THE TIME TO GIVE A F _ CK IS NOW!
Listen—I get it.
These days it’s nearly impossible to scroll social media or watch news coverage without being outraged at the state of the world. Anger is a fantastic motivator, but it becomes exhausting and overwhelming to continuously maintain the level of justified rage necessary to affect change. You can’t fight every battle; no one can.
However, I can’t overstate that legislators across the country have introduced a combined total of at least 1,037 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the last two years. War is being waged on queer identities—and the literal lives of Black LGBTQ+ people are on the line.
Give A F_ck is BlaqOut’s response to the hate. This community-based public awareness campaign is designed to spark conversations, bridge gaps, and inspire action to protect and support the lives, health, safety, and acceptance of the Black LGBTQ+ community.
It’s important to remember that our goal is to create meaningful impact—not to undermine the gravity of the issues we address. Our choice of campaign theme reflects our recognition that people take notice when an issue is presented in an unexpected and attention-grabbing way. We hope the bold, unapologetic approach of Give A F_ck will spark interest among a broader audience, encouraging them to take notice of and—more importantly—take action to address the very real and urgent challenges faced by Black LGBTQ+ people.
Through the campaign, we aim to raise funds that will directly support BlaqOut’s programs and services, helping us make tangible changes in the lives of Black LGBTQ+ people. At the same time, the attention generated by the campaign will shine a light on the challenges we address, reaching individuals who might never have been exposed to these critical issues before.
This work will be hard. It has been hard. As manager of this campaign, I’ve been challenged in ways I never imagined—both personally and professionally. However, it’s my sincerest hope that after learning more about the campaign you feel, as I do, that this crucial and necessary work was, is, and continues to be worth it.
I invite you to join BlaqOut on this journey, embrace the spirit of the campaign, and demonstrate that you truly care about the lives, health, safety, and acceptance of the Black LGBTQ+ community!
With gratitude for every f_ck you give.
Mathew Davis, Director of Communications
Give A F ck Campaign Manager
SPARK CONVERSATIONS LEARN
EXPLORE WAYS TO LEVERAGE THE POWER OF WORD-OF-MOUTH TO GENERATE DISCUSSION ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN AND ITS CRITICAL MISSION.
CHOOSE YOUR LEVEL OF INVOLVEMENT:
CASUAL
Let’s take it slow! These activities offer easy, low-stakes opportunities to get involved and show you give a f_ck.
Educate and Inform
Share informative articles, videos, or graphics about the challenges faced by the Black LGBTQ+ community to raise awareness among your networks.
Watch and Learn
View videos made by local Black LGBTQ+ community members and allies explaining why, now more than ever, it’s time to give a f_ck.
INVOLVED
Things are getting serious! Up the ante and your engagement with these activities that show you f_ck with us.
Share Your “Why”
It doesn’t matter if you’re LGBTQ+ or an ally, we want to know why you support the Black LGBTQ+ community. Share your reasons, then challenge your friends to do the same.
Email Signature and Profile Picture
Add campaign graphics to your email signature and update your social media profile picture to promote the cause.
COMMITTED
Now we’re locked in! Demonstrate your dedication to giving a f_ck for the long haul with these activities.
Community Conversations
Facilitate discussions with friends and family about the importance of supporting marginalized communities, including Black LGBTQ+ individuals.
BRIDGE GAPS CONNECT
DISCOVER IDEAS THAT EMBRACE THE SPIRIT OF THE CAMPAIGN AND FOSTER DEEP, LASTING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES.
CHOOSE YOUR LEVEL OF INVOLVEMENT:
CASUAL
Let’s take it slow! These activities offer easy, low-stakes opportunities to get involved and show you give a f_ck.
Spread Awareness
Share BlaqOut’s posts and content on your social media platforms to amplify their reach and engage your followers.
Hash/Tag Us
Use the hashtag #BlaqOutGAF and tag BlaqOut (@blaqoutkc) on Facebook, Instagram, and X in posts that show how you give a f_ck.
INVOLVED
Things are getting serious! Up the ante and your engagement with these activities that show you f_ck with us.
Engage with Influencers
Reach out to social media influencers or bloggers who align with the cause, and ask them to share information about the campaign.
COMMITTED
Now we’re locked in! Demonstrate your dedication to giving a f_ck for the long haul with these activities.
