User:PolloDelMar/Grand Ducal Council of San Francisco

The Grand Ducal Council of San Francisco, Inc., is a predominantly gay 501(c)(3) nonprofit fund raising organization. Formed in 1973 as a more camp-oriented response to San Francisco's Imperial Court System by H.L. Perry, who reigned as the Court's Grand Duchess I, the Grand Ducal Council raises money for a wide array of charity organizations through large annual costume balls and various other, smaller fund raisers throughout the year. Both the Imperial Court System and the Grand Ducal Council of San Francisco are built using roughly the same power structure. "Monarchs" are elected and the nonprofit, 501(c)(3) portion is run by a Board of Directors or Trustees.

The Grand Ducal Council of San Francisco, in turn, inspired similar such organizations to be founded around the country. In 1998, the Grand Ducal Council of San Francisco was joined by a sister Court located in Alameda County, on the opposite side of the San Francisco Bay. A third such sovereign Ducal Court exists in London, Ontario, Canada.

Called "one of the city's unsung gay heroes," in 2006 HL Perry, her work establishing the San Francisco Ducal Council and more were commemorated with a month-long exhibit at the San Francisco Public Library.

Structure
Each individual court chapter (or "realm") is a separate, legally-incorporated charitable non-profit organization that raises funds and awareness for various charities and people in need within its realm. Each chapter has its own board of directors and is financially responsible for its own management. In addition to local non-profit status, many courts in the United States have Federal 501(c) status.

Titles
Each court holds an annual "coronation," which is usually the chapter's largest fundraiser and is attended by both local members and members of other Ducal chapters as well Imperial Courts from across North America. The evening culminates in the ceremony in which the new monarch or monarchs -- the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess -- are crowned. In San Francisco, the new monarchs are determined by popular elections held in the community.

The office of monarch is taken very seriously within the court system and requires a large commitment of the holder's time and money. In the case that a suitable applicant or applicants is/are not available for either monarch position, the Board of Directers will appoint a "regent" title holder in place of holding the requisite popular election.

Within a set number of weeks, the newly-elected monarchs must hold an "investiture," at which time they name the members of their Court. The titles given to members vary from one chapter to another and are primarily left to the discretion of the reigning monarchs.

Each Court consists of a Royal Crown Prince and Royal Crown Princess, Prince/Princess Royale, Baron/Baroness, etc. Other appellations bestowed resemble offices or professions within a medieval or modern noble court rather than titles of nobility, such as "Court Jester" or "Chancellor of the Realm" and so forth. These titles may be as serious-sounding or as humorously campy as the monarchs wish. Titles are traditionally based upon those used by Russian nobility Peerage but nothing prohibits the creation of titles such as czarina, raja or sultan and these are sometimes used as well.

Noble titles are ranked according to an order of precedence so that, for example, a member who has been created a Baron takes precedence over a member who has been made countess. The main effect of this hierarchy involves the order that members are introduced during "protocol", a ceremonial procedure endemic to the Ducal and Imperial Courts which titles are read by the master of ceremonies as members approach the presiding monarchs. This bit of pageantry, which is typically reserved for coronations and similar large events, gives Court members an opportunity to display their titles and costumes to the assembled crowd.

Additionally, each year the Court holds fund raising competitions to crown such titles as Mr. & Miss Royal Bunny, Royal Daddy & Royal Daddy's Boy and White Knight and Debutante. In 2009, the Court added an annual fund raising pageant to crown Miss San Francisco Gold Rush.

Fundraising
Each court conducts numerous fundraisers throughout the year. Drag shows, ranging in size from performances at local bars to events in hotel ballrooms and other large venues, are the main way in which revenue is raised for charity. Especially in recent years, court chapters have diversified their fundraising strategies so as to include yard sales, gift raffles, etc. Court members also solicit donations at LGBT events, gay pride parades and other public events at which they appear.

The Grand Ducal Council of San Francisco donates the funds raised to a variety of causes including those related to AIDS, breast cancer, domestic abuse, and homelessness. Court chapters frequently receive recognition from elected officials including Assemblyman Mark Leno, San Francisco's Mayor Gavin Newsom and its Board of Supervisors for their humanitarian contributions.

Unlike many other large charitable fundraising organizations, the Ducal Court System is comprised entirely of volunteers. There are no paid positions within the Ducal Court System and both the culture of the Court System and the regulations set down by the boards of directors of each chapter prohibit any member from profiting from the Ducal Court or its activities. Rather, depending on individual level of involvement with the system, many court members spend hundreds or thousands of dollars of their own money each year on costumes, travel to events in other parts of North America, and donations to various charitable beneficiaries.

Membership
While composed primarily of gay and transgender as well as lesbian, bisexual and transwomen, each court is open to all. Gay, bisexual, transgender and straight people have all served as monarchs and court members in the system's history. Drag queens collectively comprise about half of the membership.

The Court System also appeals to people interested in various forms of costume and dress-up who are willing to lend their enthusiasm to the court's culture of charitable fundraising including those involved with the leather fetishism and leather subcultures, members of the Society for Creative Anachronism and similar historical reenactment hobbyists, various types of cosplay enthusiasts, and so on.

Most court members, especially monarchs, past-monarchs and those aspiring towards a throne, wear an assortment of regalia including elaborate crowns, bejeweled chains of office and other costume jewelry which is often custom-made for the wearer.