And the side that successfully argued to revoke the gay marriage law last month spent $3.8 million, less than the $5.8 million spent by those supporting the law. Maine’s total population is around 1.3 million.

The Kennebec Journal is reporting that 20 groups spent money to influence the vote.

The campaign finance reports were released Tuesday.

The Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices says the amount of spending on the gay marriage vote is believed to be second only to a vote in 2003 on a proposed tribal casino.

A new national study has found that gay couples plan to spend 50 percent more on home improvement projects than non-gay couples over the next 12 months.

These study was undertaken by the Chicago-based, online research agency, Socratic Technologies and Target 10, a gay and lesbian marketing agency based in New York.

“Gay couples planning home improvement projects lead the way when it comes to spending,” the study’s authors said in a statement.

LGBT homeowners intend to spend an average of $2,077 within the next 12 months while non-gay couples intend to spend only $1,384, according to the findings.

“With 63 percent of gay homeowners intending to start home improvement projects within the next 12 months, it’s not surprising that more than half also plan on purchasing more new home appliances or furnishings within a year’s time.”

The kitchen in particular is high on the “to do” list.  In the next 12 months, 34 percent of gay homeowners reported that they intend to replace a kitchen appliance vs. 27 percent of straight homeowners.

“Gay men and lesbians have a reputation of being major home improvement shoppers and this survey reaffirms that,” said Matt Tumminello, president of Target 10.  “Renovating and refurbishing homes is in many ways a part of gay culture.  Even in bad economic times, they are not stopping.” Over the last three years, 72 percent of gay homeowners had made home improvements.

The survey also uncovered some interesting findings on how consumers shop.

“We found that gay consumers are shopping in more places than straight consumers to find the items that they want.  This includes both at retail stores and online,” said Jeff Kerr, vice president of Socratic Technology.

Gay consumers reported higher rates of shopping and purchasing at Home Depot, Lowe’s, Sears, Best Buy and the warehouse shopping club, Costco.

“They are savvy shoppers who are determined to find exactly what they want and at the best price,” Kerr said.

The survey also found that gay consumers are looking for high-end products.

Homeowners were significantly more likely to seek out products from top-tier brands such as Viking, Sub Zero, Jenn-Air and Miele.  And while non-gay homeowners showed a willingness to use less expensive materials during the economic downturn, this is something most gay consumers are not willing to do.

But the survey discovered that most companies have been slow to go after gay consumers.

“In the last few years we’ve noticed very few household appliance and home improvement brands taking steps to court gay consumers and no one brand has emerged as a market leader,” said Tumminello.

“Gays and lesbians are famous for their brand loyalty and an opportunity exists to fill that void.  Those first in, win.”

This national online survey was conducted March 17-30 among members of the Socratic Forum and the Socratic/Regent Media Gay Consumer Panels.  Interviews were completed by 301 gay and 310 straight homeowners.

©365Gay.com 2009

Status updates for Prince Broekhuizen might read, “Invested in anti-gay initiatives, and won.”

And her social network of friends and associates would include Howard Ahmanson Jr., John Templeton Jr., Maggie Gallagher, Richard DeVos, James and Shirley Dobson, Phyllis Schlafly, Donald Wildmon, Gary Bauer and Tony Perkins.

Some in this network get headlines and column inches. Some advise presidents. Some run campaigns. And some, somewhat quietly, organize behind the scenes and write the checks that finance anti-gay ballot measures.

On Nov. 4, voters across the nation elected Barack Obama and change in the White House and solidified a Democratic majority in Congress. But voters in three states approved propositions amending their state constitutions to ban same-sex marriage, and voters in a fourth passed a measure intended to prohibit gay couples from adopting children.

The groups formed to promote the initiatives raised money the old-fashioned way — with individual contributions of a dollar and individual contributions of half a million, with business and non-profit donations of $25 and $1 million. Anti-gay campaigns raised more than $30 million in California, $7.8 million in Arizona, $1.5 million in Florida and a still unknown amount in Arkansas.

In the weeks after the losses at the polls, GLBT activists delved into campaign finance reports to identify the deep pockets involved in the campaigns, especially in California, where Proposition 8 was passed to roll back marriage rights already won in the courts.

“We do not want to spend our money at any business owned by individuals who supported this hateful initiative,” reads a statement of purpose from Californians Against Hate, one of the groups that researched the financing of Prop 8. “This country was founded on the principle of liberty and justice for all. Our opponents have every right to contribute vast sums of money to take away our equal rights, and we have every right to fight back, and we will.”

