have accomplished, and what potential we now have for the future.