January Newsletter

Greetings my vivacious voluptuaries,
Wow, it’s been a whirlwind month. Let’s jump right in before January in no more.

Soft Openings Review
This is Lindsey, Jess, and my first time throwing a CSPC party and it was truly beautiful. The lighting and decor, outfits, aerial performance, and music all led to a dreamy ambiance. Tickets sold out in a matter of days, which speaks volumes. Attendees dove right into play and many even stayed late to help clean.

Deepest gratitude to Octavia, Nicole, and Jamie for the unbelievable amount of work they put in, not to mention all the other volunteers and members who have supported this very important step in the rebirth of the CSPC. We’ve collected lots of feedback and hope to make the next event even better.

The Next Event
If you missed our first sell out event, or can’t wait to get more, you’re in luck. The next event in the Soft Openings series is confirmed.

Soft Openings II : Hard Points
February 17, 2018, 8 PM - 1 AM
OmCulture in Wallingford

This will be a bondage and impact-focused party. We are still working out details with the venue. When all is settled, we will announce ticket links, orientation schedule, and the like.

Membership Status
A handful of members have reached out asking for clarification about the recent membership reactivation. Here’s a mini-FAQ.

Q: Why are you unfreezing memberships?
A: In order to attend events, you must have an active membership. This is in accordance with federal 501c7 guidelines. While some events were held during the freeze, holding further events could jeopardize our nonprofit status.

Q: With so few parties lined up, my membership doesn’t have the value it used to. What’s up this that?
A: This is something of a chicken and egg situation. We need active memberships to throw our first parties, but we need a full party calendar for a membership to have “value”. Thank you to all those who are taking a chance by re-upping your membership allowing us to get the ball rolling. It is totally understandable for the more risk averse to wait on the sidelines to see how the new CSPC shakes out. We respect this decision and hope that you decide to resume your membership soon.

Q: I want to participate, but feel weird about commiting to a year long membership when there is nothing concrete past the next month. Are there any other options?
A: We understand that it is a big ask for people to fully renew with such a limited calendar. As such, for a limited time, you can buy a 2-month membership for $10.

Q: Why are auto-renewing memberships mandatory in the member portal? 
A: We didn't realize "auto-renewal" was the default setting. It's off now. Anyone who wishes to opt in or out can do so in their member account. Go to the "What would you like to do" dropdown menu. Select "CSPC Membership". Look under "Current Membership", "Auto-Renewal".

Q: My unused membership from when the Center went dark is now live again, but I’m not ready to jump back into the CSPC.
A: We will be adding extra time to all active memberships while the event schedule is sparse. Though the details are still being decided, the current plan is to extend memberships until we procure a long term venue or facility where we can hold several events each month. This is a financial risk, but the Board believes it’s important that we do right by our members and demonstrate how important your continuing support of the CSPC is. If you currently don’t have an active membership, we encourage you to try a 2-month membership.

Building Search
The contract between the CSPC and our sister org, the FSPC has now been signed! This cements our future occupancy relationship, and gives the Foundation additional leverage in their building search. This has been several months in the making and both boards are excited to be moving forward together.

The search itself continues!

Volunteer Appreciation
Before signing off I’d like to give a special shout out to all the scrappy people who carried the Center through the dark period. With events at Club Sapphire, munches, writers clubs, not to mention the folks processing CSPC mail, tending to the bills, etc...you all have kept the hope alive. It is staggering to regularly hear stories of the passion and initiative you bring to the table.

That’s all for now. If you’d like to chat with the board or be on the bleeding edge of CSPC news, attend our next board meeting on February 13, 7 PM at the Phinney Neighborhood Association.

Until next time, keep it sexy =)

Nick
CSPC Board Member
Intersectional Business Strategy

December Newsletter

I hope everyone had a happy, hedonistic holiday! Brace yourself for a long awaited news.

