Dear GALA Chorus Members: Things are certainly not what we expected!  As we continue to sit through a pandemic that is having a profound impact on every aspect of daily living here in the United States it is important to keep things in perspective.  These are indeed trying times and many of our organizations are […]

If you are like me, the coronavirus is wreaking havoc with my organization.  This week the board, chorus leadership, and staff sat down, and put together a plan to postpone our upcoming concert.  All of this in light of the Governor’s State of Emergency declaration banning all public gatherings in excess of 250 people for […]

What does the current COVID-19 threat mean for our choral communities? The essence of a choral community is connection and in-person engagement. COVID-19 puts our very nature at risk. For all of us striving to maintain frequent connections for rehearsals and performances, the threat of COVID-19 is profound. It has implications for our community’s health […]

Festival 2020 is shaping up to be a landmark moment in LBGTQ+ choral history. The largest gay choral gathering in the world also comes at a time of political upheaval and social retrenchment in the U.S. and many governments around the world. Our voices of equality and social justice for all people must play a […]

Many non-profits, especially smaller groups without staffing, tend to operate without creating an annual fundraising plan.  The most likely scenario is that an organization understands that they need to raise money, someone comes up with a brilliant idea and then the group puts together a group of volunteers and makes it happen.  Sound familiar? In […]

I wanted to introduce myself to you – I am Richard Jung, the Executive Director of the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus and GALA Choruses 411 Advisor for Fundraising and Development. I started this position last summer and after a very slow start have finally begun to put together some useful information and tools that will […]

“You cannot interact with the autistic community or the trans community without interacting with both.” –Joelle Maslak Living in a society designed for neurotypical individuals can be very exhausting and overwhelming for autistic people, not unlike the stress and exhaustion of living in a binary world for many trans folks. Especially because most services are […]