By Aaron Boot-Haury—
On September 8, 2026, our members gathered at the San Francisco LGBT Center, and online from across the region, for our 2026 Annual Membership Meeting. We called it “All Together Now,” and by the end of the evening that phrase felt less like a theme and more like a description of where this organization stands today.
This year, I got to stand in front of our community and introduce the new GGBA: a refreshed vision, mission, and set of values, a bolder visual identity, a new website, and a clearer story to tell. We also broadened our name and our reach to reflect the community we actually serve, from San Francisco into the East Bay. Our tagline says it plainly. History. Connection. Growth.
The growth is real, and it is measurable. Over the past year, our annual recurring revenue grew by 34 percent, driven by both membership and sponsorship. Our operating reserves are stronger than they have been in years, which matters, because a chamber that helps businesses build stability should model that stability itself. Our membership continued to climb, and we welcomed our first-ever networking events in the East Bay, both of which drew wonderful crowds and confirmed what we already believed: there is real appetite for what we do beyond the city line.
None of that happened by accident. This was the year our signature monthly Make Contact events found their rhythm, hosted generously by members and partners across the Bay. We launched a brand-new Business Education Series, with practical, expert-led sessions on everything from supplier diversity to LinkedIn to navigating workplace conflict. We co-produced the first Annual LGBTQ+ Business Expo alongside the San Francisco Business Times’ Business of Pride, showed up proudly at San Francisco Pride, and marched and tabled at Oakland Pride. And we were honored, and frankly a little thrilled, to be named the NGLCC Rising Star Affiliate Chamber of the Year.
I want to thank the people who made this possible: our sponsors, whose belief in us shows up in every event we host; our board and volunteers, who gave extraordinary time and heart to this relaunch; and, most of all, our members. This is your chamber. You showed up, you referred your friends, you did business with one another, and you reminded me at every turn why an organization founded in 1974, the first LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce in the country, still matters so much in 2026.
So, what comes next? We are only getting started. In the year ahead, we are investing in membership growth across the East Bay and in specific industries, establishing a regular cadence of East Bay programming, deepening our partnerships with the largest employers in the region, and strengthening our collaboration with fellow LGBTQ+ organizations. We are reimagining our member directory and our benefits so that belonging to GGBA translates into real, visible business results.
I hope you will be part of it. Join us at our October Make Contact at Beaux in the Castro, and save the date for our Annual Holiday Party in December, which we are proud to co-host with the San Francisco Bay Times. Better yet, bring someone who has never experienced this community before.
We are the new GGBA. And we are, all together now, just getting started.
Aaron Boot-Haury is the President and CEO of the Golden Gate Business Association.
Golden Gate Business Association (GGBA) – Message from Leadership
Published on September 24, 2026
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