Organizations Filed Purposes:
The It Gets Better Project's mission is to uplift, empower, and connect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) youth around the globe.
The mission of the It Gets Better Project is to uplift, empower, and connect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) youth around the globe. Its vision is a world where all LGBTQ+ youth are free to live equally and know their worthiness and power as individuals.
The It Gets Better Project works in all forms of media to bring messages of hope to LGBTQ+ youth and to spark conversations about the challenges they confront. The It Gets Better Project's online video collection and social media platforms are at the center of its global messaging and outreach to youth. Every video offers a unique perspective, but the core message in each is the same: telling LTBTQ+ youth that, whatever their circumstances, it gets better. This simple message has attracted over one million social media followers from around the world - a number that continues to grow every month.In 2019, It Gets Better stories were viewed 7.8 million times, with a total of 11.4 million minutes watch through social outlets like YouTube and Facebook. Popular stories of the year included Maxwell Poth, Emily Estefan, Nelle Stevenson, Travis Flores, Josie Totah, Corey Rae, Harper Waters, Jackson Bird, Georgel, Solomon Ray, Austin Crute, Noah Galvin - and many, many more, which can be seen at ItGetsBetter.org.
In addition to its foundation in the United States, the It Gets Better Project supports a network of 17 international affiliates Argentina, Austria, Brail, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Greece, Guatemala, India, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Each affiliate uses the power o the It Gets Better message in its own unique way to facilitate positive change for LGBTQ+ youth - while always keeping the power of storytelling font and center. Through coordinated efforts both domestically and overseas, working alongside its affiliates, the It Gets Better Project is able to bring the expertise of established organizations into regions where resources for LGBTQ+ youth are scarce.The It Gets Better Project offers its affiliates continuing education opportunities in the form of global summits. In 2019, the It Gets Better Project hosted the It Gets Better 2019 Global Summit in New York, NY in parallel with WorldPride and the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. These events are opportunities for members of the It Gets Better Project's Global Affiliate Network to connect, discuss global issues impacting LGBTQ+ young people, and learn new strategies to improve outcomes in their markets.The It Gets Better Project also presents an annual, competitive great opportunity for the It Gets Better Global Affiliate Network. The opportunity provides much-needed financial support to It Gets Better efforts abroad, in addition to helping affiliates prepare for other grant opportunities outside of the It Gets Better family. This year, three organizations, representing Canada, Mexico, and Guatemala, received It Gets Better grants.
The It Gets Better Project participates in Pride events, LGBTQ+ conferences, and a range of other activities around the world to interact directly with LGBTQ+ young people and hear from them about the issues they feel are most important to them. The It Gets Better Project then identifies existing resources or collaborates with partners to develop new resources to address these needs. Through this collaborative approach, the It Gets Better Project has improve the visibility of well-established organizations that provide services for LGBTQ+ youth. It has also generated opportunities for focus on emerging issues ranging from the participation of LGBTQ+ youth in recreational and professional sports to transgender health and wellness. The It Gets Better Project acts as a bridge for LGBTQ+ youth to connect with the community that cares so deeply about them, and it uses the power of collaboration to share positive messages of hope and resiliency.Representatives from the It Gets Better Project were invited to present at multiple events throughout the year, including the ILGA World Conference in Wellington; Models of Pride, the Los Angles LGBT Center's annual youth conference; Teach for America's Las Vegas Brave Education Summit; EF Summits in New York and Davos, Switzerland, which cater to youth audiences interested in creating positive change in the world; South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival and its education-focused predecessor SXSW EDU; Camp Brave Trails, a popular camp for LGBTQ+ youth in San Bernardino, CA; and Time to Thrive!, the Human Rights Campaign's annual conference for educators.
Executives Listed on Filing
Total Salary includes financial earnings, benefits, and all related organization earnings listed on tax filing
| Name | Title | Hours Per Week | Total Salary |
|---|
| Brian Wenke | CEO | 40 | $139,440 |
| Julie Tarney | Director | 5 | $0 |
| Stephanie Ruyle | Director | 5 | $0 |
| Shaun Lewis | Director | 5 | $0 |
| Avrielle Gallagher | Director | 5 | $0 |
| Paul Dien | Director | 5 | $0 |
| Brian Pines | Secretary & Treasurer | 5 | $0 |
| Seth Levy | Chair & President | 5 | $0 |
Data for this page was sourced from XML published by IRS (
public 990 form dataset) from:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/irs-form-990/202012969349301216_public.xml