The following document answers some questions that we’ve received at the Equality Center over the past weeks and months. As staff, board members, advisors, and trustees we wanted to provide you with this resource as we continue to be as transparent as possible with our members and our community about what’s next for Oklahomans for Equality and the hard work everyone is doing to keep these critical programs and partnerships accessible for our community. We thank you for your patience as we work to stabilize our organization, rebuild trust, and move this organization forward in a way that serves our 2SLGBTQIA+ community for years to come.
Our organization is committed to creating a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment for all our community members. It is important to acknowledge that our community is diverse, with members from various religious, cultural, and political backgrounds. We respect and value this diversity, as it enriches our understanding of the world and strengthens our ability to empathize with others.
We encourage our members to engage in respectful dialogue and to seek understanding, even when faced with differing opinions or perspectives. It is through open and honest communication that we can foster a sense of unity and support within our community while still acknowledging the complexity of the world around us.
If you have additional questions or concerns to share, we ask you to submit them on our Feedback form where they will be distributed to the proper individuals for awareness and response.
Who is currently in charge of the Equality Center?
Andi Gunter, who has been involved with the Center since 2019 and has been on staff since 2021, is serving as the Deputy Director of Oklahomans for Equality. Previously, she served as the Health Clinic Operations Manager and has stepped up to lead the organization during this transition. Andi began her work at the Center as a volunteer as she sought resources and better understanding to support her trans daughter.
Why did you hire Wendy Thomas as a consultant?
Why not hire a new Executive Director right away?
The OKEQ Board of Directors selected Wendy Thomas to facilitate this transition through a contract of 12 months because of her experience successfully leading a Tulsa nonprofit for more than 20 years and her specific expertise in nonprofit management, leadership transitions, and nonprofit best practices.
The Board of Directors wishes to engage in deep, robust community participation in the process of strategic planning and selecting a new permanent executive director. Since this process will take time, the Board of Directors decided Wendy’s expertise would be invaluable for our staff and board while we work toward being ready to hire a new permanent executive director.
At Leadership Tulsa, Wendy guided thousands of Tulsans through education, nonprofit, and civic engagement, and she developed programs that successfully educated and engaged underrepresented Tulsans in local nonprofit leadership positions including the Hispanic Leadership Institute, New Voices, Tulsa Changemakers, and a partnership with Oklahomans for Equality called Lead Together. Although not a member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, she is an ally who is dedicated to supporting us and committed to engaging with everyone in our community through this transition
process.
What is the role of the consultant?
Now through September, our consultant will be leading our Transition Team, assisting with organization stabilization, and conducting interviews with organization stakeholders to guide decision-making. In the fall, our consultant will help us with comprehensive strategic planning. Then, likely in the new year, she will help us launch a new Executive Director search effort. Until a permanent Executive Director is hired, all work will be overseen and reviewed by Andi Gunter, Deputy Director, as well as the OKEQ Board of Directors.
Why a Transition Team?
To allow our staff to focus on the day-to-day needs of running the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center, partnerships, and programs, the Executive Committee decided to assemble a Transition Team made up of volunteers, board members, and staff who can help with the extra efforts needed during this time. The Transition Team can focus on this transition period by supporting, supplementing, and guiding the work of our staff, committees, and various stakeholder groups.
The Transition Team is made up of 2SLGBTQIA+ people who have served or are currently serving on the Board of Directors or Advisory Board or have volunteered for or partnered with OKEQ. They were asked to assist with the transition due to specific skill sets that can support this work including nonprofit management, communications, health care, fundraising, human relations, and DEI. It is important to note that the Board remains fully in charge of governance, policy setting, fiduciary oversight, and decisions about strategic direction including a new strategic plan, fundraising, and the search for the next Executive Director.
How is the organization financially, right now?
We are making progress in financially stabilizing the organization due in great part to support we’ve received from the community and new and long-time funders. The board has diligently streamlined the budget with additional short-term modifications in place as a new budget is developed to align with financial projections. We will be doing quarterly reforecasting and are committed to doing a financial audit every year for the next ten years even though our bylaws only require an audit every other year. We want to be transparent with our financials and cultivate confidence in our
stakeholders.
The I Am Equality Gala was a successful sold out event, and we are building our fundraising and grant-application pipeline to ensure we can continue to provide services, advocacy, community, and programs for and with our community. Financial updates are being provided monthly to our board, and these meetings are open to the public. Additionally, we post all finance reports on our website.
