BY AJ TRAGER
DETROIT – Eleven members of the Metro Detroit workforce have gathered together in 2016 to work on providing LGBT friendly networking and employment opportunities for the region as well as additional certifications for Detroit based businesses.
The Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce has been recognized as as nonprofit since October of 2013. Over the years there have been several attempts at creating an LGBT focused chamber of commerce in the area, and after losing more than half of the board members that signed on to serve the chamber in the last year, the new momentum of 2016 will illicit more opportunities for local workers and businesses to get and stay connected with one another.
Last year the LGBT Chamber was integral in providing networking opportunities for large and small companies alike. In the upcoming months, the chamber will continue to work with the Detroit mayor's office to establish a stronger bond between local LGBT or ally businesses and the contract work hired by the city.
In order to strengthen this bond, the chamber is working with the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and the city of Detroit to provide certifications for businesses in the area who are seeking to be an official LGBT owned or operated business.
But the process isn't easy. Vice President of the Board Jan Stevenson told BTL, "It's a rigorous process with national vetting." To her knowledge there are only a few in Metro Detroit that are certified as an official LGBT business: Pride Source Media Group, the publishers of Between The Lines is one of them.
The city of Detroit gives a great deal of priority to minority businesses. If any business in the area is at least 51 percent owned, operated and controlled by racial or ethnic minorities they can apply for the Michigan Minority Suppliers Certification and get preference for contract and job opportunities in the Detroit area.
Not long after its bankruptcy, the city of Detroit is progressing out of its financial funk and is improving the quality of life from installing new streetlights to establishing new businesses in storefronts that have stood vacant for years. The city has even developed a plan that will provide a $100,000 payout to businesses filling vacant spots.
But like most of the state, businesses are concerned as to how the city is keeping and maintaining millenials and recent college graduates. A 2013 study produced by the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce found that 40 percent of college graduates leave the state after receiving their degree from an accredited Michigan college.
"The existence of an LGBT chamber makes working in Michigan more attractive," Stevenson said. "It provides networking opportunities across specialities and it reinforces the Detroit workforce."
In the spring of 2015, the LGBT Chamber of Commerce partnered with Pride Source to put on an LGBT career fair. The event was a total success, offering businesses a chance to showcase their inclusivity and target an employee market that not many companies harness. While the location of the 2016 LGBT Career Fair has yet to be determined, the chamber will host a career fair to help Michigan students establish themselves in the workplace.
Membership Development
In the next couple of months the LGBT Chamber will host a series of events all dedicated to membership development. Stevenson tells BTL that the chamber has had some difficulties in the past gaining new members due to administrative issues within the group. The problems have been remedied and a new board leads the group.
The Michigan Employee Resource Group, in partnership with the chamber, will host a social event at 6:30 p.m. on March 3 at the Detroit City Distillery located at 2462 Riopelle in downtown Detroit. The evening event is for interested parties of all kinds to attend to further their ties to MERG as well as gain information on how to strengthen the ERG group within their company.
On March 6 the chamber will host a Pride Night at the Pistons. Tickets are $60 and will offer attendees the opportunity to meet the chamber and network with other companies in the area while enjoying an open bar and plenty of food while watching the game in an executive suite.
The chamber will host their second annual Pride Day at the Tigers June 7. Details for the event are still being developed. Of the sports events put on by the chamber in 2015, Pride Night at the Tigers was the most well attended with over a thousand LGBT Metro Detroiters gathered to cheer on their beloved ball team.
The LGBT community is an integral part of the workforce, in every discipline. LGBT visibility in the business community does and will continue to give back to the community by maintaining employees and relationships in the state.
To learn more about the chamber and to get information on upcoming events, visit http://www.detroitlgbtchamber.com/.
Chamber board members include Kevin Heard (Michigan.com), Jeremy Grant (Comerica), Brad Bell (real estate), Gabrielle D'Angelo (Merrill Lynch), Mike Odom (Marx Lane), Christina Stephens (Quicken Loans), Ben Winner (General Motors), Mary Fuller (Microsoft), Dr. Harley Etienne (University of Michigan), Rev. Roland Stringfellow (Metropolitan Community Church), Diane Harbour (Harbour Tax and Accounting), and Jan Stevenson (Pride Source Media Group).