Community Outreach
Organize a local event to distribute campaign materials, engage in conversations, and raise awareness in your area.
INSPIRE ACTION ACT
TAKE STEPS TO GET INVOLVED AND CREATE MEANINGFUL IMPACT THROUGH ACTIONS THAT PROTECT AND SUPPORT THE BLACK LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY.
CHOOSE YOUR LEVEL OF INVOLVEMENT:
CA SUAL
Let’s take it slow! These activities offer easy, low-stakes opportunities to get involved and show you give a f_ck.
Make the Pledge
Sign the Solidarity Pledge to support Black LGBTQ+ people and create safer spaces, and encourage your friends and followers to do the same.
Vote
Making your voice heard at the polls positively impacts Black LGBTQ+ people who are often disproportionately represented by social disparities.
Artistic Expression
Encourage participants to create and share art, poetry, or music that celebrates the resilience and strength of the Black LGBTQ+ community.
INVOLVED
Things are getting serious! Up the ante and your engagement with these activities that show you f_ck with us.
Make a Gift
Dollars drive change! When you donate, you’re not only improving health and wellness outcomes for the Black LGBTQ+ community, you’re changing the lives of Black queer people.
Fundraise
Engage your family and friends in your efforts to support the Black LGBTQ+ community by creating a Facebook fundraiser to support the urgent needs of Black LGBTQ+ people in Kansas City.
Create Space
Actively include Black LGBTQ+ people in community organizing efforts, advocacy, and policy change work to ensure that the subject matter experts contribute to all aspects of the work that directly impacts us.
COMMITTED
Now we’re locked in! Demonstrate your dedication to giving a f_ck for the long haul with these activities.
Become an Ambassador
Go beyond traditional support routes by applying to become an ambassador for the Give A F_ck campaign and making a life-changing impact for Black LGBTQ+ people.
Host a Virtual Event
Organize an online panel discussion, workshop, or webinar on topics related to Black LGBTQ+ issues and invite your friends and followers to attend.
Volunteer Virtually
Offer to help with virtual tasks for BlaqOut, such as creating social media content, designing graphics, or writing blog posts.
Write to Local Media
Pen an op-ed or letter to the editor about the need for healthcare access and safe spaces for the Black LGBTQ+ community, submitting it to local newspapers.
Advocate for Change
Visit your local representatives to advocate for policies that promote inclusivity, equality, and healthcare access for the Black LGBTQ+ community.
GIVING A F _CK THROUGH ADVOCACY
The needs of Kansas City’s Black LGBTQ+ community have not been properly addressed.
Black LGBTQ+ people are disproportionately represented across a range of issues, including health disparities and social service gaps, often experiencing the most harm and the worst outcomes. The diversity of gender expression and sexual orientation within the Black LGBTQ+ community means that our needs vary from person-toperson. Disappointingly, most social service organizations are not equipped to serve our unique needs in ways that are sexually-inclusive, gender-expansive, and traumainformed.
OUR COMMUNITY DESERVES BETTER.
Moreover, our country currently faces an existential threat unlike any that I have seen in my lifetime: Project 2025, an extreme, dangerous political initiative that aims to transform America into an authoritarian state by ending racial equity efforts, eviscerating LGBTQ+ rights and equality, and restricting sexual and reproductive health and rights.
ONCE AGAIN, BLACK LGBTQ+ INDIVIDUALS ARE AT RISK OF HARM.
Advocacy represents a central tenet of BlaqOut’s mission to create a community where Black people of queer and trans experience are connected and supported, have access to safe spaces, and enjoy sufficient resources to help them thrive. Having served as a founding BlaqOut board member—and especially in my current staff position as Manager of Advocacy and Public Policy—I possess a historical understanding of advocacy’s critical role in BlaqOut’s work to prioritize the voices of those closest to harm and furthest from resources.
In fact, advocacy plays such an essential part in the organization that BlaqOut formally adopted it as one of the pillars of our 2025-2030 REACH Beyond Purpose Plan. This represents our commitment to serving the needs of the Black queer community and to a shared policy agenda that we are constructing with our peers.
The fact of the matter is that fighting for the well-being of our community is never easy, but it is necessary in order to ensure our health and safety. While we celebrate our victories together, we also feel each loss—but let me be clear: we have the power to shape our future.