Is the organization up to date with all federal filings including 990 forms?
We are up to date on all federal filings including the 990 forms that go to the Internal Revenue Service. Presently, we have worked with an independent external tax firm, and have timely filed the Form 990 for the 2022/2023 fiscal year, which was due in February 2024, and which covers our fiscal year starting on October 1, 2022, and ending on September 30, 2023. This form will be uploaded shortly to our public repository on our website.
There are also copies of our Forms 990 going back to 2014. The IRS requires tax-exempt organizations to, at minimum, make the last 3 years’ worth of Forms 990 available for public inspection. We have chosen to provide additional years of forms on our website.
Did OKEQ lose its accreditation?
No. We are not aware of any accreditation required for 2SLGBTQIA+ community centers. We are compliant with all state and federal regulations for nonprofits. If you have specific concerns regarding this matter, please contact the Board President at president@okeq.org.
Why did the Tulsa Pride including the festival, parade, and Rainbow Run move to October?
Amidst a growing nationwide trend, Oklahomans for Equality has elected to move our Tulsa Pride festivities to October in 2024 and subsequent years. While we still celebrate the month of Pride in June and are engaged and supporting celebratory efforts, the Pride festival, parade, and Rainbow Run are tentatively scheduled for the weekend of October 11th through the 13th, which aligns with LGBT History Month and National Coming Out Day. This is still tentative until we definitively secure permitting from the City of Tulsa, which we have been working on diligently. This shift comes as a response to concerns about the scorching temperatures experienced in June that pose significant health risks for heat-related ailments. By transitioning the event to the fall season, we anticipate Tulsa Pride events will become safer and more inclusive for all attendees.
Although historically we have hosted the Equality Gala in late spring and Tulsa Pride in June, this year having both in June created concerns about cash flow for the organization since our two largest events were back-to-back. Another consideration was our staff who tirelessly work to make these large scale events happen. Postponing OKEQ Pride events until the fall gives us a longer runway to raise the funding necessary for a great event, engage more volunteers, and incorporate community feedback.
What is the status of the investigation into the allegations of embezzlement?
We continue to work with authorities to pursue avenues available to us to conclude the investigation and resolve the matter. We spoke to many of these issues in our previous report to the community. Starting in October 2022, OKEQ leadership implemented rigorous financial controls including engaging a nonprofit accounting firm to handle all finances, conducting a forensic audit, and implementing an annual CPA financial audit.
Some of the new day-to-day controls include: multiple layers of approval for all invoices, specific approval from the board for the use of restricted funds to ensure that funds are used for intended purposes, elimination of all credit cards, and monthly meetings between the external accounting firm and the Finance Committee.
Our audits demonstrate that OKEQ now has all of the needed and recommended financial controls in place. Our latest audit can be viewed here.
08/20/2024 Update: We have been informed that Paul Allen, the former Treasurer of Oklahomans for Equality (OKEQ), has been charged with felony embezzlement. It is important to note that these charges are allegations, and Mr. Allen has not been convicted of any crime at this time.
We are grateful to the Tulsa Police Department and Tulsa County’s District Attorney’s Office for their thorough investigation and ongoing efforts in this matter. We trust that the legal process will continue to unfold with fairness and due diligence.
Our commitment to transparency and accountability remains unwavering, and we will continue to cooperate fully with the authorities as this case progresses. We appreciate the community's support and patience as we navigate this challenging situation.
What is OKEQs relationship with the former Executive Director?
Dorothy (Des) Ballard served as Interim and then Executive Director of Oklahomans for Equality starting in November 2022. In February, 2024, she left OKEQ. She was not terminated nor was she asked to tender her resignation. OKEQ wishes her the best.
What is OKEQ’s stance on Indigenous and Two Spirit issues?
The 2SLGBTQIA+ community is made up of a diverse group of individuals. OKEQ recognizes that intersectionality (the ways in which queer identities intersect with race, ethnicity, gender identity, gender expression, socioeconomic status, class, age, disability, country of origin, religion, languages spoken, and other identities) greatly impacts how certain people are able to move through the world and are perceived.
