Northern Ohio Coalition Inc. (NOCI), a nonprofit “all-volunteer” LGBT+ fundraising organization, formed in 1978. NOCI was originally established as the Greater Cleveland Gay Coalition, a “social organization comprised primarily of business leaders in the gay and lesbian community” in Cleveland. In 1978, NOCI sponsored its first annual We Are Family Picnic, an outdoor LGBT+ community social and fundraising event, for the benefit of the GEAR Foundation. Later that year, NOCI obtained nonprofit status and subsequently shifted its primary focus toward “addressing the financial needs of the GLBT community” through “contributions and grant funding to various organizations.” In 1999, NOCI opened an office space at 1406 West 29th Street. To maintain its various community funds, NOCI has gone on to establish a number of annual benefits and fundraising events, including the annual We Are Family Picnic, Picnic Basket Auction, Holiday Auction, Special Tea Event, and Month of Memories. NOCI’s benefits and sponsored events have cumulatively raised thousands of dollars for LGBT+ and HIV/AIDS-related initiatives and organizations in Cleveland and throughout northern Ohio.
Additional information coming soon.
Resources
- “$1,000 Donated to A.I.D.S. by Cleveland Gays.” Action Magazine. February 1983. Page 8.
- Cudnik, Doreen. “A Mardi Gras Sunday in the Park.” Gay People’s Chronicle. September 12, 1997. Page 1, 12.
- Dunn, Renee. “Since 1978, NOCI Has Funded Gay and AIDS Causes.” Gay People’s Chronicle. Pride Guide 2001.
- Kirsch, Brian. “24 Years After the First Picnic, NOCI is Still Going Strong.” Gay People’s Chronicle. July 5, 2002. Page 7.
- Kirsch, Brian. “Northern Ohio Coalition Inc.” NOCI Online. (Archived webpage ca. 2005.)
- Pontoni, Martha. “NOCI Supports Many Groups.” Gay People’s Chronicle. January 10, 1992. Page 8.
- Schneck, Ken. LGBTQ Cleveland. Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2018. Page 13.