video1.0<iframe src="https://www.loom.com/embed/cacf3697ad2e43e383fb69e4fc815348" frameborder="0" width="1920" height="1440" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>14401920Loomhttps://www.loom.com14401920https://cdn.loom.com/sessions/thumbnails/cacf3697ad2e43e383fb69e4fc815348-5d17b0cd7dd58cac.gif6077.599The Pride Council Network meeting opened with member introductions and a review of network purpose, targets, and structural model. Jesse (jfeldhau) delivered a detailed Transamerica member spotlight covering life-insurance products, living benefits, underwriting that uses gender identity, and the carrier's commitment to serving LGBTQ+ clients. The group reviewed last meeting feedback and the new Luma platform for events, referrals, and membership management, with action items to recruit planners and referral partners, encourage subscriptions, and further develop referral technology and resource coordination. ### Member introductions and roles 0:05 - Charming Ihekoronye opened the meeting, asked attendees to update Zoom names to include title, credentials, and pronouns, and explained the monthly gathering format. - Attendees introduced themselves, including Shawn Bridges as a financial strategist, Lycan Leath as an incoming financial planner focused on serving those in need, Victoria Reiner as a financial strategist seeking business-minded members, Chris Corujo as a financial strategist with the Millie R. Group, and Nathan Turley as Pride Council Network co-founder and community organizer. - Charming summarized personal roles as business and financial strategist and explained that member spotlights (including Jesse) will show how members can serve and receive referrals. ### Network mission and goals 9:08 - Charming outlined the network's purpose as increasing equality and practical resources for the queer community and explained the family-office model used to assemble multi-disciplinary referral partners. - The network set explicit targets of recruiting 50 financial planners/educators and 100 referral partners to expand accessible resources and improve client outcomes. - A key problem highlighted was systemic discrimination, exemplified by a member denied a home loan due to sexual orientation, which motivates partnerships (for example with queer-friendly mortgage lenders) to remove barriers to services. ### Transamerica member spotlight 15:14 - jfeldhau presented Transamerica's company credentials, market reach, and product suite, emphasizing A-level ratings, retirement and annuity products, individual life insurance, and business planning solutions. - The presentation explained the Index Universal Life (IUL) product as offering downside protection, tax-advantaged growth, and the ability to borrow tax-free against cash value, and it highlighted living-benefit riders for chronic, critical, and terminal illness as practical protection against medical and long-term care costs. - The speaker covered term and final-expense options for clients who need affordable or high-risk coverage, advised using term + IUL blends for large needs, and recommended early application because serious health events can limit future insurability. - Charming emphasized that Transamerica uses gender identity for underwriting/pricing and that Transamerica is the only carrier on the platform noted to cover an AIDS diagnosis under critical-illness benefits, which presents both an opportunity and a responsibility to reach clients before diagnosis. ### Last meeting feedback 41:39 - Charming reviewed prior breakout-session feedback that identified needs for safe in-person environments, more in-person support and resource vetting, and additional outreach to grow the network's accessibility. - Members recommended building referral links, producing marketing materials (pamphlets and stickers), and hiring a resource coordinator or social-worker–type role to manage and vet community resources. - The group agreed these items are priorities to make the network more referable and to support planned events and fundraising activities, with Charming pursuing next steps and follow-up work. ### Platform and referrals 45:12 - Charming demonstrated the Luma (luma.com/RPCN) platform as the network's event calendar, newsletter distribution channel, and place for members and the public to subscribe and receive tagged city-level updates. - The Luma setup allows event submissions, event registration, segmented communications, and the formation of membership tiers including the first 25 founding members, general PCN members, and future paid tiers. - The referral process will use a request form (Typeform/website) routed to a resource coordinator (currently Charming) who will match requests to appropriate referral partners, and the platform will support referral tracking and invite codes to streamline approvals. - Immediate actions requested of members are to subscribe to the platform, submit or tag local events, and prepare to use referral links and access codes once the referral-tracking technology is implemented. ### Referral link features 52:03 - Involved: Charming Ihekoronye and meeting participants who asked for feedback on the platform's referral features. - The group reviewed the platform's personal invitation link and referral tracking that shows who invited whom and serves as a temporary hub until the main website is launched. - The decision was to use the current platform (Luma) as the central place for events and newsletters while collecting feedback for future improvements. - The main challenge identified was needing member feedback on how the referral and invitation features should scale and appear to users. - The primary next action is for members to test the invitation/referral link and submit feedback over the coming weeks so the team can refine functionality. ### Website design options 59:06 - Involved: Charming Ihekoronye with feedback from Victoria Reiner and Lycan Leath on visual design preferences. - The discussion compared several example sites and a web app for creator networks highlighting features such as event listings, classes, vendor directories, shops, donations, and interactive online content. - Victoria recommended a simple, clean, and timeless design to reduce future rebuilds, while Lycan praised dynamic colors and motion elements. - The decision was for the development team to review these example sites and determine how to replicate desirable features for the Pride Council Network site. - Budget and feasibility were discussed with an estimated website cost of about $5,000–$6,000, and the proposed solution was to have referral-driven revenue or a small collective contribution cover the cost. - The agreed actions are for Charming to share links (when possible) and for the dev team to examine the examples and propose an implementation plan. ### Partnerships and resources 01:11:26 - Involved: Charming Ihekoronye, Shawn Bridges, Victoria Reiner, and other attendees who mentioned local contacts and services. - The group highlighted potential referral partners including a mortgage broker (noting licensing across Missouri and Tennessee) and a Nashville store providing free fresh food to underprivileged families. - The problem identified was finding local, community-focused resource partners beyond large food banks, with a preference for independent organizations that can accept volunteers and direct support. - Proposed solutions included organizing quarterly volunteer days, listing these partners on the event calendar, and connecting referral partners (for example, linking the mortgage broker into the network). - Planned actions are for members to search for similar local resources in their areas, add them to the events/calendar, and pursue introductions so the network can support and uplift community partners. ### Nashville pride strategy 01:15:32 - Involved: Nathan Turley and Charming Ihekoronye with input from attendees about sponsorship and event participation. - Nathan explained Nashville Pride's scale, the reduction to a one-day festival this year due to funding shortfalls and weather impacts, and associated fundraising events such as martinis & jazz and VIP benefits. - The core challenge is a budget gap caused by sponsor pullouts and reduced ticket sales, which limits Pride's duration and resources for community programming. - Charming proposed a referral-driven funding strategy to acquire a presenting partner sponsorship (listed at $50,000) by aggregating referral revenue across the network rather than asking members for direct lump-sum donations. - Specific proposed solutions included booth sponsorships at lower tiers ($5,000–$10,000), pursuing Transamerica as a corporate partner while delivering referrals to them, and using referral targets (for example, ten partners each referring roughly nine clients) to generate the needed funds. - Agreed next steps are to pursue sponsorship opportunities, coordinate referrals toward funding goals, and plan for booth/VIP participation to increase visibility at Pride. ### Next steps and actions 01:36:34 - Involved: Charming Ihekoronye as the meeting lead with all attendees expected to take action items. - The team agreed to use Luma as the interim platform and for members to subscribe to Luma to receive event updates and streamlined communications. - Operational steps include joining Slack after official membership, using the provided referral script to introduce professionals to the network, and submitting client or partner requests via the platform's Typeform process. - Administrative items confirmed were that meeting materials and the recording will be shared via the Looma feedback/email, and a feedback form will be issued following the meeting. - The next in-person gathering was tentatively scheduled for March 11 (the second Wednesday of the month), and members were asked to register for events on the calendar and to review the meeting recording before the next session.