Sacramento Gay Men's Chorus

Reviewed by the Sacramento Region Community Foundation

$1,699 raised by 6 donors

7% complete

$25,000 Goal

The Sacramento Gay Men's Chorus was founded in 1984 as a singing group that aimed to foster a sense of community and provide support specifically for gay men in the Sacramento area.  Over the years, through musical performance and outreach programs, the chorus has grown to become an integral part of the Sacramento music community and a voice for the broad scope of LGBTQ+ folks in the greater Sacramento area. With that voice, SGMC has confronted intolerance and bigotry by providing a positive experience of the Queer Community.  The Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus strives to create a fun environment for LGBTQ+ folks and allies who enjoy making music together.  The chorus has now grown to one hundred members and is focused on both musical excellence and dynamic choralography.  During the year, the chorus puts on several concerts, sings at numerous community events and benefits, and creates "pop-up" performances throughout the community.

We strive to create and maintain an organization that values:

  • Diversity: We honor, promote, and model diversity in our membership, music, and community outreach.
  • Musical and Artistic Excellence: We strive to produce musical and artistic excellence through education, performance, and a varied repertoire.
  • Support and Connection to Our Community: We serve as musical and community leaders for the artistic and LGBTQ communities in Sacramento and beyond.
  • Action for Social Justice and Pride: We confront intolerance through action that shows pride and expresses the common hopes and dreams shared by gays and straights alike.
  • A Safe and Nurturing Family: We build and sustain a welcoming social and purposeful environment of fellowship, fun and shared musical expression for all our members.
  • Personal Growth and Transformation: We promote personal growth and learning that challenge members to become all they can be and more.
  • Strong Organizational Stewardship: We maintain sound and transparent financial and operational practices that ensure a stable organization capable of achieving its mission.

Mission

Our mission is to foster pride and enhance lives, one song at a time.

Our vision is to build a community where no one will be afraid to sing one's own song.

Needs

Performance & Production: Continually investing in new music is one of our largest expenses for performance and production. As the chorus grows, our music costs increase as licensing fees, sheet music costs, and membership growth are parallel. We continue to improve the quality of our costumes, sound systems, and venues to always deliver the best possible performances. Musical instruments and audio equipment are necessary to maintain the quality and minimize the cost of performances and concerts.

Outreach: SGMC continues to increase our outreach methods and extent. We confront intolerance and bigotry by providing a positive experience of the Queer Community. Our goal is to add as many outreach performances as our schedule allows and show up with love and acceptance at festivals, events, and community gatherings to support youth and adults in their endeavor to "sing their own song."

Management/Staff Support: Maintaining a small professional staff enables SGMC to continuously improve the quality of our performances, increase our outreach, and support our members and volunteers. Our staff includes an executive director, an artistic director, a principal accompanist, and an administrative assistant. SGMC utilizes many volunteers, including committee chairs, who assist in performance management and membership development. While these volunteers graciously donate many hours of their own time, their work requires financial support to ensure the success of their projects.

Miscellaneous Administrative Costs

Equity Statement

As an arts organization and as part of our local and global communities, The Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus is committed to racial equity both internally through our work environment and externally through our programming.

• We are committed to ensuring that our artistic decisions and organizational policies reflect democratic principles of equity and justice.

• We understand that making decisions in a just and equitable manner considers critical issues of implicit bias and discrimination that requires concerted, thoughtful, intentional, and purposeful action.

• We believe that bringing together the membership, staff, and community partners with differing backgrounds and life experiences will enhance our ability to increase opportunities to promote justice and equity.

• Policies, programs, and activities will be administered to avoid discrimination and barriers to access and to show the benefits of diversity and inclusion personally for our membership and as a professional organization in how we execute our mission and vision.

• Accountability is essential. We strive to learn and grow from our shortcomings and lean into change rather than recoiling from admitting that we learn more every day and from every member how we can be more inclusive, and solution focused.

• We are committed to the just and equitable disbursement of resources through diverse hiring of contractors, selection of music and arrangements from diverse companies and creators of color, and support of other arts organizations within and outside of the LGBTQ+ community.

• We will strive to ensure our external program communicates not only to entertain but also to promote a message of justice, racial equity, and unity in our diverse audiences, with a focus on extending our reach to underserved communities and those who may not traditionally have access.

Organization Data

Summary

Organization name

Sacramento Gay Men's Chorus

other names

SGMC, Sacramento Men's Chorus

Year Established

1984

Tax id (EIN)

68-0234567

Mission Category

Arts, Culture & Humanities

Operating Budget

$250,001-$500,000

Organization Need

Funding: Unrestricted, Funding: Other, Funding: Program

Demographics Served

LGBTQIA+

Local Counties Served

Sacramento

Equity Statement

Equity Statement

Address

5960 S Land Park Drive, #242
Sacramento, CA 95822

Headquarters

5960 S Land Park Drive, #242
Sacramento, CA 95822

Service areas

Sacramento, CA, US

Placer, CA, US

Yolo, CA, US

El Dorado, CA, US

Amador, CA, US