The Grand Rapids Pride Center’s Trans and Gender Non-Conforming Advisory Committee (TGNC) advises our staff and Board of Directors on matters important to our transgender and gender non-conforming community. The committee will also identify opportunities we can take to improve lives and celebrate the transgender and gender non-community.

This committee is responsible for planning our Trans Day of Remembrance (TDOR) even in November and our Trans Week of Visibility (TWOV) in March. For questions about the TGNC committee or if you’re interested in joining, please email tgnc@grpride.org

The Grand Rapids Pride Festival Committee serves as an advisory and planning committee. We’re looking for people to bring diverse perspectives on how we can make Pride Festival a place for everyone along with the drive to help put ideas and opportunities into action.

The committee usually begins meeting in February once or twice per month with an increased frequency of meetings as Pride gets closer. The committee operates in a sub-committee format with each one focusing on a different aspect of Pride. There’s a place for everyone! We ask that persons who are interested in joining the committee plan to make a commitment to the meeting schedule and to being present at Pride Festival which is always the third Saturday of June.

If you’re interested in joining, please email info@grpride.org

The Fundraising Committee’s job is not simply to raise money. Instead, the Fundraising Committee is responsible for overseeing the organization’s overall fundraising and, in particular, the fundraising done by the board.

To accomplish this, its responsibilities are:

1. To work with staff to establish a fundraising plan that incorporates a series of appropriate vehicles, such as special events, direct mail, product sales, etc.
2. To take the lead in certain types of outreach efforts, such as hosting fundraising parties, etc.
3. To be responsible for involvement of all board members in fundraising, such as having board members make telephone calls to ask for support, and
4. To monitor fundraising efforts to be sure that ethical practices are in place, that donors are acknowledged appropriately, and that fundraising efforts are cost-effective.

If you are interested in joining, please e-mail info@grpride.org.

The Accessibility Committee helps to ensure that GRPC and the GRPC Festival is as accessible as possible for people. The committee will be advising on matters pertaining to providing access for people with disabilities and compliance with best practices regarding accessibility and inclusion for as many people as possible.

Traditionally people think of accessibility as being only about people with disabilities, but the practice of being more accessible also benefits other groups that need accommodations such as those using mobile devices or those with scent sensitivities. Our goal is to take a proactive approach to accessibility, addressing issues before they become complaints, rather than a reactive approach, where issues are addressed only when a complaint has been received. We also acknowledge that sometimes there will competing concerns that we cannot address (i.e. someone needing an emotional support dog vs someone who is allergic to dogs).

If you are interested in letting us know your thoughts and/or joining the committee please reach out at info@grpride.org.