Play Party Announcement!!
We are beyond excited to bring you our first party in well over a year. Let’s kick off the New Year right! The grand opening event will be saved for whenever we land a new space. In the meantime, we will have a series of soft openings entitled...Soft Openings! And who doesn’t love a soft opening?? Details are still coming in, but here is what’s confirmed. Mark you calendar and watch your inbox for the ticket link.

Soft Openings
January 27, 2018, 8pm-midnight
OmCulture; 2210 N Pacific St, Seattle, WA 98103

There will be racks, benches, and hardpoints for play. Sex is a go. Cuddle pit. Dance space with live DJ.

We have party confirmed for February 17 as well, so stay tuned.

Membership Status
Long long ago, September 2016 to be exact, CSPC memberships were frozen. But the erstwhile winter has peaked, flora is bursting from the soil, and memberships are thawing. This will occur on January 27, coinciding with the Soft Opening event.

Jamie, our tech lord, is preparing the new online membership portal, so you can renew membership, purchase event tickets, make donations, and the like from the comfort of your cozy den. Instructions will be included in the forthcoming Soft Openings email.

Building Search
The search continues! Our sister org, the FSPC, has combed through a score of properties in the last month, several of which were presented to us for comment, and a few visited in person. I’ll let you know the moment something pans out!

The contract detailing the financial and occupancy relationship between the FSPC and the CSPC for this endeavor is now being reviewed by lawyers. We are happy to negotiate and formalize this relationship, to get our hopes and fears out on the table, and make sure both organizations are feeling enthusiastic and taken care of. I am delighted that kink best practices are being used to guide our kinky institutions =)

That’s all for now. If you’d like to chat with the board or be on the bleeding edge of CSPC news, attend our next board meeting on January 10, 7 PM at the Phinney Neighborhood Association (blue building).

Until next time, keep it sexy =)

Nick
CSPC Board Member
Intersectional Business Strategy

November Newsletter

Happy Spanksgiving!
It’s been another eventful month on the path of resuscitating our beloved Center.

Meet & Greet Recap
I was truly taken aback by the turnout and enthusiasm we saw at Optimism Brewery. Some 75 people met up for recounting old stories, making new friends, getting updates from the Board, brainstorming, and flirting. There was a fairly even split of longtime members, newer members at the time of the Center’s close, and entirely new folks, forming what I would consider a healthy distribution. 

If you weren’t able to attend the Meet & Greet, not to worry. We plan to ramp this up to a bimonthly occurrence taking place in various corners of the Puget Sound. If you are interested in being an organizer, we could use your help! Please reach out for more info.

Seduction Photo Booth Recap
The Foundation (our sister org, heading up arts and education) threw a blowout halloween party known as Seduction. Fellow Board members Lindsey and Jess, photographer Andrew, and I jumped in last minute to document the lavish costumes and chat with visitors about the CSPC. I was delighted to have our booth sandwich between the electric scary chair and the puppy petting zoo. Such a fun time! Don’t miss the Foundations next big event, the Seattle Erotic Arts Festival on April 27-29, 2018.

Building Progress
As you probably know by now, the Foundation is taking the lead on the acquisition of a long term space to house both organizations. Their 501c3 status, as opposed to our 501c7 status, makes them the ideal lease holder. Their generosity in accommodating our needs for event, office, and storage space cannot be overstated. Lots of discussion and meetings have taken place this month, and we are in the final stages of formalizing an agreement with each other. The building hunt is well underway.

The most frequent question I get is, “When will we lock down a space?” This is difficult to answer given the chaos of Seattle’s real estate market, coupled with the nature of our hedonistic activities that are often misunderstood by potential landlords. In short, there is no predicting when the the right space will pop up, and when it does, we may have as little as a week to close the deal. In the meantime, the Foundation and the Center are getting their ducks in a row so that we are poised to move.

Rachel Joins the Board
Rachel brings much to the table and I am so pleased to have her on the CSPC Board. She is a pillar in the Seattle swingers community, a large segment of sex positive culture that admittedly the CSPC have fallen short of connecting with. She knows this city like the back of her hand: the people, the organizations, the venues, and the often opaque legal and political systems. Rachel is well versed in nonprofits, takes a systematic approach, and her emotional intelligence is through the roof. Welcome aboard!

