Monthly Virtual Gathering
Hey everyone,
What a meeting we had on Wednesday! Seriously, I'm still excited from the energy in that Zoom.
For those who couldn't make it, I wanted to recap what we covered, share some exciting updates, and talk about where we're headed. And if you missed the meeting, don't worry – I've got the recording linked at the bottom.
🎉 We Have a Home: Welcome to Luma
Remember how we talked about needing a centralized place for events, resources, and community updates? We've got it now.
Our new Luma platform (lu.ma/ourpcn) is live, and it's going to be our hub for everything Pride Council Network. Here's what you can do there:
Subscribe for updates – Get newsletters, event announcements, and community resources sent directly to you
Browse events – Not just our monthly gatherings, but queer community events from Nashville and eventually across the country
Submit your own events – Know about something happening in your area? Add it to the calendar
Register for gatherings – Each monthly meeting has its own page where you can RSVP (returning members: use access code "MYPCN")
This is step one in building that resource directory we've been talking about. A place where anyone can find support, connection, and community without having to hunt across ten different websites.
🌐 Website Design: Your Input Needed
I showed a few website examples during the meeting – from creator networks, holistic wellness communities, and digital farmers markets. The goal is to figure out what our Pride Council Network website should look like.
Example Websites:
Creator's Network: https://eleveightworld.com/
Holistic Wellness Vendor Group: https://sunlife-community-link.netlify.app/#/
Digital Famer's Market: https://farmersmarket.replit.app/
Victoria made a great point: simple, clean, and timeless beats trendy and complicated. We don't want to rebuild this thing in two years because styles changed.
If you've got thoughts on design, features, or structure – send them my way. I want this to reflect what you need as members and what the community needs from us.
🍎 Community Partnership Spotlight: The Store
We had the chance to meet with someone from The Store here in Nashville – a nonprofit providing free fresh food to underprivileged families. They just opened their second location and need hundreds of volunteers each week.
This is exactly the kind of partnership I want for PCN. They're doing incredible work, and I'd love to organize quarterly volunteer days where we can show up as a community and serve.
Check out The Store here: https://thestore.org
If you know of similar organizations in your area (food banks, independent nonprofits, community kitchens), please share them. We'll add them to our resource calendar and look at ways to support them.
🏳️🌈 Nashville Pride & Our Funding Strategy
Here's where things get exciting (and where I probably got a little too passionate during the meeting).
Check out 2026's Nashville Pride Festival Information here: https://goodneighborfestivals.qwilr.com/Nashville-Pride-Festival-Parade-Sponsorship-Opportunities-ebiraknTThSi
Nashville Pride is the largest Pride festival in the South – 210,000+ people attend. This year it's one day instead of three due to funding shortfalls from last year's storm and corporate sponsors pulling out.
The top sponsorship tier is $50,000. That's "Pride Council Network everywhere" level visibility. And I want us to fund it ourselves – not by asking you for donations, but through our referral network.
Here's the math:
If I personally funded it by working with families directly, I'd need to help about 27 clients. That's doable for me, but that's not the point of PCN.
But if we have 10 referral partners who each refer 9 families over the next 12 months to our financial services, I would make $50,000 in agency commission that goes directly to Pride sponsorship.
And here's the best part: those 10 referral partners would collectively make over $330,000 – that's an extra $33,000 per partner, or almost $3,000/month in passive income.
That's just from 9 families. Imagine what happens when we're hosting events, doing outreach, networking at Pride itself, and introducing other professionals into PCN who also become referrals. The passive income potential becomes life-changing.
This is how we fund our mission without asking anyone for money. We serve families who need financial protection, they get connected with products that actually support the queer community (like Transamerica, which underwrites based on gender identity and covers AIDS diagnosis under critical illness), and we build financial security for ourselves while funding Pride.
💰 Why We Don't Charge Membership Fees
A lot of networks like ours charge membership fees. Monthly dues, annual subscriptions, tiered access – you've seen it.
Those fees go toward events, merchandise, swag, website development, sponsorships, all of it. I get it. That's how most organizations operate.
But I'm not doing that. And I never will.
Here's why: I believe in our referral program so much that I'll personally fund what we need from the referrals we generate together.
The Pride Council Network exists to serve the queer community – to provide resources, build connection, and remove barriers. Charging people to access that feels wrong. Especially when so many in our community are already facing financial barriers everywhere else.
So instead, I'm betting on us. On the power of what we're building. On the idea that if we serve families well and refer each other business, we'll generate enough revenue to fund a $50,000 Pride sponsorship, a $6,000 website, booth space, events, everything we need.
And if that works? We never have to ask our community for money. We just keep serving, keep referring, and keep growing.
That's the model. That's the mission.
📹 Watch the Full Meeting
Couldn't make it? Want to rewatch Jesse's presentation on Transamerica's financial products? Need to see the Luma platform walkthrough again?
Link to Recording → https://www.loom.com/share/cacf3697ad2e43e383fb69e4fc815348
🤝 Not a Member Yet? Let's Talk
If you attended the meeting but aren't officially a Pride Council Network member yet, I'd love to sit down with you one-on-one.
We'll talk about what membership looks like, how the referral network works, what kind of support you're looking for, and how you can plug in. No pressure, just a conversation.
Schedule time with me here: Partner With PCN
And if you know someone who should be in the room with us – a queer professional, someone doing great work in the community, a business owner who wants to serve – send them the Luma link and tell them to subscribe. Or just send them my way at the same link above or via email/text.
📅 Next Gathering: March 11th
Mark your calendar. Second Wednesday of the month, 6:30 PM Central.
Register on Luma now so you don't forget. And bring someone who should be here.
Thanks for being part of this. For showing up, for believing in what we're building, and for trusting that we can actually pull this off.
Because we can. And we will.
Talk soon,
Charming
Pride Council Network
Connecting queer professionals. Serving our community. Building something that lasts.
Subscribe: lu.ma/ourpcn
Request Consideration for Membership: https://form.typeform.com/to/KE5BzhpC
Refer Someone For Help: https://form.typeform.com/to/KI67q8LH