IT GETS BETTER

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ We’re the org with a mission to uplift, empower, and connect LGBTQ+ youth around the globe! Website | Get Help | TikTok | Twitch | Youtube | Instagram Shop Queer Merch | Linktree

[itgetsbetter]

hi there, we're It Gets Better 🌈

our nonprofit mission: to uplift, empower, and connect LGBTQ+ youth around the globe. we envision a world where all LGBTQ+ youth are free to live equally, connect to their communities, and know their power as individuals.

our site: itgetsbetter.org

other socials and resources:

Linktree

IG

Youtube

Twitch

TikTok

Bsky

FB

join our newsletter

imi - our free mental health tool made with and for LGBTQ+ youth (no sign-ups or downloads, and there's a safe exit button)

a database of LGBTQ+ resources and crisis hotlines

artist? add yourself to our artist database for potential collabs/commissions

streamer? apply to work with us here

📣 Digital Pride IS BACK! Can't attend a Pride event in person this year? Join creators as they stream all June long to support our LGBTQ+ youth programs on Twitch.

📣 Youth Voices applications are OPEN! If you're LGBTQ+ and 14-18 in the U.S., learn more and apply here by June 21.

Asks currently open - we use them as a space for you to share your own "it gets better" story, or drop a positive message you'd like to share with LGBTQ+ youth (we sometimes re-share your lovely stories and messages, so we use asks so that you have the option to remain anon).

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ Keep reading for more cool queer stuff:

We got our start over 15 years ago telling classic "it gets better" stories and sharing advice for LGBTQ+ youth on Youtube. But here's some cool stuff we did last year:

Granted $1.6 million since 2022, funding 172 youth-led Changemakers projects in 48 states, Washington D.C., and 9 Canadian provinces, with 28 new projects this year. 

Reached 205,000 people since 2022 with our digital mental health resource imi, including 35,000 new users in 2025. 

130 LGBTQ+ streamers were live for 350 hours as part of It Gets Better: A Digital Pride Experience on Twitch 

Our annual Global Summit attracted participants from 13 different countries.

And 18 LGBTQ+ authors rallied supporters and book lovers for our inaugural Summer Reading Challenge

feels like just scratching the surface, tbh!

we're a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and rely on support from followers like y'all - here's where to donate: itgetsbetter.org/donate. There's even a recurring option that starts at just $10/month! And we've got queer merch, too - proceeds benefit our work, of course.

if you're not able to donate, reblogs and shares of our posts and work to spread the word is always a big help!

[itgetsbetter]

"how can you say 'it gets better' for lgbtq+ youth at a time like this?"

we get asked this sometimes. well...turns out y'all show us exactly how, every day.

you've submitted nearly 100 of your own "it gets better" stories in our asks so far this year alone. most of them aren't referencing a big political win or huge moment of cultural change. more often than not, it's about the little things. you've told us how things got better for you after:

-finding a label that suits your identity

-coming out to a friend, family member, or even just yourself

-moving to a new place or school

-hearing your voice after starting hrt

-finally fitting in with a chosen family

-finding a style that makes you feel confident

-someone in your life learning to accept you

-receiving your first binder or a new haircut

-getting your first apartment or going to college and feeling free

-being in a loving, accepting relationship or partnership

this is what "better" often looks like - small moments of queer joy or positive change, a little bit at a time, that give you hope and propel you forward. this is what we work for.

p.s. - today is Give OUT Day, and our board has agreed to match all of your donations up to $10,000. so if you want to help us create more moments like these through our lgbtq+ youth programs, now's the best time to do it! you can drop a donation here to get it doubled and learn where your support goes: itgetsbetter.org/donate

[itgetsbetter]

I genuinely thought nothing would be good, that i would always be a freak.

But my parents both accept me, even my conservative dad!

I got my deed poll signed so now my chosen name is my legal name!

I got listed as a boy on my school sports list!

I am getting published in a magazine for an essay i wrote under my chosen name, life really gets better, i truly am glad i never took my life because then i wouldn't know the joy of being a proud trans omni asexual!

so happy for you - congrats on the essay too and sharing your story!

[itgetsbetter]

🌈 attn LGBTQ+ youth: Youth Voices applications are open!

every year, we get to work with a group of incredible LGBTQ+ young people from across the country through Youth Voices, our paid youth leadership training program. honestly, one of the best parts of the program is watching y'all realize just how much power your stories, ideas, and creativity have.

if you're 14–18 and in the U.S., Youth Voices is a chance to build leadership, storytelling, advocacy, and digital literacy skills. you'll work with mentors, help shape content and campaigns that reach queer young people around the world, and create a final project that's meaningful to you.

you'll also meet a whole cohort of other LGBTQ+ youth leaders who care about making change in their schools and communities. those connections end up being one of the things participants talk about most.

can't wait to meet you all - learn more and apply by june 21:

itgetsbetter.org/YouthVoices

[isbergillustration]

Prideful Awooing

[its-emimi]

Happy Pride month! 🌈

[itgetsbetter]

thank u clippy

[crabussy]

trans women and trans men and nonbinary people and everyone else being friends and holding each other close and falling in love and thinking of each other. I'm making this my future. let's all be okay together

[bramblebeau]

arise queers

[genderqueerpositivity]

(Image description: 10 pride flags with text that says "Queer kids deserve safety, support, and acceptance." in white and black text. The flags are the original Baker rainbow, intersex, aromantic, asexual, bisexual, pansexual, sapphic, lesbian, gay man, and abrosexual flags.)

