Major Announcement about Empty Closets!

We have a big announcement to make!

As some of you may know, Empty Closets has, since its inception, been simply a website established to help people with coming out and other LGBT issues, and to provide a means for LGBT people and their allies to share and support each other.

Since 2004, EC has been owned by several individuals who originally purchased the domain and established the current site. Their goal -- to offer a source for support and resources to LGBT youth that weren't otherwise available -- is as valid today as it was then. Over the years, EC has grown from a very small community with a few hundred members and a couple of volunteer staff members to a site with over 12,000 members, 25 staff members, and, at present, over 150,000 unique visitors each month (1.4 million page views!)

The staff and the owners have been discussing for some time how we can, over time, ensure that EC will be able to operate and provide the resources it now offers as it continues to grow, while still maintaining its non-commercial nature. So over the past six months, the staff and admins, in cooperation with the owners, developed a long-term strategy to ensure EC's continued growth and success.

We are pleased to announce that the first step of that strategy has been accomplished. Empty Closets is now officially a US-based nonprofit organization. Our legal name is Empty Closets Community Services, and the website, of course, remains emptyclosets.com. The website and all of EC's operations are now owned by, and overseen by the nonprofit organization, which, in turn, is run by a volunteer Board of Directors comprised of existing EC staff members, EC members, and other individuals (including the three original founder/owners) with an interest in what we do.

The next step, which is currently underway, is registration with the US taxing authority (the IRS) as a nonprofit, tax-exempt public educational charity. This will give us the same charitable status as organizations like the Trevor Project, American Cancer Society, and other groups that educate and provide services to the public. It will enable us to accept tax-deductible donations and do various fundraising and grant proposals, which will, in turn, allow us to advertise and help more people become aware of EC and what it offers, as well as to enable us to offer additional services and resources to our members.

So what does this mean for the community? In the short term, nothing at all will change. Everything we've always done, we will continue to do. As the Board begins developing the mission statement and goals for the organization, we will be seeking input from the community (since EC is, after all, now a public charity whose mission and goals are focused on the community it serves). One of the best things is that the staff and admin team will now be working with a Board of Directors who are all focused on the growth and success of the organization, and will have more time and energy to dedicate to our long term growth than our three founders/previous owners, all of whom have been busy with their own businesses and have, by their own admission, been unable to put as much time into EC as they would have liked.

In the slightly longer term, we have a number of initiatives and goals that we've tossed around to be able to provide more services to our members, to better coordinate with local LGBT centers, counseling centers, and other bricks-and-mortar resources, and in general, to reach more people who are in need of our services. As we've mentioned in other threads, we are also working on a major overhaul/facelift to our website, which will include new features, a more modern design, and better access to articles, videos, and other resources.

So, in closing, we hope that you will join us in celebrating this new step toward EC's future growth. The board, staff, and admins will be communicating on a regular basis about what we're doing so that everyone is kept in the loop about our plans, and, of course, we are reachable via PM or through "Ask the Staff" if you have any questions or comments... or you can feel free to ask questions or make comments here in this thread.

With warm regards,

Martin, Mirko, Blair, Chip, Bryce, John and Shannon
Empty Closets Community Services Board of Directors