This is our time to be bold, to be relentless, to stand in solidarity, and to claim the future that we deserve. The system wasn’t built for us, but that won’t stop us from tearing it down and replacing it with one that reflects our power, our brilliance, and our undeniable worth.
We invite you to join us!
Devin Hursey, Manager of Advocacy and Public Policy
BQLC: A COMMUNITY MOVEMENT COMMITTED
TO CHANGE
Greetings Fellow Black Queer Leaders,
I am thrilled to introduce an exciting and impactful new initiative that has been close to my heart and in the making for quite some time—The Black Queer Leadership Collective (BQLC). As Founder/President and CEO of BlaqOut, I am honored to spearhead this dynamic coalition created with one simple goal: bring together fellow visionary Black queer leaders who are dedicated to uniting our voices, experiences, and expertise.
At its core, the Collective is a shared opportunity for advocacy, empowerment, and connection. This undertaking is not about any one individual, leader, or organization. Rather, it’s about ALL of us. Which is why we are driven by a shared purpose: to amplify the diverse voices of Black queer and trans individuals in our city and address the unique challenges that we alone face. We must work in solidarity to amplify the voices of today’s Black LGBTQ+ leaders who continue to fight against the growing onslaught of hate that threatens to silence our voices, dismantle legal protections, and indeed, erase our very existence.
The work ahead of us is not easy, but it is necessary. Our city, our community, and our people need something powerful, something unapologetically bold. That’s why we’re coming together—not to play it safe, not to cater to the whims of those who can’t see us, but to disrupt, dismantle, and rebuild systems that have kept us in the margins for too long.
This is not just a moment—it’s a movement, one rooted in the radical belief that we deserve better. But we can’t do this work in isolation. Now is the time to lock arms, share resources, and lead with the fire in our hearts and the wisdom in our spirits. We need each other. This work demands that we move beyond individual achievements and stand as a unified force—a force that won’t be silenced, erased, or ignored.
If you’re committed to leading the charge for change, connecting with fellow leaders, sharing your insights and expertise, and collectively strategizing on building political power within our community, I invite you to use the QR code to the right to complete the brief form expressing your interest in joining the Collective.
Let’s set our sights high. Let’s dare to believe in our collective power. Let’s build a future where Black queer people in Kansas City not only survive but thrive. The stakes are high, but so is our resolve. Together, we can pave the way for positive change and create a brighter future for Black queer individuals in Kansas City.
D. Rashaan Gilmore Founder and President/CEO
BQLC POLICY AND ADVOCACY AGENDA: A PLAN FOR SYSTEMIC CHANGE
In a nation that prides itself on equality and justice for all, the lived experiences of Black LGBTQ+ individuals often reveal a starkly different reality. Our community stands at the intersection of multiple identities, facing compounded challenges that require nuanced and targeted interventions.
The Black Queer Leadership Coalition (BQLC) Policy and Advocacy Agenda is intended to be a consolidated document of the policy interests of Black queer people in the Kansas City area. This agenda will serve as a road map for BlaqOut’s work as it pertains to or intersects with policy, providing a structured process for priority setting and program development. In other words, we need to establish what it is that we want before we determine how to get what we want.
Working in concert with the members of the BQLC, this agenda will guide BlaqOut’s advocacy and policy program by laying out clear priorities to drive systemic change. Missouri led the nation in the 2024 legislative session on antiLGBTQ+ bills, particularly those targeting the transgender community. Many of these bills create barriers to gender-affirming care and restrict how transgender youth participate in the public education system. As we move toward a more equitable future, it is imperative that we address these intersecting issues with urgency and dedication.
Outlined throughout this document is our strategic approach to addressing the most pressing social, political, and health priorities of the Black LGBTQ+ community, drawing directly from the voices and experiences within our community. Our goal is to drive systemic change, ensuring that every individual can live with dignity, safety, and equality. This agenda is both a call to action and a road map for achieving systemic change, ensuring that our community can thrive in all aspects of life.
Crafted by BlaqOut and consistent with its five-year REACH Beyond Purpose Plan, this policy and advocacy agenda aims to illuminate the path forward by presenting actionable strategies to address the social, political, and health priorities of the Black LGBTQ+ community from 2025 to 2030.
What follows is a list of the top 10 public policy and advocacy imperatives which BlaqOut has identified as the core issues we hope to address in cooperation and partnership with the groups and individuals that make up the Black Queer Leadership Collective.
