NOH8 Campaign

Like every other queen in Atlanta, I grabbed one of my closest friends and scampered over to the W Atlanta — Midtown to have a NOH8 picture made. It was a really fun afternoon and I was glad to have been able to share it with such a good friend. Of course, there were a lot more of my friends there too. We all wanted to show our support.
After waiting around for hours and spending $ 50 for a picture, I started thinking about exactly where my «support» goes. I mean, this is a non-​profit and all of the money is going to a good cause. What’s the cause? I understand the purpose of the campaign is to show support for marriage equality by depicting real people being silenced by anti-​gay marriage laws. It started in response to Proposition 8, a gay marriage ban in California. At first, it was my understanding that they were taking pictures and raising money to help fund legal battles against it in that state. That was in 2008 and now Prop 8 is tied up in the court system with several rulings in favor of repealing it. So, is the money from NOH8 still going to finance that? If so, which charities receive[d] money?
Flash forward to 2011. The NOH8 Campaign broadened their mission and now has open shoots across the country and internationally. According to their website, «Funds raised by the NOH8 Campaign are used to promote and raise awareness for Marriage Equality and anti-​discrimination on a global level through an educational and interactive media campaign.» Well, what does that mean? To me, it sounds like they’re paying themselves for publishing thousands of pictures online. That’s not quite the mission I thought I was supporting, especially if the direct beneficiaries are the folks running NOH8.
As of today, more than 16,000 photos have been made. They charge $ 40 for each individual portrait or $ 50 for group shots. Let’s use the lower figure and do some math. 16,000 x $ 40 = $ 640,000! That’s a lot of fucking money! Where is it going? I really can’t figure it out (and believe me, I’ve tried).
Also, they just announced a donation from the Montgomery-​Duban Family for $ 11,000. The money was provided after the NOH8 Campaign got 100,000 to like the family’s Facebook Page. Even though it’s not my cash, I’m curious as to how that money will be spent. Who or what will directly benefit from this family’s generosity?
All non-​profit organizations must file and publish annual financial statements and most have them available on their website. Not NOH8. If you want the information you have to get it from the CA Department of Justice. The only tax return available is from 2009 from their initial request for non-​profit status. Apparently they have not filed a return for 2010 (which is loooong past due) and if they have, they have not provided it to the state as required by law.
According to the 2009 filing they raised about $ 45,000 and spent about $ 38,000. During that time they produced two PSA’s, but according to their records it didn’t cost them anything because approximately $ 10,000 worth of services were provided free.
There is a vague expense ledger included and the one line item I’d expect to see doesn’t appear. There is absolutely NO MENTION of how much money was spent on supporting their cause, given to charities, or donated to pay legal expenses (all of which I assumed they did). I guess the $ 7,500 spent for «Photo Shoot» could be what they consider charity toward marriage equality.
I hate to be «that guy» who puts down his own community, but I think my feelings about this are fair and reasonable. I support their overall message and definitely benefit from there being more people in the world who are tolerant and supportive of my rights as a gay man. I’m just not sure NOH8 is doing the right thing.
Show me the money. Provide financial records (even just a recent tax return). It’s not that I think they’re defrauding anyone. I just think more people should be asking how their donation is being used. Paying for Adam and his boyfriend to travel around and sell pictures is not charity. I hope I’m wrong, but we won’t know until they comply with the requirements to maintain their non-​profit status and provide financial statements.