In 2023, we changed our mission statement to include “2SLGBTQIA+” in an effort to center Two Spirit identities in recognition of the fact we are in Oklahoma and own a building on Muscogee Nation land. We have heard and understand that some Two Spirit and indigiqueer individuals have been hurt by our organization. We are committed to working in partnership on how to better serve 2SLGBTQIA+ indigenous people. Our staff and board will be undergoing training on diversity, equity, and inclusion, which will include how to be more anti-racist.
Did OKEQ really ask the production of HBO’s We’re Here not to film?
No. The HBO series We're Here was filmed in Oklahoma and aired this spring. In one of the episodes, an email was sent to the production of the show expressing concern about filming in Bartlesville due to political tensions since the Bartlesville City Council banned public drag performances. This email was not sent by Oklahomans for Equality located in Tulsa, but rather by Bartlesville Equality, a separate entity. While we did not issue this statement to We're Here, we understand the difficult nuances of being 2SLGBTQIA+ in a conservative, rural state where our community is always under threat of harm and violence.
We look forward to the day when 2SLGBTQIA+ people and artists in Oklahoma don't feel like they have to choose between visibility and safety.
What is OKEQ doing to rebuild trust with the community and answer criticisms about their engagement with parts of our diverse and intersectional community?
We take feedback and criticisms about the diversity of our board and our relationships with our community seriously. For the past two years, the Board Governance Committee has utilized a board diversity matrix to help identify identity and skill-based gaps on the board.
We have also formed a new Community Relations Committee which will soon be launching a series of three community conversation sessions facilitated by our consultant to allow us to hear directly from community members in ways that will affect our decision-making and strategic plan going forward. If you would like to register for this event, please do so here. These are scheduled on the following dates:
• Sunday, July 21 | 1 to 3 PM
• Tuesday, August 6 | 6 to 8 PM
• Monday, August 19 | 6 to 8 PM
For those who don’t wish to attend a community conversation session, we are also launching a new feedback form on our website at https://okeq.org/feedback/. Furthermore, we will be putting out a community survey to hear from all members of our community.
We commit to reinstituting quarterly town halls.
We are reviewing our governance policies including future opportunities for public comment at board meetings. We are also reviewing our purpose and process for selecting advisory board members, engaging in community partnerships, and fundraising.
We understand that some members of our community have not experienced the Equality Center as a safe or welcoming place, and we take those concerns seriously. We will be developing norms for all members and building users related to our interactions with others, methods for elevating concerns and filing incident reports, due process, opportunities for restoration, and fair and equally enforced consequences when restoration is not an option.
In addition to training around board best practices, we are in the process of sourcing proposals for diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racist training for our board and staff. We recognize that where there is no trust, there is no partnership, and we depend on our community partnerships to allow us to effectively serve the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
We are working hard to balance the need to go fast and be responsive to our community’s concerns and going slow and taking the time to be thoughtful and inclusive of multiple perspectives. We are focused on the deep work of self-examination, process improvement, consensus building, and strategic planning. This is not a one-and-done process. It will be work that must be engaged with over time and with great attention.
If you see ways in which we are coming up short, we welcome the opportunity to do better. Our board members, advisors, trustees and staff are ready, willing, and able to accept your feedback. Should you not feel heard, please reach out to our Board President, Whitney Cipolla, at president@okeq.org or the Community Relations Chair, Yonah Sienna Jasper, at secretary@okeq.org.
How can I support OKEQ during this time of transition?
If you would like to volunteer at the front desk, please contact hannah.tamplin@okeq.org. If you would like to volunteer for the Pride planning committee, please fill out this interest form. If you are interested in Board committees open to the public, please fill out this form.
How will the revenue from Gala be used?
Expenditures and revenue numbers from the I Am Equality Gala are being finalized. We will share a report with the Board and public this summer. The budget saving measures were enacted for this year’s gala to maximize profitability and honor our commitment to financial responsibility. This included downsizing to a smaller venue while still honoring the contract with Cox Convention and Business Center, and eliminating an open bar in favor of a cash bar for patrons.
The revenue generated from the gala directly impacts our operating budget and will be used for payroll, costs of maintaining the building, and community programming and services. The Board will continue to take stewardship of our resources very seriously. The Board will ensure that a budget for FY2025 maximizes the use of this revenue to continue to stabilize and move the Center forward. If you have comments or ideas our Board should consider during the budgeting process, please submit your thoughts via our feedback form.