Spreading Holiday Queer Dec 13th, 2020

Join our last gathering of 2020 and our first open mic this Sunday December 13th from 2-4pm CST.

Telling Queer History uses storytelling to connect across generations and identities of LGBTQ+ people. Join us for a night of short storytelling open mic and deep listening. As the northern hemisphere enters the darkest weeks of the year, we lean into our shadows and bring light to each other.

Get cozy with your favorite warm beverage and a blanket, invite your friends, keep some tissue nearby, and think of a story you want to share with community.

RSVP on Eventbrite to join. Zoom link will be sent to "ticket holders".
https://www.eventbrite.com/.../spreading-holiday-queer...

To reserve a storytelling spot, please email us hello@tellingqueerhistory.com
Each person will get 5 minutes max. This is an all ages event so please keep that in mind when sharing.

Free to attend but donations appreciated. www.givemn.org/organization/Telling-Queer-History-1

All ages. Substance free event. ASL interpreted. Live captioned.

Annual Report for Fiscal year 19/20

Check it out. All of this work is possible because of people like you donating, sharing your stories, and attending our gatherings. Thank you!

Listening Party: Stories on HIV and AIDS from our archives

Join us for the live launch of our podcast followed by group discussion on Friday April 24th at 7pm CST.

Listen to archives on AIDS and HIV from Dec 2015 featuring: Maureen Wells, Patrick Scully, Sharon Day, and Kevin "Kaos" Moore.

In the age of COVID-19, Telling Queer History working to develop the same sense of connection and intimacy attendees experience during our in-person gatherings and translate that to virtual gatherings.

The podcast will be released as a video with captioning. Please contact us if you have any accessibility requests. A link to the video conferencing where the listening party will take place will be posted and emailed prior to the event.

Please RSVP and invite your friends.

Content Warning: this recording include strong language, sex, drugs/addition, suicide, and death.

Image from the Dec 2015 gathering.

We became a nonprofit - new donor page

Mid January we got approved by the IRS as a nonprofit.

This means we are a financially and legally independent organization and have to create systems within that structure. We will be switching our GiveMN page. Our previous page connected to our awesome fiscal sponsor has been disabled. Please make your donations on our new page now. 

Thank you for being a small and mighty group of donors, carrying this organization over the years. We are excited to build structures, grow our board and supporters, and officially hire staff in this new phase. Our goal is to raise at least $2,000/month in sustaining donations by Dec 2020.

https://www.givemn.org/organization/Telling-Queer-History-1/welcome

Your support means we can continue to compensate all of our storytellers, audio recorders, child care providers, provide food and compensate our Executive Director for the many hours they put into TQH.

Telling Queer History Goals

During our board retreat in July 2019 we took time to reflect on the 30+ events we have held in the last six years, the people who supported those events, what we learned, what we want to nourish, and the values we hold. Please be part of Telling Queer History's future by supporting and holding us accountable to these goals.

Connect

LGBTQ+ individuals from a multitude of cultural communities and generations though our commitment to creating events which elevate unheard voices and build relationships across queer identities. Nourish partnerships with other organizations and relationships with leaders that multiply the narrative of LGBTQ+ people across communities. 

Grow

a team of organizers and facilitators who can consistently meet and complete tasks needed to run TQH. We are currently building documents to file as a 501(C)(3) by April 2020. We are recruiting to expand our dedicated board of directors from four to eleven by June 2020. Join our board, more info here.

Form

an advisory council to inform programing and have wider community accountability. This advisory council will be intergenerational so that it offers elder companionship and youth mentorship. 

Create

audio or video recordings of the featured speakers at gatherings. We will edit and share these recordings online so that people unable to attend can access our vital LGBTQ+ stories.This would lead to developing our website to include the recorded audio or video and space for people to upload their own stories. 

Develop

and strengthen partnerships with organizations and community leaders across Minnesota and the Midwest in order to share TQH’s format and LGBTQ+ stories with a wider and underserved audience. 

Build

our network of sustaining donors, large donors, and grant support so that we can fairly compensate storytellers, ASL interpreters, facilitators, and TQH staff. Become a sustaining donor here.

Thank you for being our friends!

Together we supported Telling Queer History with…

15 new sustaining donors, bringing monthly donations to $434. 
Total cash donations for the Fast Friends campaign, $8948. 
Amount of goods & services donated for Fast Friends, $15,812. 
Volunteer hours donated, 1053 hours. 

Thank you so very much for all the ways you show up for Telling Queer History! 
Our gatherings are grassroots run and have been held together by love, enthusiasm and generosity for 6 years. We are excited to build on that with these resources, to pay the people that contribute, and to bring our stories to a wider audience. 

You can still contribute and invite your friends to join you as donors here. We hope to see you at our next gathering Oct 6th and next year for Fast Friends 2020. 

Photos by Caroline Yang. Graphic by Josey Herrera.