Craig Cooley Bio and Contact Information
CRAIG COOLEY - IN HIS OWN WORDS...
I have extensive experience with nonprofit organizations the for the past 15 years. From fundraising events to grant writing and presentations. From historical designations on the National Register of Historic Places, to art and memorial installations and recognition. Additionally, I am very familiar the many opportunities afforded nonprofit organizations, from Google Ad Words at $10,000 per month to the various organizations, Dell, Microsoft, Adobe, and others... that all allow substantial discounts and financial support.
His tireless selfless commitment to the LGBTQ community and his brilliance in making diversity and acceptance the norm for a community that is still too often marginalized and bridled when it comes to fair housing, employment and opportunities.
With 30+ years of hospitality experience, 18 years were in operations/auditing and 14 years in sales and marketing, on the corporate level with revenues in excess of more than $250M, Craig has proven his skill as a marketing professional. From the hospitality field he went on to market a variety of small business to success; from hand carved stone to bamboo flooring. More recently, Craig set his sights on marketing a Laguna Beach Gay bar for the LGBTQ community with his sights set on revitalizing Laguna Beach as a LGBTQ resort destination. With his operations experience, in addition to his marketing experience, he became a hands-on manager for the local gay bar, taking revenues for the small venue from about $130,000 annually to $500,000+ in 1.5 years. During that time, he spearheaded a new organization Laguna Beach LGBTQ Heritage and Culture organization while he worked with the marketing arm of the City, Visit Laguna and the independent organization of the Chamber of Commerce to bring new revenue to the community. More recently he created Laguna Beach Pride 365, Inc., a non-profit organization of which he is President. He has little spare time, as he is involved in a total of 5 non-profit organizations, and his own for profit Intellatech Media and Marketing.
THE NON PROFITS ARE:
Laguna Beach Pride 365, Inc. - Founding member and President of the BOD. The organization is an ongoing year round promotional pride program for Laguna Beach focused on building commerce and revenue development for the community, all the while embracing and promoting diversity and acceptance.
KXFM 104.7 Radio Laguna Beach - Craig has a regular weekly radio program, Rainbow Radio, that features local international LGBTQ guests. Everyone from artists, including film and music, to activists. He hosts a second monthly show, Artwalking Radio and interviews local and regional artists and community leaders regarding everything artistic in Laguna Beach.
www.kxfmradio.org and www.rainbow-radio.com and www.artwalking.art
Laguna Canyon Conservancy - Marketing and Website Management. An organization dedicated to preserving 20,000 acres of wilderness, the “green belt” in Laguna Beach.
www.lagunacanyonconservancy.org
LAGUNA BEACH LIVE - Marketing and Website Management. An organization dedicated to bringing affordable live entertainment to the community with more than 5,000 members and a long history of quality entertainment. From classical, to jazz and bluegrass, and everything in between.
LELA International - An international artist organization that has art events around the world and art instruction programs in the local Los Angeles area. He is on the board, as Marketing Director.
Club Q – for Susi Q Senior Center Non-Profit - Craig is on the steering committee for Club Q, an organization for LGBTQ Seniors in Laguna Beach
SUMMARY: Craig is dedicated to brining back a thriving LGBTQ culture to Laguna Beach. For the last five years he has organized the annual Laguna Beach Pride weekends for the community, held and attended many charity events, hosted charity events as MC, and provide a platform for speakers that support the LGBTQ community at various local venues. More recently, he is working with Bank of America to form a LGBTQ local merchants’ organization to support LGBTQ Commerce, this effort along with many local programs to encourage travel and Laguna Beach as the perfect destination. And one last item, he is a regular guest columnist for the local newspaper, Stu News with Rainbow Reflections.
LINKEDIN PROFILE: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigwcooley/