LGBT+ Support - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

In more than 60 countries, it's a crime to be gay; and in 10, it can cost you your life. All Out is a global movement working to build a world where no person will have to sacrifice their family or freedom, safety or dignity, because of who they are or who they love.

By mobilizing thousands of people globally and working closely with local organizations and activists, we use creative tactics – online and offline – to draw attention to the push for equality for lesbian, gay, bi, and trans (LGBT+) people.

When a moment of crisis or opportunity comes up – an anti-gay law going to a vote, a crackdown on a Pride march, a company making a wrong turn for trans rights – All Out uses technology to give our members inspiring ways to take action.

That's where the power of All Out members shows: from signing a petition to joining a street protest, from sharing content to donating to fund a campaigning tactic, we are thousands of people in every single country on the planet who are always ready to speak up and take a stand for love and equality.

It's easy! You can join the movement and become a member by:

• Signing a petition: The easiest way to become an All Out member is by signing one of our petitions. Online petitions are the main tool we use in our campaigns – hundreds of thousands of electronic signatures represent the people power often needed to push for real world change. You can find our most recent petitions in the Current Campaigns section or on our Facebook page.
• Signing up: You can also go to this page and sign up by simply entering your contact information. Once you sign up, you will receive breaking information on our campaigns around the world and be able to take immediate action. You can unsubscribe at any time. All Out also makes it simple to take action from your phone. If you live in the United States, you can sign up to receive text message alerts around our most crucial campaigns by texting LGBT to 833-757-1907. For users in the UK, you can join our WhatsApp group by clicking this link.
• Making a donation: You can also become a member by making a donation to support our work. You can do that by clicking here. All Out depends on small donations from people like you to keep going – and our small and efficient team ensures that every gift goes a long way. We accept all major credit cards and PayPal.
• Becoming an Equality Champion: Equality Champions are All Out's most committed members and the foundation of all that we do. By giving a monthly gift, they allow us to jump into action at the most critical moments, without hesitation. You can join this brigade of everyday heroes by signing up here!

By taking any of these steps, you become an All Out member and will get updates on all future campaigns where your voice can make a difference in the lives of LGBT+ people.

All Out is an independently governed and financed organization, registered in the United States as a 501(c)(4) non-profit advocacy organization.

We also maintain a 501(c)(3) fund, administered by the Tides Foundation, focused on education and changing hearts and minds. Through the Tides Foundation, All Out is able to accept 501(c)(3) contributions from institutions, funds, and individuals who wish to receive tax exempt status for their donation under the United States tax revenue code.

All Out's global team is advised and governed by our Board of Directors. You can find more information about our Board here. All Out's organizational documents and annual reports on Form 990 can be found here.

Actually, All Out doesn't have offices in the traditional sense. We are a very small and efficient team spread in different cities around the world – click here to see our faces and where we are based.

If possible, tell us where you're based, what kind of support you'd be able to give us and what would be your availability (a few hours a week, one hour a day, etc.).

Areas in which we can use volunteer support include:

• Translations;
• Design;
• Illustration;
• Photography;
• Research;
• Organizing events and protests; etc.

Also, please select "Offer to volunteer" as the subject of your message, so we can direct it to the right person on our team.

That's a very important topic for us, and one about which we can definitely use your suggestions and ideas.

In some of our campaigns (and our mission statement) we refer to our community more broadly, using language like "who you are or who you love," which we believe is a comprehensive way of talking about the complexity of sexual orientation and fluidity of gender identity and expression.

Sometimes we do have to rely on the acronym though – and that's where things get tricky.

For example: in Brazil, you often see the acronym LGBTT, that includes travestis, an identity that is absolutely central in the local movement. In other places, the acronym can't go without the 'I' for intersex people, the 'A' for asexual people, and so on.

Given that All Out has members and runs campaigns around the world, we normally default to 'LGBT' as the most widely accepted and understandable variation of the acronym across languages and national contexts, adding the '+' sign to represent other orientations and identities. By doing that, our intention is certainly not to erase or ignore anyone, but rather to provide an acronym that resonates globally.

Having said that, we would definitely welcome any tips and ideas you might have on how to tackle this issue! Please do share your thoughts with us using our Contact Us form.

All Out was originally founded by Jeremy Heimans and Andre Banks, while both worked at Purpose Campaigns LLC (Purpose.com). The concept for All Out was incubated at Purpose Campaigns and shortly thereafter Purpose Campaigns helped to launch All Out as a separate and independent non-profit organization. Purpose Campaigns continued to provide in-kind support to the movement to help All Out launch and grow.

All Out monitors the news and social media channels to identify situations in which the voices of our members – coming from all over the world – can have a positive impact in the lives of LGBT+ people.

