Connecting 168M LGBTQ+ Allies
A National Moment of Connection, Not Division
A district court judge, a tow truck driver, and a preacher walked into National Out Ally Day, never having met. Ninety minutes later, they walked out together, talking about the experience they just shared.
The tow truck driver turned to the district court judge and preacher and said, “It was great to meet you. I can’t think of any other event that would have brought us together.” The judge and preacher agreed, and they all exchanged contact information, knowing what brought them to National Out Ally Day was their connection to the LGBTQ+ Community.
Connecting people who would otherwise never connect is one of Bursting Through’s primary superpowers. One important way that power manifests is National Out Ally Day—the national event designed to educate, celebrate, and empower everyone who identifies as an LGBTQ+ Ally.
The National Out Ally Day audience is filled with people not typically engaged in the LGBTQ+ universe. It’s made up of everyday Allies—parents, teenagers, teachers, faith and community leaders, business owners, white and blue collar workers—average, awesome Americans.
Awesome Americans who do not attend the events from established LGBTQ+ organizations because those events don’t resonate with how they express their Allyship. Those established LGBTQ+ events, while powerful and important, are not created for Allies and the LGBTQ+ Community. They are understandably created for the LGBTQ+ Community. Here’s why...
The LGBTQ+ Civil Rights movement is rightfully rooted in the fight for equality. It began as acts of defiance driven by the need to be seen, heard, acknowledged, and treated fairly. That defiant fighting energy keeps the movement alive and has accomplished unimaginable feats. However, that fighting energy does not fully resonate with the needs of average Allies today.
Right now, we live in a time where social isolation is the norm and loneliness is an epidemic. Personal freedoms and people are disappearing. The federal government is deliberately cruel to the LGBTQ+ Community and Allies. Diversity, equity, and inclusion have been weaponized, and corporate social responsibility is playing defense.
All of this fighting energy in and around the LGBTQ+ Community and its Allies is exhausting. Allies and Community Members are hungry for calm, peace, thoughtful exchanges, and a safe place for themselves and their loved ones. It’s not that they are done fighting; it’s that they need a space to step away from the fight and have a different conversation.
Bursting Through emerged five years ago from life-changing stories of love between Allies and members of the LGBTQ+ Community. Stories so powerful, strong, and determined that they took root and grew into a movement. The Bursting Through Movement is a peaceful, safe, secure, and thoughtful experience. It grows because Allies long for authenticity while resonating with many disenfranchised and discounted groups, not just the LGBTQ+ Community. It’s a grassroots movement that has tapped into something real and raw —meeting people where they are.
What Bursting Through reveals, and the experience Bursting Through provides, cannot be found in focus groups or digital surveys. It will not fit neatly into target market categories or data-driven dialogue because the human experience is complex, profound, bold, beautiful, and deeply personal.
Bursting Through’s National Out Ally Day creates a huge, inclusive space looking through the lens of Allyship—intentionally being the change it wants to see in the world. It energetically acts in while the world acts out through a lens of cruelty, attempting to dehumanize the diversity that strengthens us.
This year's November 13th National Out Ally Day production, live and live streamed from Las Vegas, NV, has hit a snag. Our primary partner had a change in business priorities and, regrettably, had to withdraw sponsorship.
Disappointed but not defeated, Bursting Through is seeking a new, bold, visionary partner. A partner whose leadership values social responsibility and embraces innovation. A partner full of the insight needed to trust instincts and intuitions over algorithms to lead the way.
64.3% or 168 million of the adult United States population self-identify as either an Ally to the LGBTQ+ Community or a member of the Community. Have the grassroots efforts of Bursting Through, with its “little engine that could” energy and proven formula, been able to reach them all?
No. NOT YET.
But, like all great changes, big success stories, powerful partnerships, and meaningful movements, they begin somewhere. When people and organizations of vision connect, anything is possible.
This story matters—and so does your voice.
If this story moved you, share it with someone who needs it today. That’s how we grow—not through algorithms, but through connection.
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Together, we are not just Allies—we’re building a braver, more beautiful world.
