VideoOut Partners

Corporate Partners

Since 2016, VideoOut has been supported by corporate partners. Partners have sponsored community events, like SpeakOut and Kindness Party. They have also sponsored storytelling tours across the United States allowing us to build one of the world’s largest libraries of LGBTQ+ narratives. Corporate partners are now helping us build the world’s first comprehensive hub of LGBTQ+ information designed to combat misinformation. VideoOut is grateful for the support of our corporate partners.

Community Partners

We have always partnered closely with organizations already doing work in the communities we serve. Whether it’s a large LGBT Center in New York or an affirming church in rural Texas, we are grateful to work with the community to build LGBTQ+ resources. Our motto is “By us, for all!” We believe that by including the community in our process, we build content that is more resonant and authentic — and that’s the best way to affect change.

A Note From Our Executive Director

We create content about LGBTQ+ identity, history, and culture. The truth is, queer and trans people are cool AF. Our identities are boundless, existing despite restrictive social constructs. They open dialogues about how we can live in the expanse of humanity. We’ve always been here, too. Our history is rich and complex, deserving of attention and study. Our extraordinary talents have added countless contributions to culture, from music and art to philosophy and politics. Yet, historically, the way people have talked and written about the LGBTQ+ community has resulted in discrimination, prejudice, and violence. Queer and trans people have been painted as sinners and miscreants. The current

First of all, we are grateful for everyone in our community who has offered their stories and entrusted us to wield them as tools for education and advocacy. First and foremost, our commitment is to LGBTQ+ people.

To support our community, VideoOut works with corporate partners. It’s a delicate balance. We want to do everything we can to support LGBTQ+ people, and we also don’t want to associate with corporations who don’t get it — who are just checking a Pride box every June.

Corporate take over is out of control and a disservice to our mission. The last thing VideoOut wants to do is perpetuate the corporate takeover of Pride or the kind of campaigns that corporations use simply to make them look good. We’re only interested in working with corporations that align with our vision, pay us fairly, and who allow us to own our narrative.

I’m opposed to corporate involvement in Pride marches. It’s not a branding opportunity. For example, when Marriott sponsored us, we had some really tough conversations about how they engage the LGBTQ+ community — and other marginalized communities — and how their holistic support in those intersections matters. We had conversations about Pride, and adamantly opposed a Marriott Pride float. Instead of spending their money on a float, Marriott gave $100k to Immigration Equality.

Personally, I support Reclaim Pride and the Queer Liberation March in NYC, and VideoOut is a member of the Stonewall 50 Consortium — a group of nonprofits who collectively decide how best they can serve the LGBTQ+ community, especially during Pride.

I am not, however, opposed to leveraging the power of corporations to facilitate change, to put money in the pockets of our community, and to raise critical awareness around issues that disproportionately affect LGBTQ+ people.

Over the years, I have denounced rainbow marketing and pink washing, and VideoOut has only worked with corporations that have given us an equal seat at the table, who have fairly compensated us for our work, and who have listened to how we feel they should support our work and the LGBTQ+ community as a whole.

If VideoOut partners with an organization, we always give money back to the community. My philosophy is to funnel corporate money into the hands of the LGBTQ+ community. That’s why we’re looking for corporations who see the value in this kind of partnership and who are brave enough to support our community in a radical, visible, bold way.

For more on how to partner, email us at info@videoout.org.

Thank you,

Jordan Reeves