2023 Impact Report
As 2023 draws to a close, we are reflecting on a year of significant organizational strides and exciting movement milestones… and we’re looking ahead to an even more impactful year in 2024!
Launched just last year in April 2022, OPEN has rapidly become a leading advocate for the 5% of American adults (and countless more around the globe) practicing some form of non-monogamy. This year has been about growing our organizational capacity, launching some of our core impact and visibility initiatives, and expanding our network of volunteers, partners, and allies.
In this report, we proudly share our achievements, the impact of our work on the community we serve, and our vision for the year ahead. We’re grateful to the many supporters who have made this work possible. Each milestone on this journey represents another step toward a future where diverse relationships are accepted and protected and love is celebrated in all its forms.
2023 In Review
“OPEN is on a roll. Founded last year, it is showing more energy, capability, and strategic vision than any polyactivist group I’ve seen in my years in this movement. Its directors and staff have proven to be impressively competent and capable. They’re helping activists develop non-discrimination ordinances for progressive cities and towns, they’ve started an annual Visibility Day celebration, and they’re loudly pushing social-media companies to recognize a broad range of relationship structures.”
Milestones
Key:
❤️ Organizational development
🎉 Events
🏛️ Advocacy
📰 Media
🔧 Resources
💥 Campaigns
Winter (January–February)
❤️ Gabrielle Smith becomes the first new member of OPEN’s Board of Directors. Gabrielle is a Brooklyn-based writer, social media strategist and non-monogamy educator.
🎉 OPEN brings together over a hundred community members for a grassroots community meeting in Oakland, CA to kick off our West Coast legislative advocacy efforts.
Spring (March–May)
🏛️ OPEN is part of a coalition which helps to pass the US’s first non-discrimination protections for diverse family and relationship structures in Somerville, MA.
📰 In a story pitched by OPEN, The New York Times covers the victory in Somerville and the growing push to normalize non-monogamy
❤️ OPEN celebrates our one year anniversary and launches a community Discord server, creating a space for community members and advocates to gather and collaborate.
🔧 OPEN publishes new resources including a Non-monogamy Fact Sheet and guide to hosting a Non-monogamy Mixers, which together have been accessed over 2,000 times.
❤️ OPEN participates in the “ENM Summit,” a gathering of Swinger / Lifestyle industry leaders and content creators to discuss advocacy efforts, DEI issues, and more.
Summer (June–August)
🎉 The inaugural Day of Visibility for Non-monogamy, launched and coordinated by OPEN, is celebrated with over 15 in-person events in five countries and thousands of online participants. Over 250 people gather for a rally in Oakland, CA.
📰 A national television news story about the Day of Visibility runs on CBC (Canada).
🏛️ Oakland City Councillor Janani Ramachandran publicly announces that her office will draft and introduce a non-discrimination bill in Oakland, CA, one of the US’s 50 largest cities! We hope to see this bill passed in early 2024!
🔧 OPEN publishes our 2023 Community Survey Report. Responses from 2,500 non-monogamous individuals in 48 countries and 51 US states and territories reveal the prevalence of experiences of stigma and discrimination, illustrating the continued importance of OPEN’s mission.
📰 Our response to a polyamory plotline in the TV show “Riverdale” is picked up by TMZ, Buzzfeed, Fox News, and more, earning millions of impressions for our messaging about authentic non-monogamous representation.
Fall (September–November)
💥 OPEN launches a rapid response to Meta’s biased AI chatbot which repeated harmful myths about non-monogamy. Days later, the company quietly patches the bot.
❤️ OPEN begins offering free, twice-monthly Peer Support Circles, providing safe and supportive spaces to people practicing or beginning to explore non-monogamy.
🔧 OPEN’s Open Workplaces Toolkit provides guidance and policy language to help companies implement inclusive policies for non-monogamous professionals in the workplace.
❤️ Lily Lamboy, PhD joins OPEN’s team as the Director of the Open Workplaces Initiative.
Winter (December)
🔧 OPEN’s newest resource is a comprehensive guide to help non-monogamous families and loved ones navigate the end-of-life planning process.
Core Initiatives
Open Workplaces Initiative
The Open Workplaces Initiative aims to advance inclusion and acceptance for non-monogamous employees in the workplace. Our Open Workplaces Toolkit, published in October of 2023, provides concrete guidance to help professionals advocate for – and employers implement – non-monogamy-inclusive policies. Since the launch of the toolkit this Fall, we’ve been in conversation with employees and leaders at a half dozen companies and organizations – including a senior manager at one of the largest tech firms in the US – who are working to implement these policies. We’ve also begun collaborating with two of the leading LGBTQ+ workplace advocacy organizations in order to bring this conversation to their network.
Legislative Advocacy
Over the course of 2023, OPEN has been a core part of a growing push for legal protections for diverse family and relationship structures. In addition to being part of the coalition behind the first-in-the-nation legislation in Somerville, MA this Spring, OPEN is working with legislators in multiple Bay Area cities to expand those protections to the West Coast. We’ve begun engaging LGBTQ+ and family diversity advocacy organizations to expand our coalition beyond the non-monogamy sector alone. And in 2024, we will be rolling out a wider push to reach even more cities across the US.
Day of Visibility for Non-mongamy
Launched by OPEN, this new global celebration on July 15 was marked with in-person events in 15 cities across five countries including Toronto, Oakland, New York City, Lisbon, and London. Over 49 organizations and content-creators signed on as endorsers, including many of the largest brands and identities in the non-monogamy sector. In 2024, OPEN (and a working group of allies from across the non-monogamy spectrum) plan to expand this celebration into a full Week of Visibility!
