Iola Foundation

THE MISSION OF IT GETS BETTER 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, CONNECT TO THEIR COMMUNITIES, AND KNOW THEIR POWER AS INDIVIDUALS.

MEDIA:STORYTELLING IS AT THE HEART OF OUR EFFORT TO EMPOWER LGBTQ+ YOUTH AROUND THE GLOBE. WE SHARE STORIES THAT INSPIRE HOPE, STORIES THAT SPARK CONVERSATIONS, AND STORIES THAT CAN INFORM AND POSITIVELY INFLUENCE A SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND/OR GENDER IDENTITY JOURNEY. EVERY IT GETS BETTER STORY OFFERS A UNIQUE, WISDOM-INFUSED PERSPECTIVE DESIGNED TO SHOW LGBTQ+ YOUTH THAT THROUGH COMMUNITY, SHARED EXPERIENCES, AND LIFE-AFFIRMING RESOURCES, THINGS CAN AND WILL GET BETTER. THIS SIMPLE MESSAGE OF HOPE HAS BEEN TRANSLATED ACROSS ALL FORMS OF MEDIA, INCLUDING SOCIAL MEDIA, TELEVISION SPECIALS, BEST-SELLING BOOKS, THEATER, MUSEUM EXHIBITS AND MORE. IT HAS ATTRACTED MILLIONS OF FOLLOWERS AND SUPPORTERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. IT GETS BETTER IS THE DESTINATION FOR LGBTQ+ YOUTH EXPLORING THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND/OR GENDER IDENTITY.IN 2023, THE IT GETS BETTER PROJECT SHARED UPLIFTING CONTENT AND MESSAGES THAT WERE VIEWED MORE THAN 130 MILLION TIMES ACROSS TIKTOK, INSTAGRAM, TWITCH, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, LINKED IN, REDDIT AND TUMBLR, AND MORE THAN 520,000 UNIQUE VISITORS EXPLORED ITGETSBETTER.ORG, OUR INFORMATION-RICH WEBSITE, TO ENGAGE WITH RESOURCES DESIGNED TO INFORM LGBTQ+ YOUTH ON THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND/OR GENDER JOURNEY. EACH YEAR, WE ARE ENGAGING WITH NEARLY 850,000 YOUNG PEOPLE THROUGHOUT OUR MEDIA AND WEBSITE CHANNELS. IT GETS BETTER CONTENT ALSO WON SEVERAL AWARDS IN 2023, INCLUDING WEBBY, TELLY AND ANTHEM AWARDS FOR OUR 2022 ORIGINAL CONTENT SERIES QUEER SEX ED; A WEBBY AWARD FOR OUR SHORT FORM GLOSSARY COMPANION SERIES LGBTQ+ FUNDAMENTALS; AN ANTHEM AWARD FOR HUMAN & CIVIL RIGHTS FOR IT GETS BETTER WITH OLIVIA JULIANNA; AND THE SHORTY AWARD FOR BEST ART & CULTURE PODCAST FOR SEASON ONE OF OUR ORIGINAL TWITCH VODCAST PERFECTLY QUEER. IT GETS BETTER'S TWITCH AMBASSADOR AND AFFILIATE PROGRAMS CONTINUED TO EXPAND TO MORE THAN 110 STREAMERS WHOSE COLLECTIVE STREAMING HOURS AMASSED AN IMPRESSIVE 540K LIVE VIEWS (UP MORE THAN 1400% FROM 2022) AND 2M MINUTES VIEWED (UP NEARLY 300%). ALL OF OUR PRIDE MONTH STREAMS WERE FEATURED ON THE TWITCH HOMEPAGE, FURTHER ESTABLISHING OUR STANDING AS THE MOST POPULAR LGBTQ+ NONPROFIT ON THE PLATFORM. THROUGHOUT JUNE, OUR TWITCH AMBASSADORS AND CHARITY STREAMERS AVERAGED 143 CONCURRENT LIVE VIEWERS AND LOGGED MORE THAN 380 HOURS OF STREAMING.

