page_title: BECAUSE (conference)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: BECAUSE (conference) / History
context_page_description: BECAUSE is an annual, national conference for the bisexual community and other bi+ people that takes place in the Twin Cities in Minnesota. It was founded in 1992. It has been organized by the Bisexual Organizing Project since 1999. The conference is "dedicated to building an empowered bisexual, pansexual, fluid, queer, and unlabeled community." It is the longest-running and largest conference for bi+ people in the United States.
context_section_description: In 1991, the Gay and Lesbian Community Action Council (GLCAC) published a needs assessment for bisexuality in the Twin Cities. One of the needs identified in the study was more community events. As a result,  the Bisexual Connection (Minnesota) sponsored the creation of BECAUSE, which stands for Bisexual Empowerment Conference: A Uniting, Supportive Experience.
  The first BECAUSE was held in February 1992 in Minneapolis. The planning committee consisted of eight people. Only approximately four others preregistered. On the day of the conference, approximately 120 people showed up. The speakers included Lani Ka'ahumanu, co-editor of Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out.
  The conference continued annually until it took a three-year break starting in 2005. In 2008, the first year the conference returned, only around 80 people attended. Funding more than quadrupled between 2008 and 2009. In 2009, over 300 people attended. 
  On June 4, 2014, Governor of Minnesota Mark Dayton issued a written proclamation declaring, "Bisexual Empowerment Conference, A Uniting, Supportive Experience (BECAUSE) is the largest and longest-running conference on bisexuality in the nation" and "the only annual conference on bisexuality in the United States." As a result, he declared June 6-8, 2014, Bisexual Empowerment Days in the State of Minnesota. Mayor of Minneapolis Betsy Hodges declared June 7, 2014, to be Bisexual Empowerment Day in the City Of Minneapolis. Approximately 200 people attended that year. 
  Over 400 people attended in 2016. The theme for the 25th anniversary conference in 2017 was Coming Home: A Bi+ Past, Present, and Future.
  Robyn Ochs has presented at the conference in multiple years. She was a keynote speaker in 2009. She was also a speaker in 2019.
caption: A bisexual pride flag.