Colage

What Colage does

COLAGE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1990 and headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. It is the only national organization dedicated solely to supporting people with one or more LGBTQ+ parents or caregivers (the "queerspawn" community). Its core work spans community programming, resource publication, and policy advocacy. The organization's primary constituency is youth ages 5-18 with LGBTQ+ parents, served through age-segmented groups (Sprouts, Waffles, Crew, High School), with secondary reach into adult queerspawn, LGBTQ+ families broadly, and BIPOC LGBTQ+ families.

The organization's portfolio is event- and community-driven rather than technology-driven. Flagship offerings include the annual Family Week in Provincetown, MA (co-hosted with Family Equality for 30+ years), Atlanta Family Weekend (launched ~2022 with Forward Together and LGBTQ+ Institute), and a recurring slate of virtual programs including QUIP policy meetings, People with Trans Parents chats, All-COLAGE Virtual Meet Ups, and the Not All Rainbows support group. COLAGE also publishes specialized guides (People with Trans Parents, Donor Conceived COLAGErs, Back to School Toolkit), maintains the Just For Us newsletter archive (1990-2009) at the GLBT Historical Society, and runs the Queerspawn Resource Project. Underlying technology is standard nonprofit infrastructure: Squarespace website, Mailchimp email, Zoom for virtual events, ActBlue for donations, and CharityProud for event registration.

COLAGE generates revenue through individual donations, grants (including Robert Wood Johnson Foundation support for policy research), and event registration fees on a pay-what-you-can basis. Substantial in-kind contributions from Provincetown businesses (Seaglass Inn, Box Lunch, Ptown Bikes, Boston Harbor City Cruises, Crown & Anchor, UU Meeting House) defray Family Week costs, with $50,000+ in in-kind support documented. The organization is led by Executive Director Jordan Budd (since 2020) and Chief Legal and Policy Officer Meg York, and operates with a small remote staff. Strategic priorities center on parentage law reform, multiracial family inclusion, and expanding the local Chapters program.

Name

Colage

Legal name

COLAGE

Website

https://colage.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

COLAGE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1990 and the only national organization for people with LGBTQ+ parents (queerspawn). It delivers community programming, annual events including Family Week and Atlanta Family Weekend, digital resources, and policy advocacy on parentage law and family protections.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Providence

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations and Contributions: COLAGE receives individual donations from supporters, with pay-what-you-can options available for event registrations. The organization encourages donations to support operations and programming.
2. Event Registration Fees: Family Week and other events generate revenue through registration fees, offered on a pay-what-you-can basis to improve accessibility.
3. Grants and Foundation Funding: The organization receives grant funding, including support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for policy research initiatives.
4. In-Kind Support: Family Week receives substantial in-kind donations from local businesses including the Seaglass Inn (housing), Box Lunch (meals), Ptown Bikes (transportation), Boston Harbor City Cruises (ferry), Crown & Anchor (event space), and UU Meeting House. These reduce operational costs rather than generating direct revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

COLAGE is a non-profit organization founded in 1990 that supports people with LGBTQ+ parents (commonly referred to as "queerspawn") through community-building programs, peer support, advocacy, and educational resources. The organization serves youth and adults navigating identity, family dynamics, and community connection within LGBTQ+ family structures, operating as a long-standing community-based non-profit rather than a commercial entity.

Product overview

COLAGE is a non-profit advocacy organization offering a portfolio of programs and resources for people with LGBTQ+ parents (queerspawn). The core offerings include in-person events: Family Week (week-long annual gathering in Provincetown, MA) and Atlanta Family Weekend, featuring age-specific workshops for youth (Sprouts, Waffles, Crew, High School). Virtual programming includes QUIP (policy/advocacy training), People with Trans Parents Chat, All-COLAGE Virtual Meet Ups, and the Not All Rainbows Support Group. COLAGE also publishes resource guides (People with Trans Parents, Donor Conceived), maintains the Just For Us Newsletter Archive (1990-2009), and runs the Queerspawn Resource Project. The COLAGErs Speak campaign collects community stories for advocacy purposes. This is a community programs portfolio rather than a software product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Family Week: A week-long annual event co-hosted with Family Equality where LGBTQ+ families gather in Provincetown, MA. Programs are offered for youth ages 5-18 with LGBTQ+ parents or caregivers.
• Atlanta Family Weekend
• QUIP (Queerspawn Utilizing & Interrupting Policy)
• Queerspawn Resource Project
• People with Trans Parents Chat
• COLAGErs Speak