EDUCATION:IT GETS BETTER EDU EXISTS TO ENSURE OUR UPLIFTING AND INFORMATIVE STORIES REACH LGBTQ+ YOUTH AND THEIR PEERS WHEREVER LEARNING TAKES PLACE. WITH AN IMPACTFUL YOUTH AMBASSADOR PROGRAM, STUDENT-DRIVEN GRANTMAKING INITIATIVES, AND A GROWING LIBRARY OF FREE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FOR EDUCATORS AND STUDENT LEADERS, THOUSANDS OF MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ENGAGE WITH IT GETS BETTER EDU PROGRAMMING EVERY YEAR.IN 2023, IT GETS BETTER EDU, WITH SUPPORT FROM AMERICAN EAGLE AND THEIR GENEROUS CUSTOMERS, RETURNED WITH SEASON TWO OF 50 STATES. 50 GRANTS. 5,000 VOICES, AWARDING NEARLY $600,000 IN GRANTS TO SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA. GRANTS WERE AWARDED TO 67 SCHOOLS IN 40 U.S. STATES AND NINE CANADIAN PROVINCES TO SUPPORT A RANGE OF LGBTQ+ INCLUSIVE PROJECTS. THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, OUR 10 YOUTH VOICES AMBASSADORS PROVED THEMSELVES TO BE STELLAR SPOKESPEOPLE FOR THE ORGANIZATION AND THEIR FELLOW LGBTQ+ YOUTH, TALKING WITH THE PRESS ABOUT STRUGGLES WITH IDENTIFYING MENTAL HEALTH CARE, STATE MANDATES SURROUNDING LGBTQ+ INCLUSIVE CURRICULUM, ISSUES FACING LGBTQ+ STUDENTS IN SCHOOL, AND ACCESS TO INCLUSIVE SEXUAL EDUCATION. IN OCTOBER, THE YOUTH VOICES TRAVELED TO LOS ANGELES FOR OUR SECOND ANNUAL YOUTH SUMMIT WHERE THEY PARTICIPATED IN A FULL DAY OF LEADERSHIP TRAINING AT THE IT GETS BETTER OFFICES, VISITED THE FUNKO STORE IN HOLLYWOOD, PARTICIPATED IN A PHOTOSHOOT WITH ACCLAIMED PHOTOGRAPHER MAXWELL POTH, AND ATTENDED THE LOS ANGELES LGBT CENTER'S MODELS OF PRIDE EVENT.ADDITIONALLY, THOUSANDS OF EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS WERE DOWNLOADED BY EDUCATORS THROUGHOUT 2023 TO REACH MORE THAN 3,400 EDUCATORS AND MORE THAN 90,000 STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN BOTH ON AND OFFLINE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS.

GLOBAL:IT GETS BETTER IS THE WORLD'S LARGEST STORYTELLING EFFORT TO EMPOWER LGBTQ+ YOUTH. INVESTING IN LOCAL, LIKE-MINDED ORGANIZATIONS OUTSIDE THE US, IT GETS BETTER BRINGS STORYTELLING AND OTHER LIFE-AFFIRMING SUPPORT TO COMMUNITIES OF LGBTQ+ YOUTH AROUND THE GLOBE.BY THE END OF 2023, THE IT GETS BETTER GLOBAL AFFILIATE NETWORK SPANNED 19 COUNTRIES ACROSS FOUR CONTINENTS WITH GLOBAL STORYTELLING EFFORTS HAPPENING IN EIGHT LANGUAGES: ENGLISH, SPANISH, PORTUGUESE, RUSSIAN, GERMAN, GREEK, FRENCH, AND HUNGARIAN. IN MARCH, IT GETS BETTER PROJECT HOSTED A GLOBAL SUMMIT IN TORONTO, A TWO-DAY EVENT SUPPORTED BY THE HOWMET AEROSPACE FOUNDATION AND PINK TRIANGLE PRESS AND CO-HOSTED BY IT GETS BETTER CANADA. THE SUMMIT GATHERED REPRESENTATIVES FROM OUR GLOBAL AFFILIATES IN BRAZIL, CANADA, HUNGARY, INDIA AND THE UNITED KINGDOM, AS WELL AS SPECIAL GUESTS FROM ASIA RAINBOW RIDE IN TAIWAN. GLOBAL GRANTMAKING TOTALED $42,500 IN 2023, WHICH INCLUDED AWARDS TO: (1) THE MUSEUM OF IDENTITY AND PRIDE IN COSTA RICA, TO SUPPORT EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES BENEFITTING LGBTQ+ YOUTH; (2) ASIA RAINBOW RIDE IN TAIWAN, TO GROW AND INCREASE THEIR IMPACT BY RAISING FUNDS FOR LOCAL LGBTQ+ NONPROFITS THAT WORK WITH YOUTH; (3) DARA COMUNIDAD IN BOLIVIA, TO ENGAGE MORE THAN 250 LGBTQ+ YOUNG PARTICIPANTS IN ARTISTIC AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS IN THE CITIES OF LA PAZ, COCHABAMBA, AND SANTA CRUZ; AND (4) IT GETS BETTER CANADA, TO SUPPORT THEIR EFFORTS TO LAUNCH THEIR OWN SCHOOL-BASED GRANT PROGRAM, IT GETS BETTER - YOUTH GRANTS. ADDITIONALLY, IT GETS BETTER ESPAOL INITIATIVE WAS GIVEN A GIANT BOOST IN 2023 THANKS TO A THREE-YEAR COMMITMENT FROM CONVERSE TO SUPPORT OUR CAPACITY-BUILDING EFFORTS TO EXPAND IT GETS BETTER STORYTELLING INITIATIVES, EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING, AND GLOBAL COMMUNITY-BUILDING EFFORTS TO POSITIVELY IMPACT SPANISH-SPEAKING LGBTQ+ YOUTH AUDIENCES HERE IN THE US AND ABROAD.