In future planning sessions, the BQLC will help draft multi-level strategies and interventions for each policy area. These multi-level strategies and interventions will encompass and address each of the following levels of influence and advocacy: individual, community, citywide, statewide, and national.
TOP 10 BQLC PUBLIC POLICY AND ADVOCACY IMPERATIVES
1. Mental Health Support
Addressing mental health issues caused by the dual stigmas of racism and homophobia/transphobia is critical to fostering a resilient and thriving community.
2. Anti-Discrimination Protections
Strengthening legal protections is essential to ensure that our community can live without fear of prejudice and bias.
3. Healthcare Access and Equity
Ensuring equitable healthcare access is critical for improving the overall well-being of our community.
4. Economic Justice
Creating economic justice initiatives is necessary to break the cycle of poverty and promote financial independence.
5. Criminal Justice Reform
Reimagining the justice system is necessary to ensure safety and fairness for our community.
6. Protection from Violence
Ensuring the safety of Black LGBTQ+ people requires comprehensive measures that address the root causes of violence and provide support for survivors.
7. Youth Support and Education
Creating safe and inclusive environments for Black LGBTQ+ youth is essential for their development and success.
8. Housing Security
Ensuring access to safe and affordable housing is a fundamental right that must be upheld.
9. Civic and Political Engagement
Ensuring the voices of Black LGBTQ+ people are heard in the political arena is essential for achieving systemic change.
10. Intersectional Advocacy
Advancing comprehensive advocacy efforts is necessary to ensure that all aspects of our community’s needs are met.
5 BQLC WORKGROUPS
Membership + Solidarity Workgroup:
The Gatekeepers
Purpose: Build a robust and inclusive membership base that reflects the diversity and vibrancy of the Black LGBTQ+ community in Kansas City.
Rapid Response Workgroup:
The First Responders
Purpose: Respond swiftly and effectively to urgent public policy or advocacy needs, ensuring our community’s voice is heard and our rights are defended.
Communications Workgroup:
The Storytellers
Purpose: Craft and share the narratives that amplify our voices and advocate for our community’s needs and rights.
Policy + Advocacy Workgroup:
The Brain Trust
Purpose: Identify, analyze, and advocate for the issues that impact the lives of Black LGBTQ+ individuals and BQLC members.
Activations + Events Workgroup:
The Mobilizers
Purpose: Plan and execute all BQLC events and actions, ensuring seamless logistics and maximum impact.
BQLC BY THE NUMBERS
60 MEMBERS
5 WORKGROUPS
10 POLICY PRIORITIES
1 MISSION
REACH Beyond: 2025-2030 Purpose Plan
At BlaqOut, our work is fueled by more than just a vision—it’s driven by purpose. From our inception, we have always believed that serving the Black LGBTQ+ community requires more than good intentions; it demands a clear, actionable plan that aligns with our deepest commitments. That’s why we’ve crafted BlaqOut’s 20252030 Purpose Plan, known as REACH Beyond—a five-year road map that doesn’t just tell us where to go, but why we’re going there.
This Purpose Plan isn’t a standard strategic document. It’s a bold declaration of our intent to not only meet the needs of our community but to transform lives. While traditional strategic plans often focus on goals and steps, our Purpose Plan is anchored in the very essence of why BlaqOut exists. It’s a promise to deliver on our mission with passion, precision, and purpose. Accordingly, we’ve ensured that every aspect of this plan reflects the urgency and gravity of our mission at a time when there are growing challenges and complexities for those whom we are privileged to serve.
REACH Beyond is built on five powerful pillars: Research, Engagement, Advocacy, Care, and Housing. These pillars address the systemic inequalities that have long plagued our community and lay the foundation for creating spaces where Black LGBTQ+ individuals can thrive. Yet, we knew this wasn’t enough. To truly ensure our long-term impact, sustainability, and resilience we added a sixth pillar—Organizational Excellence. Together, these six pillars represent BlaqOut’s unyielding pursuit of equity in a landscape where the resistance is great, but our resolve is greater.
As we approach 2025, BlaqOut stands at a critical juncture and we are poised to make our most significant impact yet. The REACH Beyond Purpose Plan is not just a guide—it’s our unshakable commitment to lead with purpose, to innovate with courage, and to ensure that our vision becomes a lived reality. This plan is our promise: to push boundaries, to challenge the status quo, and to never settle for anything less than the transformative change our community deserves.