KinkFest 2018
The Portland Leather Alliance is throwing KinkFest on the last weekend of March. There will be tons of workshops, an enormous dungeon, evening play parties, vending, and an art gallery tailored for our bdsm, fetish, and leather communities.

That's all for now. As always, you are welcome to attend our next board meeting on December 13, 7 PM at the Phinney Neighborhood Association.

Until next time, keep it sexy =)

Nick
CSPC Board Member
Intersectional Business Strategy

October Newsletter

Greetings kinky folk,

Fall is upon us, and October’s board meeting complete. Thank you to those who came out for your energy, questions, and encouragement. Before the meeting I sat down with a member and longtime practitioner of hypnokink. They schooled me on its unique appeals, risks, safety & consent, and walked through what a scene might look like. I am blown away by the depth of knowledge you all have and breadth of cravings represented in our community.

Workshops at the Foundation
And speaking of getting schooled, many of you have expressed interest in workshops. Educational programming is handled by our sister organization, the FSPC. They have workshops out the wazoo! Some upcoming offerings are rope bondage, predicament play, and an erotica writers group. The Foundation is also throwing a huge, sexy Halloween party known as Seduction.

Meet and Greet
The date has been set; and it’s soon! Come meet the community and get an update from the CSPC board. It’s this coming Monday, Oct 23 at Optimism Brewing Company in Capitol Hill. This is a beer only, 18+ joint and you’re welcome to bring in outside food and non-alcoholic beverages. UPDATE: We’ll have a few Sizzle Pies and booze-less libations for your enjoyment, and there are lots of close options for a proper meal. Please RSVP via [FetLife invite] or [Facebook invite]

Events
As we wait on a more permanent location, the hunt is on for one-off spaces to hold play and kinky dance parties. We have interest from a few venues but their check ins with owners and legal have been slow moving. Know that getting events up and running is our top priority. If you personally have a public or private venue of any size that can accommodate grownup activities, contact president@thecspc.org.

Volunteering
A number of people have asked how they can help with the relaunch of the CSPC. We are creating a skill-based database of who can pitch in and in what ways. But why sit around waiting to be tapped? We would also love to hear from those who see an opportunity to improve the current CSPC, can translate that into a clearly defined project, and take the lead on seeing it through. Scope can be big or small. We will compile a project list and post calls for volunteers.

As of June, we are 100% volunteer based. If you have the passion, initiative, and courage to get the Center back on it’s feet, head over to the Volunteer Form.

Until next time, keep it sexy =)

Nick
CSPC Board Member
Intersectional Business Strategy

CSPC Meet & Greet, Oct 23

CSPC Meet & Greet
Monday, October 23, 2017 at 7:00-9:30 pm
Optimism Brewing Company
FREE

Drop in for a casual meet and greet with members of the new board! Catch up with old friends and make new ones =)

Just in case you haven’t been to Optimism before, they do not serve anything but beer (no wine, mixed drinks, or food). Outside food is allowed. The Green Tree Shawarma food truck will be parked out back. A block away is my favorite vegan-friendly heavy metal pizza joint, Sizzle Pie. You are also welcome to have something delivered or bring your own take out food; remember to grab silverware and napkins. Just be sure to clean up after yourselves at the self-bussing stations.

Parking can be hairy in Capitol Hill. Metered parking is your best bet, which runs until 8 pm. Otherwise try south of Union. We encourage kinky carpools! Alternatively, the pub is an 8 minute walk south of the Capitol Hill light rail station.

If you’re on FetLife, please RSVP so we can let the venue know what to expect.

Hope to see you there!