The earliest reports broadly identified the largest funder as the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints, which has heavily financed the anti-gay marriage fight for more than a decade. The church and its members provided an estimated 70 percent of the Prop 8 money.

Closer scrutiny revealed another big funder — the Knights of Columbus headquarters in New Haven, Conn., and its California chapter donated $1.4 million to the Proposition 8 campaign.

The group, chartered as a fraternal society and consisting of chapters throughout the country, may be best known for its insurance benefits to members and Friday night fish fries. But over the years Knights of Columbus and its affiliates donated hundreds of thousands to anti-gay marriage initiatives including campaigns in Kansas and Arizona.

Fieldstead & Co., owned by savings-and-loan millionaire Howard Ahmanson Jr. of Irvine, Calif., invested $1.39 million in the Prop 8 campaign.

The company’s Web site describes its purpose: “Fieldstead is a private company that manages the assets of the Howard F. Ahmanson Jr. family. Among other things, one of the functions of Fieldstead & Company is to help manage the family’s various philanthropic programs as part of a Christian worldview.”

The Web site also features Time magazine’s description of Ahmanson and his wife as being among “the 25 most influential evangelicals in America” for their “cornucopia of faith-based activism,” including support for a foundation that promotes the Christian reconstructionist branch of theology advocating the stoning of biblical lawbreakers.

Campaign finance reports show that Ahmanson associates Roland Hinz, Robert Hurtt and Edward Atsinger III also donated sizable sums to the Prop 8 campaign. They have pooled their resources in the Allied Business PAC and the Capitol Commonwealth Group, according to the Californians Against Hate.

The Prop 8 campaign also counted on support — about $1.1 million — from John Templeton Jr. of the John Templeton Foundation, the Pennsylvania-based group established in 1987 to financially sponsor studies of science and philosophy.

The National Organization for Marriage in Princeton, N.J., directed another $1 million to California to promote the anti-gay measure. NOM’s president is Maggie Gallagher, a syndicated columnist who was paid by the Bush administration to promote its marriage initiative.

Focus on the Family spent about $539,000 in California and one of Focus’ board members, Elsa Prince Broekhuizen, of the Edgar & Elsa Prince Foundation, donated about $450,000 to Prop 8.

Other sizeable donations to the Prop 8 campaign included $500,000 from the American Family Association of Tupelo, Miss., $409,000 from Concerned Women for America of Washington, D.C., $200,000 from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops of Washington, D.C., and $160,000 from the Vineyard Group of Mesa, Ariz.

Some of those names show up in campaign finance reports for anti-gay campaigns in other states last year.

Arizona’s Prop 102 campaign did not attract the hefty donations that California’s initiative drew. Reports for YesforMarriage.com list dozens of donors — homemakers and real estate agents, lawyers and pastors – who helped with contributions from $1 and up. But Arizona’s anti-gay campaign received $5,000 from Fieldstead & Co., the company that invested $1.39 million in Yes on Prop 8 in California. Focus on the Family donated more than $200,000 in Arizona, much of it in “goods/services” and Knights of Columbus contributed $100,000.

In Florida, Fieldstead & Co. contributed another $5,000, Focus spent $33,281 and NOM donated $10,000, according to campaign finance reports for Yes2Marriage.org.

Those who bankrolled last year’s anti-gay initiatives are not new to the fight.

Focus on the Family has been involved in anti-gay initiatives since the early 1990s and, in more recent years, upped its donations despite downsizing plans at its headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Templeton, in 2006, donated $100,000 to an anti-gay initiative in Virginia, and the Vineyard Group, which spent $160,000 in California in 2008, invested $10,000 in an anti-gay Arizona initiative in 2006.

In addition to serving as the Templeton Foundation’s chair, the retired doctor has been associated with the pro-Iraq War Freedom Watch and the evangelical get-out-the-vote Let Freedom Ring.

Elsa Prince Broekhuizen also has a history of financing anti-gay causes, and her family has substantial involvement in the religious right.

“Elsa was the top contributor, giving $75,000 to the Citizens for the Protection of Marriage, the group that was responsible for placing the same-sex marriage ban on the ballot in Michigan,” said Bernadette Brown of the Triangle Foundation in Detroit.

