The controversy over Target and Best Buy contributions to a Minnesota political action committee funding anti-LGBT gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer has reached mammoth proportions. Hundreds of thousands of boycott notices have been delivered to both companies. Those protesting range from LGBT community members upset with Emmer's negative social agenda to those upset with Target's and Best Buy's "buying" of elections through their $150,000 and $100,000 contributions, respectively.

Regardless of any external controversy, one of those companies is continuing in its commitment to offer safe, welcoming and inclusive workplaces for their LGBT employees. Campus Pride's executive director, Shane Windmeyer, experienced that commitment firsthand this week when he was invited as a special guest to address the PRIDE Employee Business Network (EBN) at the Best Buy district headquarters in Charlotte, which oversees the company's Territory 7 including all stores located in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee.

Windmeyer was invited to speak about "Community Partnerships" -- a core belief of Best Buy in enhancing relations with various components and communities of diversity. The PRIDE EBN is an internal Best Buy network with various regional representations of employees who actively work to embrace LGBT employees and customers as well as enhance Best Buy outreach and relations. In 2008, Best Buy through it's employee volunteer program had a student named Zach Rose-Heim who initiated the community partnership with Campus Pride. Best Buy became an annual community partner by donating equipment, goods and services to the Campus Pride Summer Leadership Camp and also making a $2500 monetary donation through Zach's volunteer time.

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Despite that recent boycott controversy Windmeyer agreed to speak with the PRIDE East EBN in hopes of building upon the two-year relationship and continuing the "community partnership" program nationally. Windmeyer said the commitment to outreach was definitely present at the meeting along with a greater sense that Best Buy needs to continually do more.

In WIndmeyer's words:

Campus Pride and Best Buy have had a wonderful relationship as a result of openly gay employees, who also happen to be college students, like Zach Rose-Heim. People and companies make mistakes. But Best Buy has shown Campus Pride that they do believe in what we do -- and in turn, we have no doubt that future volunteer, partnerships and financial support from Best Buy to Campus Pride will show that Best Buy indeed cares about LGBT employees and customers -- especially college students.

Is it possible for community partnerships and on-going conversations like these to make an impact on Best Buy's -- and other companies' -- strategy on political contributions? Perhaps, and it is worth a shot. People feel the need to speak out in various ways. While there is nothing wrong with boycotts, as they can sometimes deliver a much-needed message and garner media attention to the issues at hand, Campus Pride believes that direct relationships and conversation can also make change.

Some colleges and universities are starting to cut off their relationships with Target and/or Best Buy. Washington University in St. Louis has declined to participate in Target's After Hours Shopping Event, in which colleges bus students to Target stores staying open late.

According to Wash. U.'s student newspaper, Student Life:

University administrators opted to cancel the Target After Hours Shopping Event—a nationwide program in which Target keeps various stores open after hours and provides transportation for college freshmen to shop and receive prizes. This was to be part of the First 40 Days series of events at Wash. U. for the incoming freshmen class.

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Target’s donation rankled LGBT activist groups and garnered attention in media outlets throughout the nation. Jill Carnaghi, associate vice chancellor for student affairs, said that news of the controversial donation prompted her to look into the policies of Emmer and, after discussion with other administrators, ultimately led to the decision to cancel the event.

Campus Pride, a non-profit LGBT advocate organization that works with college campus nationwide, recently announced that Wash. U. was one of 19 campuses to receive five stars, the highest honors, for LGBT friendliness on campus. The ranking is based on a questionnaire fill-out by university administrators and takes into account LGBT- friendly policies and programs and practices on campus.

“We need to walk the walk as well as talk the talk,” Carnaghi said.

Such moves -- "walking the walk" -- are to be commended. But encouraging conversation and relationships are important, too. A key component of social justice work is the belief that all people, no matter how misguided by prejudice, have the ability to turn around. All it takes is someone investing the time and energy to reach out on a person-to-person level. Perhaps, like Windmeyer at Best Buy, schools like Wash. U. can invest time in those types of conversations while sticking to principles and making wise choices on where and how to spend their money.