For issues that affect one specific country or region, we work closely with local organizations and follow their lead in defining our strategies.

If you are part of an organization that could use All Out's help on an issue affecting LGBT+ people in your country, region, or local community, please reach out to us! Send us a message using our Contact Us form and we'll work out the best way to move forward.

You can see our current campaigns in the Current Campaigns section. You can also learn about All Out's current campaigns by following us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

If there is an issue in your country or region where you think All Out could help out, you can let us know by using our Contact Us form.

If there's a situation you think we should be aware of happening in your region or country, please let us know using our Contact Us form.

All Out has a small team – around 20 full-time staff – and, while we monitor the news and stay in close contact with our partners around the world, we sometimes miss important things happening to LGBT+ people in certain parts of the planet.

Even when we do know of a certain situation where we could help, there can often be other variables that force us to not move forward with a campaign. That happens, for example, if we are not able to get feedback or coordinate our actions with local organizations. Or if local partners believe an All Out campaign could cause harm or have negative consequences.

You can start your own petition for LGBT+ rights today, right here!

If All Out has sent you an email recently, that means you opted onto our email list through an online form: either by signing a petition through our site or by making a donation to one of our campaigns.

By signing or donating, you automatically become an All Out member and start getting updates from us every time your voice can help push for the rights of LGBT+ people somewhere in the world.

Don't want to be part of the movement? You can unsubscribe here.

The easiest way to do that is to use our All Out Member Centre. After you log in, go to “Update user information” and enter your new email address.

You can also change your email address by unsubscribing your current email here and re-subscribing with your new email here. Note that, by going this route, you will get a couple of messages welcoming you to All Out – that's normal!

The easiest way to do that is to use our All Out Member Centre. After you log in, go to “Update user information” and select your new language preference.

You can also change your preferred language by unsubscribing your current email here and re-subscribing in the correct language. To get your messages:

• In English, sign up here;
• In French, sign up here;
• In German, sign up here;
• In Italian, sign up here;
• In Portuguese, sign up here;
• In Spanish, sign up here.

Note that, once you sign up, you will get a couple of messages welcoming you to All Out – but now they will be coming in the correct language!

If that doesn't work, please let us know using our Contact Us form.

The easiest way to do that is to use our All Out Member Centre. After you log in, go to “Update user information” and enter your name.

You can also change your name by unsubscribing here and re-subscribing with your correct name here. Note that, once you sign up, you will get a couple of messages welcoming you to All Out – but now with your correct name!

If you are part of an organization that would like to partner with All Out on an issue affecting LGBT+ people in your country, region or local community, reach out to us! Our work would not be possible without our important partnerships with LGBT+ organizations from around the globe. Send us a message using our Contact Us form and we'll work out the best way to move forward.

We're going to miss you!

But, if you really don't want to be part of the movement, you can unsubscribe from All Out emails by clicking here (and if you change your mind, we'll be glad to have you back!).

On May 25, 2018, new data protection regulations called the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, went into effect.

The regulations are designed to provide people in the European Economic Area ( EEA ) with more control over how organizations use their personal data.

Here at All Out, we’re committed to doing all that we can to make sure our members know their rights and that we keep our members’ data safe.

Our Privacy Policy explains your rights under GDPR as an All Out Member. By joining our email list and participating in our online campaigns, you’re agreeing to our Privacy Policy.

You can view and update your personal information here.

You can donate by credit card or via PayPal by clicking here. We take your security very seriously and can assure you that our donation page is a secure form.

If you're in the United States, you can also send a check to the below address – unfortunately, we currently can't accept donations by check from other countries. Please note that gifts made online and via check are not tax-deductible under US tax revenue code.

All Out Action Fund, Inc.
169 Madison Ave.
STE 11089
New York, NY 10016

If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation under the United States tax revenue code, please send a check to our fiscal sponsor, the Tides Foundation, via the below address – please see the following question for further information.

In order to process a United States tax exempt donation to All Out, please send checks payable to the Tides Foundation, with All Out Action Fund in the memo line of the check.

For postal mail:
Tides Foundation
The Presidio
P.O. Box 29903
San Francisco, CA – 94129

For FedEx or UPS deliveries:
Tides Foundation
1014 Torney Avenue
San Francisco, CA – 94129

Tides will provide you with a receipt and proof of donation for your federal charitable income tax deductions and your records. Contributions to Tides funds are exempt from federal and state gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes. Tides provides receipts for contributions equal to or above $250.

Please don't hesitate to contact us with further questions using our Contact Us form.

While All Out is a global organization that runs campaigns all over the world, we are legally registered in New York, as a 501(c)(4) charitable organization. Our 501(c)(4) status allows us to engage in political campaigning and advocacy, therefore restricting us from accepting tax-deductible donations.