Prince Broekhuizen’s late husband Edgar Price helped start the Family Research Council, and, either independently or through the Edgar and Elsa Prince Foundation, Prince Broekhuizen has supported the Alliance Defense Fund, Focus on the Family, the Promise Keepers, the Eagle Forum, Concerned Women for America and the Council for National Policy.

While GLBT activists criticize the right’s “family values” efforts as anti-family, there’s no denying the campaigns are family affairs.

Elsa Prince Broekhuizen’s daughter, Betsy Prince, is married to Richard DeVos, of Grand Rapids, Mich. Elsa Prince Broekhuizen’s son, Erik Prince, is the president of Blackwater.

Like the Prince family, the DeVos family, whose money comes from Amway, contributed to the anti-gay marriage initiative in Michigan in 2004 and elsewhere over the years, including $100,000 from Richard DeVos Jr. to the anti-gay ballot push in Florida last year.

“Both families are extremely conservative,” Brown said.

A number of the leading individuals, foundations and businesses invested in the anti-gay initiatives in 2008 have been associated with the Arlington Group, a somewhat secretive religious right network that proved an influential force in pushing anti-gay initiatives in 2004 and 2006.

The National Institute on Money in State Politics in Helena, Mt., reported that the Arlington Group’s affiliates and associates donated about 40 percent of the contributions to nine anti-gay initiatives in 2006 and about 85 percent in 2004.

Here’s the full list of people who donated to the Yes on 8 campaign – and against gay marriage.

Probably best known for playing Dawn Wiener in Welcome to the Dollhouse, Heather has come of age and recently became engaged to musician Carolyn Murphy. Chalk it up to love, progress and same-sex marriage in California! She takes some time to talk money, matrimony and this business of acting with Queercents. Enjoy!

1. What did growing up in Italian Catholic family teach you about money?
Growing up in an Italian Catholic family didn’t necessarily teach me about money. My mom always instilled in me that it was wiser to save then to spend, but it was great to treat myself to something once in a while.

2. Do you think being out has any impact on what you’re able to earn as an actor?
I don’t think my being out has had any financial implications positive or negative.

3. Describe one money lesson Crutch has learned from her 30-something lesbian friends on Exes and Oh’s.
Truthfully, I don’t think Crutch was open enough to learn anything.

4. You started working at a really young age. How did money play into this?
The only advantage that I had was being able to save larger amounts of money for much longer periods of time.

5. Do you plan on having one of those outrageously expensive Hollywood weddings?
There is definitely not a plan to have an outrageously expensive Hollywood wedding.

6. What is your most significant memory about money?
My most vivid memory of money is that I spent a lot of it on needless things when I was younger, but the biggest gift that I learned was that I am always going to be taken care of regardless, and to not fear success of any kind, financial or otherwise.

7. Have you ever done anything besides acting to earn money?
I worked at McDonald’s for 2 months when I was 15 to get the experience of having a “normal job” which proved to be invaluable because it made me that much more grateful for the gift I was given of being self-supporting and self-employed.

8. Is there a price attached to activism?
I do not think that I could put a price tag on the gift of being an activist. The truth is, it’s easy to reach into one’s wallet and dole out some cash, but it’s another thing entirely to take the time out and lend your voice, your experience, your hope to any given cause. There is a price we pay for being apathetic and afraid.

9. Have you ever had to take any financial risks?
Only when playing blackjack and poker.

10. How do you like to spend your money? How would Carolyn answer this question?
On Caroline, and Caroline would say the same.

More about Heather Matarazzo
Heather Matarazzo, a successful actress since her feature film debut in Welcome to the Dollhouse, which also earned her an Independent Spirit Award at the age of 12, has been captivating movie-going audiences for the past ten years. Most recently, she appeared on Showtime’s The ‘L’ Word and starred as a lead in the sequel to HOSTEL, the 2006 box office hit for Sony Screen Gems. Currently, she can be seen on Logo’s Exes and Oh’s, which premiered in October 2007.

Heather quickly followed up Dollhouse with a breakout performance in the Al Pacino thriller The Devil’s Advocate. In the following years, Heather worked on such films as 54, Getting to Know You, Scream 3, Sorority Boys, and Freshman Orientation as well as the critically acclaimed television movie, Our Guys: Outrage at Glen Ridge, in which Heather plays a mentally challenged teen who is gang raped by a group of high school students.

