EDGE Boston

When the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus’ Board of Directors met on Aug. 30, it was decided they would forge ahead with its 30th season in spite of a year’s worth of financial woes that put the organization’s survival in serious doubt. EDGE chronicled this dilemma last month.

"The decision was to start our season and move forward with plans for our holiday concert, both for the Youth Pride Chorus and NYCGMC," Brian McComak, vice chair of the NYCGMC’s Board of Directors, recalled.

That concert will take place this year at Town Hall in an effort to save money. The holiday concerts had previously taken place at the now cost-prohibitive Carnegie Hall.

Although voices will ring out during the holiday season, the chorus is not yet off the financial hook. At that same meeting, the board decided to have another vote at the end of the year to decide on the organization’s future.

McComak noted their fundraising campaign began in the summer with each chorus member challenged to raise a certain amount of money through donations. This fall will see their phone campaign kick into high gear. And then the chorus will prepare for the holidays.

"We need to see how the ticket sales go for the holiday concert; we also have a fall fundraiser being planned with a guest star, most likely early November," McComak said.

He added he feels the mood among the board and the members is hopeful.

"The first phases of the campaign were successful," McComak said. "The board raised [$20,000,] and the members raised a little over [$40,000.] Both of those campaigns exceeded the benchmarks we set."

Their biggest concern? Finding out whether or not LGBT New Yorkers show up at the concerts to support them in order to "see if this is still an organization that is important to the community."

"We think it is, but we need to do more education about our plight and our concerns about being able to continue to operate," McComak said. "We really hope we’ll find more supporters in the broader LGBT community."