PLATINUM2023

Our Wave

Empowering survivors of sexual assault to safely share stories.

Raleigh, NC   |  https://www.ourwave.org

Mission

Our Wave is an online platform for survivors of sexual assault to share stories, receive customized support, and join a community of understanding. While collecting stories and messages of hope, we seek to empower survivors, educate society, and strategize to develop smarter prevention methods.

Ruling year info

2019

Executive Director

Kyle Linton

VP, Chief Technology Officer

Brendan Michaelsen

Main address

571 E Cabarrus

Raleigh, NC 27601 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

84-2131836

NTEE code info

Rape Victim Services (F42)

Alliance/Advocacy Organizations (R01)

Sexual Abuse, Prevention of (I73)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990-N.

Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2022, 2021 and 2020.
Register now

Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

With the rise of the #MeToo movement, more and more people are beginning to come to terms with their own history of sexual violence and are beginning to feel empowered to share their stories to promote awareness and help others. Many fear publicly joining the conversation through public social media, however, due to fear of external exposure, as well as a variety of environmental factors. This leaves many stories untold, especially those originating in underserved populations. This highlights the need for an anonymous online platform for survivors to share their stories.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Building a community to catalyze global change.

The purpose of Our Wave story collection is to collect stories of struggle, strength, and healing to foster a community of hope for survivors. We believe that stories are powerful and have the ability to build understanding, cultivate empathy, and ultimately create change.

Population(s) Served
Victims and oppressed people

Where we work

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of groups/individuals benefiting from tools/resources/education materials provided

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Building a community to catalyze global change.

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Each year we are growing our user base and platform interactions.

Number of unique website visitors

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

The total number of impressions on stories.ourwave.org per year.

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

The mission of Our Wave is to 1) Amplify sexual violence survivor voices who are not typically heard through mainstream media, 2) Foster connections between survivors to build hope that healing is possible with time, 3) Educate society on the scope and impact of sexual violence through story sharing and analysis of survivor narratives, and 4) Mobilize our communities to create evidence-based strategies for prevention and survivor support in order to create a wave of change.

Our Wave is an anonymous story sharing and data gathering platform for survivors of sexual violence aimed to build a community of hope and healing online. We built this platform in response to survivors' desires to anonymously reflect and connect with others who have undergone similar experiences. Through our platform, we hope to provide survivors with hope and healing to move past the most traumatic experiences of their lives.

We aim to connect with survivors through the following channels:
-Establish partnerships with national rape crisis centers and state coalitions.
-Connect with online survivor communities (Reddit, FB Groups, etc.)
-Digitally through Google Ads.
-Partnerships with corporate partners and universities.

We are an organization of passionate operations, technology, design, research, and survivor advocate volunteers. Since our launch in September 2019, we have solidified a team of 10 founding members who meet weekly. Our team has a diverse representation of product specialists who have extensive experience building and scaling technology companies. To learn more about our team please check out the about us section of our website to view specific bios. Alongside our team, we have formally established a non-profit board with some of the biggest names in the sexual violence prevention space. We would encourage you to view our team/board member page to see their bios and experience. https://www.ourwave.org/who-we-are

Since we were founded in July 2019 Our Wave accomplished the following:

Structuring
In 2019 Our Wave filed as a non-profit and obtained 501(c)(3) status.

Technology
In 2019 our team completed the entire design, development, and rollout of our web/mobile-responsive anonymous social media platform.

Staff
Our team grew to 10 dedicated volunteers. Our diverse team is comprised of engineers, designers, academics, healthcare professionals, and business/operations specialists.

Establishing Our Board
In 2019 we created our board of directors to support our governance and decision making. We are lucky to have Suzanne Brown-McBride, Samira Rajabi, Christopher Poe, and Kate Smith as our first 4 external board members alongside Kyle Linton and Brendan Michaelsen. We hope to increase the size of our board and advisory council in 2023.

Traction
Since our 2019 launch, we have received 500 stories and our site has over 120,000 views from survivors with over 28,000 users. We have created partnerships with Me Too International, It's On Us, End Rape on Campus, the NSVRC, Unapologetically Surviving and many other International Survivor Advocacy Organizations.

Financials

Our Wave
lock

Unlock financial insights by subscribing to our monthly plan.

Subscribe

Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more about GuideStar Pro.

Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

Our Wave

Board of directors
as of 02/24/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board co-chair

Kyle Linton

Our Wave


Board co-chair

Brendan Michaelsen

Our Wave

Suzanne Brown-McBride

Impossible6, LLC

Samira Rajabi

University of Colorado

Christopher Poe

Wyrick Robbins

Kate Smith

Kate Smith CPA

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 2/24/2023

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Male, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

The organization's co-leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Male, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

No data

Gender identity

No data

 

No data

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data