In 1997, Heather joined the cast of Roseanne for the final season of the smash hit show and in 1999 she began production on Now and Again, the largely successful Sci-Fi television show.

In 2001, Heather starred in Disney’s box office hit, The Princess Diaries, directed by Garry Marshall. In 2004, Heather reprised her role of Lilly in The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. 2004 also brought the sleeper hit, Saved! where Heather joined co-stars Jena Malone, Mandy Moore and Macaulay Culkin in this comedic look at Christian subculture.

Heather currently resides in New York City.

There are a growing number of Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams branded “Signature Stores” in such cities as Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta, and now more. Since they showcase their comfortable, stylish and value-conscious collections, it got me thinking about furniture as “investment” and helped start a nice conversation about money.

As you’ll learn, there’s a lot more to Mitchell than making a buck. I hope you enjoy his candid thoughts on furnishings, consumerism and how his money is doing the world some good!

1. When twentysomethings are conditioned to fill their apartments and first homes with IKEA, how do you convince them that well-made furniture is a good investment?
We just share knowledge with people. If you buy a sofa that is $900 and lasts for 3 years versus one that is $1200 that lasts for 8 which is a better investment? If you buy a chest of drawers that last 5 years for $499 versus one that costs $1250 and lasts for decades, which is a better deal?

 It’s also about a sense of style and proportion. We sell our products through retailers that have well trained staff so they can give honest and good information.

2. What is your most significant memory about money?
Over a dozen years ago, Bob and I went to buy a car. I negotiated the price down really well. Then when we went to talk to the finance person, Bob advised me we’d be paying cash. He told me he didn’t like banks, they were not your friend… that if you bought a $20,000 car you’d end up paying $26,000 if you financed it.

Unbeknownst to me, he had squirreled the money away and believe me, we did not have much money then at all.

3. What is your worst habit around finances?
It really is probably giving too much of it to political candidates and causes. I wish we had more to show for it after giving away so much for so many years.

4. Is good decor only for the wealthy? Are fewer, nicer things worth the price?
Of course not, anyone can have a sense of style with little money. I saw this guy a couple of years ago who looked incredibly sexy.

Ends up he bought these seer sucker type pajama pants at Kmart and wore with a white t-shirt and sneakers. Cheap and great looking, AND no one had ever seen that outfit before.

What we try to teach in our book “Let’s Get Comfortable” is about collecting things you love regardless of their price and combining that with simple colors in seating pieces, and warm pictures of family and friends.

The key to it all is balance, not too much stuff and not too little.

5. As business partners do you and Bob see eye-to-eye on money?
He’s tighter than me. We give a good balance to each other. But for sure, he is generous in all ways.

6. Give some tips from your book, Let’s Get Comfortable, on how the consumer can stick to a budget without sacrificing style.
We suggest people make sure they have a great sofa that works for their needs because that will get the primary use.

They can save lots of money by buying inexpensive picture frames that are all the same or the same color for their pictures of family, friends and memories.

Putting them all together on a table or chest, they will look unified and uncluttered, and one then is focused on the pictures that let people know who you are.

7. A favorite topic of mine is the debate over big vs. small homes. I suspect that big homes are better for business, but what’s your personal philosophy with regards to space and filling it with stuff?
My home is only 3500 square feet, which for my income and where I live is not that big. I love it because each room is cozy and not ballroomish. I think you have to have something that makes you feel warm and cozy when you come home, and the same for your guests as well. The size also simply has to function for your needs.

8. What did your parents teach you about money?
They lived beyond their means for many years and always struggled. We were not poor, but because of the way they lived they were always tight. Understanding your net income, knowing what you can and can’t have is really important to peace of mind.

I often find that people that have money problems are in a thought process where they’ll buy something they can’t afford, but feel because they work hard they are entitled to it.

The reality is that you’re not entitled to what you can’t afford.

I know this might sound ridiculous to some, but Bob and I would really REALLY like a private jet because we travel so much. But we know, even though we are not poor, that we cannot afford that luxury.

9. The success of Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams as a company has obviously made you rich. How has wealth enriched your life beyond material things?
Well, first I want to make it clear that it has not made me as rich as my mother and many people think(!!!!).

But it has given me the ability to contribute to making life better for others be they gay or not gay. I would have to say that the two things that have enriched my life most is our on site daycare center and starting Faith In America.

 Bob and I invested a half million dollars to build the daycare and now it runs as a non-profit each year. We have 74 beautiful children from 6 weeks to 5 years old thriving in an education-based environment.