[my-dailydreams]

[itgetsbetter]

big announcement: Digital Pride is back!!!

all throughout june, some of our fave LGBTQ+ creators are streaming, hosting charity events, doing marathons, playing games, hanging out, and raising money for our lgbtq+ youth programs.

we keep bringing digital pride back every year because we know not every queer young person can safely or easily access pride events in person. whether it’s because of where you live, finances, safety, disability, family circumstances, or anything else - you still deserve community, celebration, and queer joy.

we’ll be sharing stream announcements and schedules on IG and bsky throughout the month so you know exactly when and where to tune in and support.

see y'all in chat. <3

[itgetsbetter]

first up: digital pride RELAY!

happy to announce that 1UP Gaming Festival came back for their 3rd annual Pride charity event. over 30 streamers will stream across 7 days while raising funds for our lgbtq+ youth programs (honoreddd)!

their goal is to help us raise $5,000 - see their schedule here, meet the creators, see what games and activities they'll be streaming, and make a donation to support their goal: 1upgamingfestival.com/pride26

[itgetsbetter]

the Great Palia Charity Hunt is BACK and they're raising funds for our lgbtq+ youth programs!

hosted by Behind_TheLash_Streaming, you can follow along all pride month long as 50+ streamers compete head-to-head, mining for rare star stones all around Palia, while raising funds for It Gets Better.

we've got the full schedule here.

their goal is $20,000 for queer youth (!!) - y'all can see upcoming streams, drop in, and make a donation to support their goal here: tiltify.com/@behindthelash/tgpch19pride

[itgetsbetter]

big announcement: Digital Pride is back!!!

all throughout june, some of our fave LGBTQ+ creators are streaming, hosting charity events, doing marathons, playing games, hanging out, and raising money for our lgbtq+ youth programs.

we keep bringing digital pride back every year because we know not every queer young person can safely or easily access pride events in person. whether it’s because of where you live, finances, safety, disability, family circumstances, or anything else - you still deserve community, celebration, and queer joy.

we’ll be sharing stream announcements and schedules on IG and bsky throughout the month so you know exactly when and where to tune in and support.

see y'all in chat. <3

[itgetsbetter]

first up: digital pride RELAY!

happy to announce that 1UP Gaming Festival came back for their 3rd annual Pride charity event. over 30 streamers will stream across 7 days while raising funds for our lgbtq+ youth programs (honoreddd)!

their goal is to help us raise $5,000 - see their schedule here, meet the creators, see what games and activities they'll be streaming, and make a donation to support their goal: 1upgamingfestival.com/pride26

[itgetsbetter]

it gets better!!

I was closeted for six years, in a queer relationship for five of them. My family did not know because they would not have supported me, in fact my home life could have genuinely become dangerous. However, during this time their views slowly started changing because of new friends they made and experiences they had.

Last year I came out to them. And it went better than I ever expected. My parents asked if I had a new name I wanted to go by, use my pronouns, ask what terms I prefer. They ask about my partner and invite them to family events.

Change can take years, but it can happen. You might find support from people you never expected to support you.

what a change, so glad to hear this has turned around for you! <3

[itgetsbetter]

I'm a trans man who struggled with gender dysphoria all my life and when I got diagnosed at age 11, I was able to medically transition fairly quickly (hormones around 13 years old) but I was still miserable without being able to get bottom surgery. I still don't remember most of my life until I had surgery at 20 years old. For a while I was depressed in a different way, since I realized I never felt "normal" or at peace until the surgery, everything up until then was clouded by gender dysphoria. But I'm finally getting better and actually embracing my life. I have a job for the first time in a while, and I have a boyfriend who I recently came out to and he is fully accepting of my transition. I can't change the past but I'm okay now, and that's what matters the most.

sounds like it's been a long journey, but happy you have support now <3

[itgetsbetter]

I never expected to make it past 18. I was suicidal from 13-16. Mostly because of institutional racism and misogyny and bullying but also because of serious medical conditions and a delayed sexual awakening and self-discovery.

Indigenous, cishet 30sF, demisexual and sapiosexual. I just learned today that my childhood best friend is gay. I’ve only had 3 serious relationships and they were all bisexual men who disclosed to me after the relationship started, and two of them are polyamorous.

My health is stable. My home is in my ancestral homeland. My spouse is incredibly supportive and understanding and loving and caretaking (and ad nauseum).

Deep, intensive therapy grounded in my culture has helped me realize that, statistically, I shouldn’t have survived my childhood.

I did.

I’m healing.

Living.

Thriving.

To other native youth out there:

You are NOT alone!

it is so important to get support from people who understand us and our backgrounds! so glad you have had this healing.

[itgetsbetter]

I struggled a lot with my gender when I was a little one. When I realized I didn’t feel like a girl, I thought that I was transmasc since that was the only other option that I knew of. For years I thought I was transmasc until I heard of the term agender, I got curious and researched it, and lo and behold, I felt really connected to it. and for years I also had NO CLUE what my sexuality was, and GUESS WHAT. I figured it out,, it was AROACE!!! What I’m saying is that it can take years to figure yourself out, and that’s okay because eventually, you’ll find out who you are and feel soooooo gooooood

this is why education and representation is so important!

glad you are feeling more like yourself these days :)

[itgetsbetter]

annual reminder that this is who pride is for:

❤️ those who are out & proud

🧡 those who aren’t out at all

💛 people still figuring it all out

💚 folks trying out new labels or terms

💙 people who have always known

💜 people who are just realizing

🩷 those out there being loud

🤍 those waiting until it’s safer

🩵 our elders who came before to pave the way

🤎 and youth making change right here, right now

we see you, you're valid, you belong here.

promise.