by caleb rainey
HARNESSING LGBT POWER
Small businesses and economic power are vital to all marginalized com- munities. Relegated communities depend on the financial infrastructure provided by small businesses, run by fellow community members, for a variety of things such as employment and culturally sensitive products.
It should come as no surprise that organiza-
tions like the Greater San Diego Business Associa- tion (GSDBA) arose to help harness the economic power of the LGBT community, as well as ensur- ing that LGBT consumers and business owners were supported. The GSDBA celebrates their annual Business Awards Ceremony this month and The Rage Monthly had a chance to chat with the executive director Barbra Blake regarding the organization. Blake started our conversation, by letting
me know just exactly what the GSDBA does. She asserted, “The Greater San Diego Business Association promotes LGBT influence through entrepreneurism, business ownership and supportive consumerism. Our goal is to create prosperity within our community through equality, diversity and inclusion. As California’s largest LGBT business organization, GSDBA rep- resents the interests of more than 650 members throughout San Diego County and is committed to supporting and encouraging the continued success of each of our member businesses, as well as the growth of the San Diego LGBT busi- ness community.”
12 RAGE monthly | OCTOBER 2014 By building this coalition, the GSDBA allows for
LGBT people to have an important role in the eco- nomic life of San Diego. Indeed, Blake believes fer- vently in the need for such organizations, “While an overwhelming share of America’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults say society has become more accepting of them in the past decade, one major realm of society lags behind; corporate America. There are very few openly gay chief executives at the nation’s 1,000 largest companies. There is an overwhelming pressure in the business world to hide one’s sexual orienta- tion. Even today, the business world is one of the slowest sectors of society to adopt new norms of acceptance—despite the fact that the result is the exclusion of some brilliant entrepreneurs, the life-blood of our economy. Whether our GSDBA members’ ultimate dream
is to be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, or to be their own boss and do what they love, the way that they want to do it, as a GSDBA member, their path to realizing their dream is lined with a supportive and inclusive network of fellow entrepreneurs. “Most of our members say they may have joined first for business reasons but remain connected
“Our goal is to create prosperity within our community through equality, diversity and inclusion.”
to GSDBA because of the sense of community the organization was founded on and is still known for today,” Blake said. “Until LGBT individuals and busi- nesses are completely accepted by mainstream society, there will be a need for organizations like GSDBA.” The GSDBA Business Awards Ceremony serves
as a way to honor the trailblazing businesses that the GSDBA works so hard to support. Blake had this to say about the upcoming event, “Now firmly established as a highlight of our events calendar, the Annual GSDBA Awards Ceremony is a popular and enjoyable event which traditionally attracts 250+ guests. This year, we are honored to recognize several of the LGBT Community’s most successful businesses and individuals: Obelisk Mercantile as Business of the Year; Scripps Health as Corporate Partner of the Year; Chris- topher Ward as Community Leader of the Year; Heat Bar & Kitchen as Emerging Business of the Year; and San Diego Human Dignity Founda- tion as the Nonprofit of the Year. This event will be an ideal opportunity to showcase the strength and highlight the importance of the LGBT busi- ness community.”
2014 GSDBA Business Awards Brunch takes place Sunday, October 12 at Kona Kai Resort & Marina 1551 Shelter Island Drive, for tickets and more information go to
gsdba.org.
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