Rainbow Youth and OUTLine have teamed up to launch a new awareness and sustainable fundraising campaign entitled “WTF”. 


Rainbow Youth’s Sam Shore and OUTLine’s Sam Orchard got together in December to discuss the work both organisations do and decided that a coordinated approach to fundraising and awareness would suit the organisations in 2012. 


“Both organisations recognised that we have a national focus and reach huge sectors of the community,” says Sam. “We deal with everyone from youth to the elderly, as well as across the spectrum of sexuality and gender identity as well. 


“Both OUTLine and Rainbow Youth have experienced some of our biggest years – we have never been more heavily used as services – but we are losing staff because of a lack of funding. We need a more sustainable model, and that’s where WTF comes in.”


Sam says WTF is a “strengths-based, energy driven campaign” that reflects the tenacity needed to battle the discrimination many Kiwis still face. 
“We will be outsourcing to various industry professionals in order to pull together the resources to make a clean, savvy looking promo clip for this campaign, with posts running along the lines of:


Did you know my best friend can’t take his boyfriend to the school ball, WTF?
Did you know my daughter doesn’t have the same rights as the rest of my children, WTF?
Did you know I still can’t ask my partner of ten years to marry me, WTF?


“We have a number of celebrities already showing interest and we wish to make the project as big, bold and noisy as we can and to send a clear message that the WTF campaign is for everybody who cares about equality – especially for all our straight allies out there!”


The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness of staggering amount of work that both orgnaisations do, and their immense contribution to New Zealand. The campaign will be headed under three strands: 


Old and young: Rainbow Youth and OUTLine have services that cover a wide range of community members, particularly some of our most vulnerable age groups.

Mental health: The two groups help to enhance well-being and address GLBT over-representation in mental health statistics.

Whanau and community: Both organisations reach out to communities and whanau who wish to connect to the rainbow communities.


Sam has clear ideas about how the community can help. “We’re hoping that people will see the online presence of the campaign and want to get involved by making their own WTF slogans (such as ‘Where’s the funds?’ or ‘We’re too fabulous!’) and making WTF videos.


“We’re also hoping that people will commit to regularly giving to the organisations, even if it’s just $5 a month. Sure, that’s only $60 a year, but imagine if 100 people gave that much!”


Look out for the campaign online in February, or visit www.wtf.org.nz to stay up-to-date.