Nick

Relaunching Events! survey

Good afternoon members and subscribers =)

First off, thank you for all the warm welcomes and encouragement as our new team pushes off the starting block. Lindsey and I got the chance to sit down with Allena Gabosch, who offered so much warmth and insight, particularly on making the Center inviting when for many, stepping into that first encounter with our freaky crew can take all the courage in the world. Brief history lesson: Allena is a founder of the CSPC and ran it's predicessor, Beyond the Edge Cafe, that held kinky events in its basement that was located next to what is now Babeland in Capitol Hill. But I digress.

We are compiling a list of preferences for relaunching events for the CSPC, both for helping us secure a permanent space in collaboration with the FSPC (our sister org) and for the one-off venues we rent in the meantime. In order to respond to community needs, we'd love to hear your voice! Please complete this quick survey by next Monday so that we can discuss takeaways at the upcoming board meeting. Feel free to forward this to others.

Relaunching Events! survey <5min; due by 10/9/17

Thanks for your help!
Nick

Introduction to New Leadership

Dear marvelous members as well as the broader kink community, 

If you read Russell’s most recent update (FetLife link = NSFW), you know that the CSPC is undergoing a leadership transformation. As the newest members of the board and the incoming leadership, we wanted to take a quick moment to introduce ourselves.

Our names are Nick, Lindsey, and Jess, and we are the driving force behind the next phase in the organization’s life. We are a group of queer, poly, kinksters who are obsessed with consent, social equity, and style. Our backgrounds span startups, change management, nonprofit governance, finance, event production, and community engagement. Perhaps our biggest hope for the Center is to have a diverse membership who co-creates enticing spaces to explore consensual sexuality.

Wednesday night marked our first meeting as members of the board, as well as the last day for five long standing members. We are so grateful for the blood, sweat, and tears they have poured into this organization and honored to receive their enthusiastic blessing and ongoing support.

To keep you up to speed, these are the main topics that we covered at the meeting.

• The CSPC is in the process of formalizing its relationship with its sister organization, the Foundation for Sex Positive Culture (FSPC). As a refresher, we used to be a single entity and split to better serve our respective missions. The CSPC (501c7) is the members-only social club while The FSPC (501c3) focuses on education and the arts.
• We are in discussions with The FSPC about securing a long term space. They will be taking the lead on the search, with the intention that the CSPC would rent space from them. This arrangement is advantageous due to their 501c3 status.
• In the meantime we are looking both for one off and short-term venues to host parties. If you know of a great space please let us know!
• Attendees of the meeting expressed the desire to help with the relaunch and for more frequent communication from leadership. We hope this letter is a good start!

Along with these updates, we will periodically release quick surveys to get your thoughts on one or two issues that are currently in discussion. We appreciate your input. Feel free to reach out to us on FetLife or to the board through president@thecspc.org. Our next board meeting is October 11th from 7pm-9pm at the Phinney Ridge Neighborhood Association in room 31 (brick building). We hope you will join us!

That’s all for now. We are beyond excited, and deeply humbled, to be here. There is both a lot to learn and a lot to do, and we look forward to continuing this sexy journey with you. 

Name: Nick aka Mandroid
Pronouns: he/him/Sir
Interests: the smell of sandalwood, collar bones, zen, consent, sustainability, audiobooks, Ethiopian food, outlandish brainstorming, dark chocolate, hip hop dancing, science fiction, developmental psychology, chess, vintage motorcycles

Name: Lindsey aka Her RoyalHineyness
Pronouns: she/her
Interests: consent! sex positivity, making toys and building furniture, improv cooking, hosting parties, backpacking, skiing, entrepreneurship, organizational change, social justice, and prison reform

Name: Jess aka Femme_Daddy
Pronouns: she/her/Daddy
Interests: Femme4femme aesthetics, drag, queerness, intersectionality, consent, cyber witches, closeted artists, outcasts, comics, equal energy exchange, brats, printmaking, gogo dancing, dog toes, community building, matte lipsticks, platforms, and ice cream

RFP Announcement

On Wednesday, the Board of Directors met and decided on a path forward for the organization. This was the culmination of months of effort of all involved, both on the board and in the teams that submitted proposals for the next stage of the CSPC's existence.