On the following pages, we invite you to learn more about the goals that inform and uphold each of the six pillars in BlaqOut’s REACH Beyond Purpose Plan.
PURPOSE AREA: RESEARCH
“Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.”
—Zora Neale Hurston
Priority Statement
Control our own destiny by producing and accessing community data to better understand ourselves, control our narrative, enhance our reach and funding efforts, and contribute to the larger body of scientific knowledge.
Goals
• Establish a nationally-renowned research center focused on the lives of Black LGBTQ+ people.
• Enhance BlaqOut’s credibility, reach, and funding by leveraging data. Begin BlaqOut’s second research study to include multiple cities and states across the country.
BlaqOut’s roots lie in research. In fact, our journey began with groundbreaking research in 2017 when we embarked on an unprecedented community health needs assessment, diving deep into the heart of our community’s most pressing issues and potential solutions.
Seven years later, our commitment to Community-Based/Engaged Participatory Research (CBPR) remains unwavering, driving not just immediate impacts but creating lasting, transformative change. At BlaqOut, research is more than a methodology—it’s a pathway to empowerment, equity, and enduring transformation.
“I firmly believe that research is not just a part of what we do—it is the bedrock of our entire organization and is foundational to who we are. Our work is grounded in the real-life experiences and needs of those we serve, recognizing the community as a valued social and cultural asset.”
—D. Rashaan Gilmore, Founder/President and CEO
PURPOSE AREA: ENGAGEMENT
“We need to go back to real community engagement that sees us as people. We need to take back our lives by engaging our families and educating our communities.”
—Beverley Ditsie
Priority Statement
Build and foster meaningful relationships with Kansas City’s Black LGBTQ+ communities to address the lack of safe space and create a sense of community.
Goals
• Develop and host culturally relevant gatherings, events, and programming to promote a sense of community, safety, and solidarity for the Black LGBTQ+ community and our allies in Kansas City and beyond.
• Maintain a permanent, physical safe space that the Black LGBTQ+ community can call home.
If you view BlaqOut as just another healthcare organization, you’ve missed the point entirely! BlaqOut is of the community, not just another clinic in the community. While advancing healthcare access for Black LGTBQ+ people will always be paramount to our mission, we believe our connection to community runs deeper than finger pricks and test results—that’s why engagement exists at the core of our work.
Through our engagement efforts, we’ve created a vibrant community hub where acceptance, support, and empowerment flourish. Building and fostering meaningful relationships to create a sense of community and address the lack of safe space for Black LGBTQ+ people is the cornerstone of BlaqOut’s model—everything else is icing on the top.
“Engagement is the conduit through which we do everything. We want you to know, feel, and believe that BlaqOut is a safe space for you.”
—Tusday Dudley, Chief of Staff
PURPOSE AREA: ADVOCACY
“People did not really need to be led; they needed to be given the skills, information, and opportunity to lead themselves.” —Ella Baker
Priority Statement
Ensure legal protections, health equity, and equal opportunities for the Black LGBTQ+ community.
Goals
• Establish BlaqOut as the leading voice on policy issues affecting the Black LGBTQ+ community in Kansas City and beyond.
• Build political power for the Black LGBTQ+ community in Kansas City and beyond.
• Leverage our political power to influence change for the Black LGBTQ+ community in Kansas City and beyond.
BlaqOut was founded with the understanding that Black queer people deserve to have a voice about our own health and safety. With the introduction of at least 510 anti-LGBTQ+ bills across the U.S. in 2023 and the pre-filing of more than 20 bills aimed at restricting LGBTQ+ rights and diversity efforts ahead of the 2024 legislative session, we recognized the urgent need to explore a focus area that, while new in its formalization, has always been embedded in the heart of BlaqOut’s mission: advocacy.
This year, BlaqOut established the Black Queer Leadership Collective (BQLC), an advocacy program convening Kansas City’s diverse Black LGBTQ+ leaders to unite the voices, experiences, and expertise of Black queer and trans individuals and address the unique challenges that we alone face. By giving voice to some of the most marginalized in our community, our advocacy efforts help ensure not only that these communities aren’t forgotten but that they are empowered to take control of their own lives and futures.
