Our Impact
OUTWORDS records, preserves, and shares the stories of LGBTQ+ elders across the U.S. to build community and catalyze social change. We are the only national organization performing this work, and our impact is tangible and powerful.
RECORD
As of November 2025, OUTWORDS has recorded nearly 400 interviews in 47 states and Washington, D.C. More than 40% of our interviewees are BIPOC individuals, and nearly 30% identify as TGI (transgender, gender non-conforming, intersex). Each year, OUTWORDS devotes 60% of its new interviews to BIPOC individuals, and 50% to TGI people. In this way, we hope not only to avoid past erasure and devaluation of minority voices in the LGBTQ+ community and society at large, but to actively rectify and repair those mistakes.
PRESERVE
OUTWORDS has a dedicated team of professional archivists ensuring that our priceless assets will be impeccably preserved for generations to come. In 2022, we engaged external consultants to create a three-year Digital Preservation Plan. Our digital assets are backed up on mirrored hard drives in three geographically distinct physical locations. Our interview transcripts are printed on acid-free paper and stored in a purpose-built archival facility. Future storage options include cloud storage and LTO tape. In many ways, preservation is the least sexy, most expensive, and most important part of our mission!
SHARE
From the beginning, OUTWORDS has recognized the life-saving and life-changing power of the stories it records. To date, we’ve shared our stories in book form; via social media and our website; through DEI events for major companies and institutions including Disney, Google, Capital One, and AARP; through museum exhibits and podcasts; and through a broad array of partnerships with other organizations.
The Book of Pride
In 2019, excerpts from the first 75 OUTWORDS interviews were published in The Book of Pride to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. Press called it “a significant tribute to dozens of social justice heroes,” “an essential addition to LGBTQ+ history,” and “A 2019 Activist Must-Read.”
How do we BUILD COMMUNITY?
OUTWORDS facilitates community connection, both locally in Los Angeles and nationally, through the following programs:
- “Rainbow Connections” meetup for Los Angeles-area LGBTQ+ organizations
- Dedicated online community for OUTWORDS interviewees (upcoming)
- Participation in local LA events such as Equality Fashion Week, Queer Prom for Grown-Ups, and drag shows with OUTLOUD and Them Fatale
- Facilitate online conversation and learning through social media
- Present community events such as panels, screenings, and storytelling circles, in-person and online
We also prioritize intergenerational connection in our community-building:
The top age demographic to visit our website is 18-to-24-year-olds.
In 2022, OUTWORDS launched our Youth Advisory Council, developing leadership skills in LGBTQ+ people under the age of 25.
In 2024, OUTWORDS collaborated with One Institute on Youspeak Radio, an intergenerational podcast pairing high school students with California-based LGBTQ+ activists for in-depth conversations that offer insight into our past and ignite students’ passion for changemaking.
Over 40% of the people we reach on social media and who visit our website are under the age of 35.
How do we CATALYZE CHANGE?
Catalyzing change takes years. Measuring that change is hard. Here’s what we know:
Every June, The Book of Pride reappears to occupy prominent shelf space in bookstores (especially airport bookstores!) all over America.
- According to the Trevor Project, LGBTQ+ young people list “knowing their history” and “meeting queer elders” as contributing directly to better mental and emotional health. OUTWORDS is meeting this need.
- OUTWORDS interns and volunteers consistently comment on how meeting their queer elders fortifies their sense of responsibility to work for a better world.
- OUTWORDS interviewees report feeling a deeper sense of appreciation and satisfaction with their life journeys after being interviewed by OUTWORDS. To us, this represents very meaningful change.
Collaborations & Partnerships
In 2023, OUTWORDS collaborated with the Santa Monica History Museum to create Coming Out West: LGBTQ+ Elders Share Their Stories, OUTWORDS’ first-ever museum exhibit. Press called it “remarkable” and “the triumph of community, solidarity, and yes, decades of activism.”
OUTWORDS’ other collaborations include:
- contributing materials to Wing Luke Museum’s Hello Auntie, Hello Uncle exhibition
- joining ONE Archives and LA as Subject’s Hidden Histories: Discovering Los Angeles’ LGBTQ+ Collections project
- participating in Digital Transgender Archive’s “Y’all Better Quiet Down”: Trans BIPOC Digitization Initiative
- presenting live events on the AIDS/LifeCycle ride
- incorporating OUTWORDS interviews into SAGE trainings for caregivers of older adults.
Quick Facts
- In 2023, visitors spent a combined 168 days, 19 hours, and 16 minutes watching OUTWORDS interviews.
- To date, OUTWORDS’ videos have been viewed over 6 million times.
- OUTWORDS has over 40K followers on Instagram and TikTok combined.
- 62K people visit the OUTWORDS website every year.
Your Words, Our Inspiration
“Love your work! Keep going, it is making a big difference!”
“To all you beautiful ladies, nay, beautiful mothers, THANK YOU! For making way for those of us coming behind. I hope the lives we live every day are worthy of your sacrifice. All the Love ❤️”
“Goosebumps. I have nothing but respect, admiration, and thanks to give to the amazing queens, daddys, lesbians, and all members of the older LGBTQ community who fought for the rights we have now, and remind us as the newer generation to stay in the fight.”
“I’m so proud of the older queers who paved the way for us. Thank you for being there for us when the rest of the world was against us.”
“I’ve never even thought about pronouns in this way. This is awesome.”
“This makes me happy and proud of my native heritage.”
“Faith in humanity restored.”
