The idea for the organization developed from a group of friends who complained there werenít enough healthy activities for gay and lesbian professionals outside of the club scene.

The group is hosted on the popular Meetup.com website. Meetups are any organized gatherings of women and men with similar interests. The Chicagoland Gay and Lesbian Professionals Group formed in early April of this year and now hosts 75 members, making it one of the largest such groups in Meetup.com's national directory. Current members come from diverse backgrounds such as law, sales and the health care industry. The group currently counts RNs, MBAs, MDs and several PhDs as members.

Membership is free, although members are encouraged to donate if they wish to help with maintaining the cost of the website. Organizers try to screen for members with professional backgrounds who will be a good fit with the existing group. Once becoming a member each individual has the opportunity to build a "profile" to allow members to get to know each other better. The group also encourages members to post a photo, which is optional. Member profiles are viewable by other members but not by the public.

There is no set format to the events the group sponsors. Activities are generally chosen by group consensus as determined by voting in website polls and discussion on message boards. Thus far, the group has organized dinners, sponsored a group outing to a Ravinia concert, attended the opening ceremonies of the Gay Games as a group and participated in many other activities.

For additional information see the groupís website.