“Where
other LGBTQ+ leadership platforms have historically co-opted or excluded Black leadership, we started by creating our own platform.”
—Devin Hursey, Manager of Public Policy and Advocacy
PURPOSE AR EA: CULTU RE OF CARE
“When you are doing something that is right, you just do it and take care... Someone has to do this.”
—Alice Nkom
Priority Statement
Transform Black LGBTQ+ health care delivery resulting in measurable improvement in health outcomes.
Goals
• Understand and provide what is necessary for the overall health and well-being of the Black LGBTQ+ community in Kansas City and beyond.
• Implement a scalable and replicable medical home model for the Black LGBTQ+ community in Kansas City and beyond.
• Ensure each BlaqOut member has a novel, elevated, and enhanced experience.
If research is BlaqOut’s foundation and engagement is our cornerstone, the heart of BlaqOut’s work is our Culture of Care. We remain keenly aware of the systemic barriers Black patients continually face each day in America. Our Culture of Care transforms Black LGBTQ+ healthcare delivery and outcomes by prioritizing the holistic health and wellbeing of our community, innovating unique models of care, and optimizing the experience for the people we serve.
Further, our Culture of Care completely reimagines the conventional healthcare experience down to the language we use to describe our stakeholders. Within BlaqOut’s Culture of Care, there are no patients or clients—only members who maintain ownership and representation in the vision and work that we do.
At BlaqOut, not only do providers deliver top-notch medical care, they go above and beyond to make our members feel seen and valued by listening—really listening—to their health concerns, respecting their identities, and understanding their experiences.
“Access and affordability by themselves are not enough. The quality of care itself is just as important as the ethos within which that care is provided. BlaqOut’s Culture of Care ends the days of feeling like a number and not being heard regarding your health and overall wellbeing.”
—Shannon Hoskins, Director of Member Care and Clinical Innovation
PU RP OSE AREA: HOUSING
The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go and not be questioned.”
—Maya Angelou
Priority Statement
Establish safe housing options for the Black LGBTQ+ community to create wealth and promote health and wellness.
Goals
• Create secure housing as a cornerstone of wealth creation, housing stability, and overall wellness, for the Black LGBTQ+ community and our allies in Kansas City and beyond.
For Black LGBTQ+ people, the intersection of racial and sexual identity magnifies the vulnerabilities that often become underlying causes of poor health outcomes. Disproportionately affected by homelessness and housing insecurity, Black LGBTQ+ community faces a higher risk of violence, discrimination, and mental health challenges. The urgent need for tailored housing solutions for Black LGBTQ+ individuals led BlaqOut to defining a critical pillar of our strategic vision: housing.
BlaqOut’s housing ambition seeks to be more than a program—it aims to be a sanctuary and a stepping stone to financial independence. By providing safe, affirming, and sustainable living environments, our aim is to empower community members to thrive, not just survive. BlaqOut’s approach integrates support services that address our community’s unique needs, promoting resilience and community building, while also focusing on enabling home ownership as a means to break the cycle of poverty and build generational wealth.
“BlaqOut believes that people deserve a home to truly call their own, a place to find refuge and serenity among life’s daily challenges. As housing becomes increasingly unattainable for many, we seek to help our community not only obtain safe housing, but also to take ownership and pride in a space with immediate and future health and financial benefits.”
—Tanya Carson, Director of Donor Impact
PURPOSE AREA: ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE
“Excellence is the result of caring more than others think is wise, risking more than others think is safe, dreaming more than others think is practical, and expecting more than others think is possible.”
— Ronnie Oldham
Priority Statement
Enable BlaqOut to dismantle oppressive systems, improve health outcomes, and consistently deliver high quality services that enhance the lives of Black LGBTQ+ people and our allies.
Goals
• Cultivate a high-functioning team that leverages human capital and technology to achieve BlaqOut’s priorities.
• Steward BlaqOut’s resources in accordance with sound fiscal policies and financial management.
• Cultivate a high functioning and actively engaged board of directors.
• Create and sustain a Culture of Care for the BlaqOut team.
As members of a community whose identities converge at a variety of intersections—Black, queer, trans, non-binary, etc.—we know that sometimes not everything fits neatly in an expected package. The five purpose areas of BlaqOut 2025-2030 Purpose Plan coincidentally form the acronym REACH; however, there’s a sixth purpose area that not only underscores BlaqOut’s commitment to serving our community but makes it possible: organizational excellence.