First, we're pleased to report that the Center for Sex Positive Culture and the Foundation for Sex Positive Culture will be sharing the same building. The FSPC will run the building, and we will focus on hosting events for our membership. This is a natural alliance which should ensure the new space's long-term sustainability. Additionally, we expect that the FSPC's experience in the fine arts should result in a beautiful space, which should help the CSPC better reach a wide range of sex-positive communities.

Perhaps even more significantly for the long term, we're pleased to report a radical transformation and invigoration of the CSPC's leadership: over the next few months almost every member of the CSPC's current board of directors will resign, to be replaced by new leaders including (but not limited to) every member of one proposal-submitting team, and an expert in non-profit development from a second proposal-submitting team. We believe, as you meet these new board members, that you will be pleased with the enthusiasm, skills, and new ideas they bring. Those of us stepping back to make way for this new generation will remain available to provide whatever of our collective experience they wish - this organization remains important to us, and we want it to succeed.

Taken together, we believe these changes can be characterized as our organization getting back to its roots. The FSPC and the CSPC used to be the same organization, after all. It's unlikely there will be full-time paid staff, making our organization wholy volunteer-run again. Your new board will be a fully working board, instead of largely a policy-making board. And although there might be fewer weekly events, each one will receive far more passion and care.

Our organization was founded in 1999 on a three-part dream: that it be a real non-profit (both to ensure volunteer confidence that their work benefits only the community and to ensure peaceful leadership transitions), that it follow a community center model (so that its participants could form the kind of long-term friendships which can transcend play), and that it strive to serve all the distinct facets of contemporary sex-positive culture (not only out of a belief that we have more in common than separates us but because it's often at the boundaries between communities where interesting things happen). We believe this dream is just as valid today, and that this combination of a reinvigorated alliance with the FSPC, new board members every bit as enthusiastic and capable as those at its inception, and hopefully your personal choice to proactively find the best ways your unique skills can support it, will together make this dream new again.

Sincerely,
Russell Harmon for the CSPC Board of Directors
(I had to send the bad-news announcements, I get to send the good-news announcement)

A letter from the CSPC President

 From the CSPC President

I have some very unfortunate news; our new building is no longer viable, due to the cost of required seismic improvements. We are negotiating with the landlord to find a way out from under the lease. Conversations about how we want to move forward from here are ongoing.

We knew this building would require a lot of work, and we budgeted for that plus a healthy margin. Before we signed the lease in November, we had a structural engineer give us a preliminary seismic assessment of what it would take to bring the building up to code. Based on that professional assessment, we decided to move forward with the lease. In the middle of March, they came back to us with a surprising update of several times their initial estimate. We were unable to reach an agreement with the building owner to share or assist with financing those projected costs, or find any other way to mitigate them.

The time, rent, and construction expenses for this process have used a lot of our reserves. Given the long timeline for construction permits, we have no way to continue with paid staff until a future buildout is finished - for the foreseeable future, the organization will have to be entirely volunteer driven. At her own recommendation Jeanette, the Managing Director, will be laid off after helping us get out of the new space and other ongoing costs. She is not at fault in this set of events, she's done an amazing job in an incredibly difficult situation and has earned our gratitude.

I can't begin to describe how personally upsetting this is to me, and the rest of the board. The Wet Spot, then The Sex Positive Community Center, then the Center for Sex Positive Culture, have been the social core of seventeen years of my adult life. So many people have put so much into this, and to have a setback of this magnitude is disheartening to all of us. This organization has had tremendous positive impact on countless lives, and we still hope to find a way to further the goal of a sex positive space in years to come.

As we know more, we will keep you updated. The next board meeting is 7pm on May 10, at 1514 NW 46th St. Comments and questions in the meantime can be directed to Elizabeth, our Community Board Member, at cbm@thecspc.org.

Russell Harmon
Center for Sex Positive Culture Board President