And we’re investing a similar amount to create Faith In America to educate America about the harms of religion-based bigotry. As well, we are educating that the history of discrimination in America - the world!!! - is too often rooted in people’s misguided religious beliefs.

10. Money can buy a lot of furnishings and accessories, but can it buy happiness?
If those furnishings and accessories are Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, than YES (wink)! I’m sure most people realize material possessions can’t buy happiness, but it can create an environment that relieves stress and makes people feel welcome, and that can give you happiness.

More about Mitchell Gold
Mitchell Gold, co-founder and chair-man of Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams is a different kind of man running a very different kind of business. In every aspect of his personal and business life, Mitchell strives to make a difference.

Besides running a $100 million company, Mitchell is a founder and significant benefactor of Faith in America — a non-profit organization dedicated to educating people about religion-based bigotry and how it is being used to justify discrimination against GLBT people. In fact, Mitchell was just named one of Advocate Magazine’s 2006″People of the Year” for his work with Faith in America.

In 1989, he teamed up with Bob Williams, then the promotions art director with Seventeen magazine and together, they started the company in Taylorsville, NC. Riding the combination of Bob’s design talent and Mitchell’s savvy business skills and connections, an industry force was born.

Today, Mitchell is the co-founder and chair-man of a renowned company with 700+ employees that operates out of 600,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehouse space. With over $100 million in sales, products sold through America’s most popular retailers and catalogs, branded retail stores from coast to coast, a first book released in March ‘07 entitled Let’s Get Comfortable, along with media exposure in publications like Time, Fast Company, Inc., The Wall Street Journal and virtually every shelter publication of note, Mitchell, and his company have the very real expectation of redefining what a great brand really is by being a different type of brand…one with meaning and depth.

Nina Smith blogs about LGBT money and finance on Queercents.com.

1. What are three ways to have good style on budget?

H&M – I think it’s the most stylish place. For girls, Bitten (Sarah Jessica Parker’s line) at Steve & Barry’s. I love everything she does.

Stay away from sales. It’s all the leftover stuff. If no one wants it, stay away. You can sometimes find good stuff in a sale, but a cheap price doesn’t mean it’ll be hot.

2. What is your most significant memory about money?
One of my friends gave me a dollar when I was 16, and I wrote William on it, and I still have it.

3. What is your worst habit around finances?
My disposable income. If I want it, I’ll buy it. I don’t think twice.

4. Does fame automatically equate to fortune?
No. It gets better, but not unless you’re at the Oprah level. It’s all right, but we’re not traveling on private planes. We’re hoping, but not yet.

5. What did your parents teach you about money?
They taught me nothing about money.

6. When it comes to clothes, should people have less but love what they have more? How does it mesh with our consumerism culture?
I think people should be smart about what they buy. Definitely invest in good basics because you can build your wardrobe around it. People should be more cautious about trendy items. It’s good to be cost-conscious when it comes to trendy items because you can work them into your basics. The bottom line is to spend more money on good basics and less on trendy items you won’t wear that long.

7. How does money play a role in your life? Is debt a factor?
Money is quintessential to my living. I spent outrageous amounts on clothing and entertainment. I have a very disposable income. I still don’t have bills to pay. I spend money on expensive items that I love and cherish.

8. Do you still work at the GAP?
I do. I made $80 these last 2 weeks.

9. I read somewhere that your passion is dressing women. What are some typical fashion blunders made by lesbians? What are your suggestions for improvement?
Oversized boy jeans, oversized pants and flannel shirts. Those are the most common blunders. The lipstick lesbian usually does pretty well on her own; it’s the butch girls who have issues. Buying boys clothes alone scares me. Don’t buy boys clothes. Buy things that aren’t baggy and that fit you appropriately and have a feminine touch. They don’t have to throw on lipstick and heels, but they don’t have to look like me.

10. Money can buy a lot of clothes and accessories, but can it buy happiness?
I do believe money can buy happiness. Who’s not happy when you’re loaded? More money, more problems, true, but you have a much better time.

More about William Sledd
William Sledd is host of the “Ask a Gay Man” webisodes on Bravo’s OUTzoneTV.com. The series centers on fashion where he explains the latest trends and occasionally goes on location to point out fashion “don’ts” as part of his Fashion Victim editions.

Nina Smith blogs at Queercents, where this article originated.