In order to accept 501(c)(3) contributions from institutions, funds, and individuals who wish to receive tax exempt status for their donation, we maintain a 501(c)(3) fund with the Tides Foundation – a leading fiscal sponsor in the United States.

The Tides Foundation is a nonprofit organization that works at the heart of today's most critical issues, supporting grantees and programs that are core to nonprofit infrastructure and social service delivery. Tides provides fiscal sponsorship for over 230 groups across the United States, operates and supports green nonprofit centers, and grants millions each year to charitable organizations across the globe.

The easiest way to cancel a recurring donation is to use our All Out Member Centre. After you log in, go to “Update recurring donations” and select “Cancel donation.” Alternatively, you can use our Contact Us form to request a cancellation.

If you would like to make changes to a one-time gift to All Out, please use our Contact Us form selecting the option “Donation problem” in the dropdown menu. Make sure to include your full name, email address, current donation amount and method of payment (for example, credit card or PayPal).

The easiest way to update a recurring donation made with a credit card is to use our All Out Member Centre. After you log in, go to “Update recurring donations” where you can update the card information or gift amount.

If you would like to update a recurring donation made through PayPal, please login to your PayPal account and make the necessary change. If you have any trouble, please don't hesitate to contact us using our Contact Us form to request the changes. Make sure to select the option “Donation problem” in the dropdown menu.

Unfortunately, text alerts are only available for United States numbers.

If you're in the US, you can sign up by texting LGBT to 833-757-1907 or by adding your mobile number when you sign one of our petitions.

If you're in the UK, you can sign up for WhatsApp alerts by clicking this link.

If you're not in one of the above countries, make sure to sign up to get out email alerts here. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to see the latest on our campaigns.

If All Out has sent you a mobile message recently, that means you signed a petition through our site and opted in to receiving SMS updates by adding your mobile number, or joined All Out's WhatsApp group.

Getting mobile alerts about our campaigns is an easy way to find out whenever your voice can help push for the rights of LGBT+ people somewhere in the world.

Don't want to get our mobile alerts anymore? Just text STOP in response to any message you get from us and you will be unsubscribed.

For users in the US: If you want to stop receiving SMS alerts from All Out, text STOP in response to our most recent message and you will be unsubscribed.

For users in the UK: If you want to stop receiving WhatsApp alerts from All Out, text STOP in response to our most recent message and you will be unsubscribed.

Grassroots Giving is a groundbreaking fundraising program connecting All Out's large global audience to LGBT+ grassroots groups. Through this program, thousands of All Out members make small donations online, with the goal of funding projects for groups working to end inequality, discrimination, and injustices against LGBT+ people, or otherwise help or empower local LGBT communities.

Grassroots organizations Proposals

Grassroots organizations can submit a proposal to All Out for a US$5,000 to US$10,000 grant to be used to fund a specific project (i.e. Pride march, tv advert, legal fees) or to help fund a specific program (i.e. providing safe shelter for homeless LGBT+ youth, relocating LGBT+ refugees, providing emergency support for LGBT+ activists). You can find examples of past fundraisers here and here.

Because All Out is a small non-profit of highly skilled digital activists, we're able to execute these fundraisers very quickly. The demands of larger grant makers often make it impossible for smaller organizations to apply for funding rapidly and with minimum bureaucracy. The Grassroots Giving Fund can help fill this gap.

If you are interested in learning more, you can download an information sheet here.

To apply for a grant through Grassroots Giving, submit an application here.

While fundraisers will vary greatly, there are basic criteria for funding proposals we encourage groups to meet:

• The project should positively impact the safety, rights, or dignity of LGBT+ people.
• There should be a tangible problem which this project will help solve or address.
• The project should be realistic and within the reach of the organization to complete.
• It's best to submit a proposal for a project that will happen within the next 1 to 6 months so we can plan appropriately.
• The project should be for US$5,000 to US$10,000.

If project proposals meet these requirements, organizations can apply for a grant by completing the form here.

Please send us a message using our Contact Us form. Make sure to select 'Grassroots Giving' in the 'My message is about…' field.

Queer-to-Queer is All Out's peer-to-peer giving platform. It's a place where All Out members can start their own fundraiser to help fund All Out's global campaigns for LGBT+ rights. Anyone can use this fundraising tool to raise money in support of All Out's work. To learn more, including how to set up your own peer-to-peer fundraiser, click here.

"Peer-to-peer" means that All Out members contact each other, and their networks of friends and family, to invite donations. This is in contrast to traditional fundraising campaigns that rely solely on organizations reaching out to potential donors.

Queer-to-Queer is a fundraising tool for raising money in support of All Out’s campaigns for global LGBT+ rights. This tool is not publically available for personal fundraisers or fundraisers for other organizations that are not already in partnership with All Out.