Vampire Court of Dallas

About The Vampire Court of Dallas 

The Vampire Court of Dallas / Fort Worth ® (“VCD”) is a federally certified 501(c)3 charitable organization that seeks to empower the various local alternative subcultures and perform actions that directly impact the local area. We do this by partnering with local clubs and venues throughout the DFW metroplex, as well as many local businesses, with the goal of simply doing some good in the city that we love. Through these efforts we have raised over $50,000 over the past seven years for many local charities, supporting various causes including: Children with Medical Needs, Heart Research, Children’s Advocacy, Exotic Animal Shelters, Veterans, and Domestic Abuse Treatment/Prevention, and many more to come. Additionally, we are one of the few charities that is also 100% donor supported, with every cent raised going to support these important causes. 

At the same time, we are a fully-democratic, member-driven group that gives our membership a direct voice in the day-to-day business and future actions of our organization. While our goal is steadily growing in the metropolitan landscape of Dallas, we seek to not only make a positive impact locally, but also nationally, through our example of acceptance, inclusion, and diversity. We truly are a group of supportive friends and family that uplift each other as we strive to do good for those around us. We simply support each other as well as supporting those that need it the most. 

History of the Organization 

The initial ideas of the organization were conceived in December of 2015, between the current founders and several friends that would later join us as our corps of officers. Around that time, the emphasis was primarily on being social and developing a supportive community for 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. At that point, we began to lay the groundwork for what would become our charter and overall mission. While we did have ideas in regards to building a charity infrastructure, there really was no long term plan to implement at that point instead choosing on building internally while continuing to look for an overall direction. 

The biggest breakthrough in this avenue was in March of 2016, where the initial meetings took place at Anvil Pub Deep Ellum with several of our future members and interested parties. This pivotal meeting began the first of several ideas and the ultimate push to pursue charity work as a primary outlet for our volunteers, developing what would soon become our well-known charity aspect. This move was largely inspired by our Friends at the Vampire Court of Austin, and the New Orleans Vampire Association, two other major subcultural organizations nationally known for their work with the homeless and animal charities in their local area. 

By September 2016, a formal meeting was called at Oak Cliff’s Wild Detectives, in which our working charter was presented to a meeting of what would become our first voting members, the initial signers of the document approving our articles of incorporation and leading the push for full charity status and working towards full federal non-profit recognition. The VCD officially incorporated in October of 2016 during a trip to the Austin Capitol, with state non-profit status granted soon after. 

Full federal 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. Despite bitter cold, this event was attended by over 800 people giving more than $1200.00 to The Texas Heart Institute. This event has turned into our flagship yearly fundraiser, the Sunday before Valentine’s Day, with multiple performers and a large raffle of prizes donated by local businesses throughout Dallas / Fort Worth. Each member of the VCD looks forward to this event every year, both for the feeling of giving back and the opportunity to come together as an organization in order to work for a common goal. 

We now have our monthly meetings on the first Sunday of the month, where we coordinate 2-3 fundraising events a year, as well as multiple other volunteer and digital awareness campaigns, all while appreciating and supporting our local subcultures by holding social functions and giving folks an opportunity to give back by supporting the local community. 

Statistics of 8/21/2023 
Total Funds Raised: $54,087.82 
Voting Members: 32 with over 100 informal volunteers 
Charity Partners: 13 
Venue Partners: 12 
Fundraising Events: 23 
Online Campaigns: 3