“OPEN has given me hope and helped me see how important it is to be able to be fully seen and live in the light.”
Community Survey
Our annual Community Survey provides an important new source of data about the identities and experiences of non-monogamous people around the globe. Our 2023 report and the underlying has been widely used by advocates, educators, and academic researchers.
“I’m a therapist and was able to use the results from OPEN’s Communtiy Survey as part of a workshop I ran for other therapists to increase competence and in supportiveness working with non-monogamous clients. ”
By the numbers
Reach
10,000 total followers and subscribers across all platforms (social media, email list, Discord), almost 3x growth since the beginning of the year.
11k unique website visitors from 99 countries (5x growth from 2022); plus 7.1k unique visitors to the Day of Visibility website.
559k Tweet impressions; 20k people reached on Facebook and 19k on Instagram.
Impact
6 companies or organizations working to implement policies from our Open Workplaces.
1 non-discrimination bill passed (as coalition partner); 2 more being drafted.
15 in-person Day of Visibility events in 5 countries; 49 brands and organizations sign on as endorsers; 100’s of posts using the #NonmonogamyVisibility hashtag.
2,500 Community Survey responses, a 5x increase over 2022.
379 total participants in our free monthly Peer Support circles.
Financial Overview
In our commitment to transparency and accountability, we're pleased to present a summary of our financial activities for 2023. This overview provides insight into how we've allocated resources to fuel our mission and the impact we've achieved together.
Over the first three quarters of 2023, OPEN's revenue totaled $262,731.18, primarily driven by a generous major gift from two individuals early in the year. This transformative contribution allowed OPEN's small team to prioritize impact over fundraising, while maintaining a lean organization model. As the year draws to a close, we will be entering 2024 on stable financial footing, ensuring our continued operations at the current level. At the same time, we aspire to expand our team in 2024, making continued fundraising efforts essential for our mission's success.
Approximately 98% of our funding has come from individual donors (including employer matching), with about 1% each coming from grants and earned income. Our community remains central to our capacity to advance our mission of non-monogamous rights and acceptance!
OPEN’s total expenditures for the first 3 quarters of 2023 were $105,855.85. This breaks down into 47% for payroll, 45% for program expenses, and 8% on operations.
Q: Why is payroll OPEN’s largest expense?
A: As a digital-first advocacy and education nonprofit, our staff and contractors are our greatest resource and the driving force behind our impact. This contrasts with more traditional service organizations (e.g. a soup kitchen or afterschool program) which have more substantial direct program expenses.
Q: How do expenses break down by program?
A: We are working to refine our accounting practices so that we can more easily break down our expenses by program area. This year, the Day of Visibility for Non-monogamy, Open Workplaces Initiative, and our educational programs (which encompasses our online resources, social media content, free Peer Support Circles, and more) made up the majority of our program expenses.
2024 Vision
Given the size, diversity, and continued marginalization of the non-monogamous population in the US and worldwide, OPEN firmly believes that our community deserves a more substantial movement capacity to advocate for our rights and promote acceptance. It's worth noting that even smaller communities often enjoy the support of larger and better-resourced organizations! As we look to the future, OPEN envisions playing a key role within our expanding movement.
With this in mind, our core strategic objectives for 2024 are threefold:
Grow our organizational capacity with strategic hiring, contract support, and expanded volunteer opportunities.
Further our core impact initiatives, Legislative Advocacy and Open Workplaces.
Extend our fundraising capabilities with an eye towards sustainable growth and long-term stability.
Organizational Capacity
We are hoping to complete to key part-time hires in 2024: a Campaign Associate to help advance our core impact initiatives, and an additional Development Associate to expand our fundraising capabilities. In addition to these proposed staff roles, we are developing new opportunities for individual members of the community to actively participate through expanded volunteer opportunities and grassroots actions.
Recognizing the importance of collaboration in building effective movements, we are also committed to strengthening our ties with fellow advocates, community leaders, and organizations within the non-monogamy sector. Additionally, our engagement with LGBTQ+ and family diversity organizations will help us advance our shared goals and collectively address the challenges faced by our communities.
Impact Initiatives
Legislative Advocacy and our Open Workplaces Initiative will remain our core impact initiatives in 2024.
We are continuing to work with legislators in multiple Bay Area cities and are confident that we will see the passage of additional legislation in the first half of the year. Additionally, we are developing additional resources and trainings to empower a much wider grassroots push and have identified a half dozen strategic target cities for particular focus.
Our Open Workplace Initiative is gaining significant momentum, with non-monogamous employee groups forming at multiple major companies and exciting partnerships emerging with LGBTQ+ workplace advocacy organizations. We are optimistic that we will see at least one major corporation publicly affirm its commitment to acceptance and inclusion for non-monogamous professionals.
In addition to these core initiatives, we will expand our other education and visibility programs including the Day of Visibility, our Community Survey, media engagement, and other cultural campaigns.
Fundraising
As we approach the end of 2023, OPEN is proactively planning for the future to ensure our continued impact and financial stability. Our fundraising strategy involves continuing to engage major donors, hosting fundraising events, and introducing a membership program. These initiatives, along with expanded earned income streams such as merchandise, affiliate partnerships, and speaking fees, aim to secure the resources needed to advance our mission.
Your support is crucial in helping us meet our $100,000 fundraising goal. Here’s how you can contribute:
Contribute online at www.open-love.org/donate
Donate with employer matching via Benevity. Find OPEN via EIN 88-1151856
Mail a check: Organization for Polyamory and Ethical Nonmonogamy, 1518 Madera Court, El Cerrito, CA 94530
For prospective major gifts, contact Executive Director Brett Chamberlin: <brett@open-love.org> or schedule a call.
