SAN FRANCISCO—Jacob Richards has been elected president of the Folsom Street Events board of directors. Richard succeeds Andy Copper, who led the non-profit benevolent organization from 2005-2009.
Folsom Street Events is a 501(c)3 nonprofit agency that produces four annual fetish events: Bay of Pigs, Up Your Alley, Magnitude and Folsom Street Fair. The organization’s mission is to create volunteer-driven leather events that provide the adult alternative lifestyle community with safe venues for self-expression while emphasizing freedom, fun, frolic and fetish and raising funds to benefit charity. In 2008, more than 400,000 event attendees raised money for charitable donations.
Richards has been involved with a variety of LGBT and leather organizations since moving to the Bay Area in 2002. He began working with Folsom Street Events through his association with the GLBT Historical Society when the latter was a Folsom beneficiary in 2005. Richards said he loved working on the fairs so much, he joined the board in 2006 and became vice president in 2007. His involvement with the community includes membership on the 2007 steering committee for Leather-Levi Weekend and volunteering with the Leathermen’s Discussion Group and International Ms. Leather.
He assumes the reins from Copper, under whose five-year leadership Folsom Street Events achieved a number of accomplishments including doubling the size of the board from five to ten members and more than doubling the size of the associate members roster from four to eleven members. Copper helped the organization to revise its by-laws and grow its annual operating budget to more than $1.1 million. He also helped expand the Folsom brand with trademark rights in the U.S., Canada, EU and Australia. In addition, Copper helped to increase the group’s philanthropy. Since the fairs began in 1984, Folsom Street Events has distributed more than $4 million to charity, nearly half of which was distributed during Copper’s tenure.
“The organization has been preparing for this transition for some time,” Executive Director Demetri Moshoyannis said. “We are extremely grateful for Andy’s tireless commitment and dedication. At the same time, we are very excited to have Jacob’s new energy and vision for the agency.”
Richards said, “I look forward to serving as president in order to continue the work of producing world-class leather and fetish events for the community, to increase the organization’s charitable giving both locally and nationally, and to build on the organization’s efforts to work with leather and fetish organizations and businesses for a stronger leather community.”
Sponsors for the 2009 Folsom Street Events season included presenting sponsors TitanMen.com, NakedSword, RECON.com and GLOSS Magazine; premier sponsors Steamworks, Doc Johnson and Elbow Grease; charter sponsors Blow Buddies, ExtremeRestraints.com and Manhunt; supporting sponsors Stockroom/Stormy Leather/Syren, Powerhouse, Mr. S Leather, StraightHell.net, Leatherpost.com and AdultFriendFinder; media sponsors Bay Area Reporter, SF Bay Guardian, IN LA Magazine and Bear Party Magazine. SF Marriott, Renoir Hotel and Joie de Vivre served as host hotels.
For more about Folsom Street Events, visit FolsomStreetFair.org.
