The organization that would later be known as the Vampire Court of Dallas® dates back to December of 2015, where the founders and a few friends laid the groundwork of what was primarily to be a social organization, to support the many local members of the Dallas/Fort Worth vampire/other-kin subcultures – along with creating a safe space with diversity and inclusion at its heart. The biggest breakthrough in what would become our future charity mission was in March of 2016, at the Anvil Pub in Deep Ellum, where some future members and other interested parties would illustrate the need for an overall direction and prove the collective need for a new type of charity to help ease the suffering of the local area.
Finally, in September of 2016, a formal public meeting was called at Oak Cliff’s Wild Detectives, in which our working charter was presented to a group who would become our first voting members as they were the initial signers of said document, approving the articles of incorporation and calling for the push for full charity status, working towards full federal recognition. The Vampire Court of Dallas® was officially incorporated in October of 2016, during a trip to the Austin Capitol, with the state non-profit status granted soon after.
The federal IRS 501(c)3 exemption status was granted in February of 2017, just weeks before our first major charity event: The Bleeding Hearts Ball at the Church Dallas. This event was attended by over 800 people (despite the bitter cold) and collectively they gave more than $1200.00 to The Texas Heart Institute. This event has turned into our flagship yearly fundraiser, with multiple performers and a large raffle of prizes donated by local businesses throughout Dallas / Fort Worth. Each member of the Vampire Court of Dallas® looks forward to this event every year, due to both the feeling of giving back, and also the opportunity to come together as an organization and work for a common goal.
From there, we moved our monthly meeting location to its next home, the Second Floor of the Dallas Ginger Man Pub, from where we coordinated 3-4 fundraising events a year, on top of multiple volunteers and digital awareness campaigns, all while appreciating and supporting our local community by holding social functions and giving folks an opportunity to give back. It was here our membership hit a record of 50 voting members and over $15,000 raised for North Texas charities, with several committees established to aid in welcoming new members and developing social events to allow us to come together more as a community.
In October of 2019, our growth in numbers moved us to our newest location, the Union in Oak Lawn. It is here where we hold public meetings every month to discuss current initiatives, lessons learned, and conduct all of our major business. When the COVID-19 lockdowns began, we moved our meetings online and have since re-emerged and began 2023 and had our most successful charity event to date: our fifth Bleeding Hearts Ball: The Changeling Masque in Fort Worth.
So hello from the VCD, how can we help?