The 2014 Gay Games, which encompassed Akron and Cleveland, concluded a year ago and the evidence is clear that buying local and diverse when hosting a large-scale event pays off.
While ensuring diversity in the supply chain has become commonplace among corporations, the 2014 Gay Games was the first to make a commitment to a fully-inclusive supply chain in the Games’ 30 year history. This was accomplished through a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) and in partnership with Plexus, the LGBT & Allied Chamber of Commerce serving Northeast Ohio.
In analyzing the spending from the 2014 Gay Games, Plexus found that of the total spent, 12.5 percent was procured from LGBT-owned businesses and 12.9 percent from women-owned businesses for a total of $564,094 spent at women and LGBT-owned businesses or organizations. In addition, $1,375,244 or 59.7 percent of the total Gay Games spend was sourced from Northeast Ohio and Ohio-based businesses.
(Click here to read the report.)
Michelle Tomallo, board president of Plexus, emphasized that this goal for local and diverse spending was part of the planning as early as 2010. “This commitment was a great opportunity to spotlight the importance of supplier diversity and to show how LGBT and other minority-owned businesses are an integral part of the region’s economic engine. We hope this becomes a best practice for organizers of small and large events being hosted in the region.”
A study released in December of 2014 showed that the total economic impact of the 2014 Gay Games was $52.1 million.
Tom Nobbe, Executive Director of the 2014 Gay Games, said he was pleased to see the event act as a catalyst. “The Gay Games were about more than competition. It’s about the LGBT community and its allies coming together to celebrate inclusion on all levels and we strongly believe this focus on diverse suppliers was critical to that. Plexus and NGLCC’s involvement were instrumental in making the Games’ spend goals a reality.”