There’s no denying that most nonprofit organizations do incredible work to uplift their causes, communities, and constituencies. Despite that good and vital work, nonprofits often lack the business acumen to make them viable and sustainable. Numerous reasons exist to explain why many nonprofits don’t have the necessary knowledge, skills, and capacity to fulfill their missions—chief among them is money. However, without these resources, the end result is the same: organizations die, leaving their communities without the critical support services they need.
That’s why organizational excellence represents such a key component of BlaqOut’s Purpose Plan. We don’t want to be another flash in the pan. We intend to be here for decades to come so we can work towards fulfilling our critical mission of improving the lives and wellbeing of the Black LGBTQ+ community.
Organizational excellence is the foundation that will enable us to dismantle oppressive systems, improve health outcomes, and consistently deliver services that enhance the lives of Black LGBTQ+ people and their allies. We achieve this by creating operational efficiency, developing processes for growth and expansion, building cross-functional teams, and joyfully engaging best practices. By focusing on long-term sustainability and the strategic use of social enterprises, we ensure our mission’s impact and financial resilience.
“Organizational Excellence is the ‘beyond’ in BlaqOut’s Purpose Plan. It’s BlaqOut’s commitment to ensuring we have the appropriate processes, systems, tools, and people in place to carry out the work effectively in order to guarantee our long-term efficiency, functionality, and sustainability.”
—Tusday Dudley, Chief of Staff
ABOUT BLAQOUT
BlaqOut has solidified a place as a disruptive innovator in the field of HIV testing and prevention, telehealth, and PrEP/PEP access since our founding in 2017. By focusing on improving healthcare access and wellness outcomes for the most marginalized, BlaqOut has created new pathways to better care for our core membership, Kansas City’s Black, LGBTQ+ community and is now able to serve everyone in need of our easily accessible, no-cost services.
Mission Statement
BlaqOut’s mission is to create a community where Black people of queer and trans experience and their allies are connected and supported, have access to safe spaces, and enjoy sufficient resources to help them thrive.
We Believe
We believe that to turn the tide against the HIV epidemic and improve overall health outcomes, grassroots and indigenously-led efforts originating from those most affected must be given the opportunity to succeed. It is essential that we begin to deploy revolutionary, evidenced-based, and out-of-the-box models to effectively support Black LGBTQ+ people, especially those living with HIV. We recognize how stigma, discrimination and medical mistrust act as tremendous barriers to good health for many Black LGBTQ+ people. And we want to do something about it.
Our Approach
BlaqOut has adopted a holistic approach that aims to look at all aspects of the lives of Black LGBTQ+ people. Accordingly, in all of our activities a conscious effort is made not to problematize the Black LGBTQ+ community by having a singular focus on disease (HIV/AIDS). We approach Black LGBTQ+ people and their lives with a solution-oriented focus that raises awareness of the myriad of health issues impacting our community and offers participants the opportunity to begin developing realistic strategies to combat these issues effectively.
Stay Connected
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates on our progress and a behind-the-scenes look into the world of BlaqOut. Our handle is the same across all social platforms: @blaqoutkc. Learn more about us at our website blaqout.org, or email us at hello@blaqout.org.
Partner With Us
We are always interested in exploring new collaborative possibilities that are rooted in equity, mutuality, and sustainability. We would love to learn your organization’s ideas on how we can partner to further benefit the Black LGBTQ+ community. As the first stage of our vetting process, please email your ideas to community@blaqout.org. Organizations that meet our top-line criteria will be invited to submit in the second stage of our evaluation.
Let’s improve health outcomes for Black LGBTQ+ people together!
Donate Today
Please consider taking your support to the next level by making a donation at blaqout.org/donate! Whether you choose to make a one-time donation or a recurring monthly gift, your financial contribution makes a profound impact and ensures that BlaqOut’s life-saving work continues.
BlaqOut, Inc., is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Contributions to BlaqOut, Inc., are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. Tax identification number: 82-1144166 © 2024 BlaqOut, Inc. All rights reserved.
DONATE TODAY
Take your support of BlaqOut’s critical work to the next level by making a one-time or recurring monthly donation at blaqout.org/donate or by using the QR code below. Your financial contribution makes a profound impact and ensures that BlaqOut’s life-saving work continues!