Products and services

• Community Building Programs

Quantifiable outcome

• 30 years of Family Week programming connecting LGBTQ+ families
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Mass Parentage CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Coalition that worked for years to pass the Massachusetts Parentage Act. COLAGE participated as a member coalition, with Board member Jean Azar-Tanguay testifying in support of the legislation.
• Michigan Fertility AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Worked tirelessly to pass Michigan's Family Protection Act. Former COLAGE Youth Action Board member Katie Christian testified in support of the legislation.
• Movement Advancement Project (MAP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Co-authored the 2023 report 'Relationships at Risk: Why We Need to Update State Parentage Laws to Protect Children and Families' with COLAGE, Family Equality, GLAD, and NCLR, with support from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
• NCLR (National Center for Lesbian Rights)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Co-authored the 2023 parentage laws report with MAP, COLAGE, Family Equality, and GLAD.
• MombiancoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2006Developed LGBTQ Families Day (originally Blogging for LGBTQ Families Day) in 2006. COLAGE is a sponsor along with Family Equality, PFLAG, GLAAD, and GLAD. Mombian is an award-winning LGBTQ-parenting site founded by Dana Rudolph.
• PFLAG NationalcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2006Co-sponsor of LGBTQ Families Day since 2006. PFLAG is the first and largest organization for LGBTQ+ people, their parents and families, and allies, with hundreds of chapters and over 250,000 members.
• GLAADcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2006Co-sponsor of LGBTQ Families Day since 2006. GLAAD rewrites the script for LGBTQ acceptance through dynamic media force and tackling tough issues to shape narrative and provoke dialogue.
• GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2006Co-sponsor of LGBTQ Families Day since 2006. GLAD works through strategic litigation, public policy advocacy, and education in New England and nationally to create a just society free of discrimination.
• Family EqualitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCOLAGE co-hosts Family Week annually with Family Equality in Provincetown, MA. Family Equality advances legal and lived equality for LGBTQ+ families. This is a 30+ year partnership and COLAGE's most significant strategic collaboration.
• Seaglass InnminorOthersSeaglass Inn in Provincetown provides in-kind housing for COLAGE staff during Family Week. The organization is also running an investment campaign to acquire the Seaglass Inn as a permanent home for Family Week.
• Box Lunch (Provincetown)minorOthersLocal Provincetown restaurant provides in-kind lunches for COLAGE staff throughout Family Week.
• Ptown BikesminorOthersLocal bike shop provides in-kind bike loans for COLAGE staff during Family Week.
• Boston Harbor City CruisesminorOthersProvides in-kind ferry tickets for COLAGE staff transportation to Provincetown for Family Week.
• Crown & Anchor (Provincetown)minorOthersProvides event space and ADA accessible room for Family Week programming.
• UU Meeting House (Provincetown)minorOthersProvides event space for Family Week programming including Drag Bingo and policy workshops.
• Forward TogethercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization for Atlanta Family Weekend, joining for Atlanta Family Weekend 2025 as part of IGNYTE alongside the LGBTQ+ Institute at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights and SPARK Reproductive Justice.
• LGBTQ+ Institute at the National Center for Civil and Human RightscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Atlanta Family Weekend, which centers Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) families and the political history of Atlanta.
• SPARK Reproductive JusticecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Atlanta Family Weekend, contributing to the multiracial gathering focus.
• Rocky Mountain EqualityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization joining Family Equality and COLAGE for the St. Mary Catholic Parish v Roy webinar to discuss the Supreme Court case about preschool discrimination against LGBTQ+ families.
• GLBT Historical SocietyminorOthersHouses the COLAGE records collection, including most copies of the Just For Us newsletter from 1990-2009. The archive is located in San Francisco, CA.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD): GLAD advances LGBTQ+ equality through litigation, public policy, and education. It is a long-standing co-sponsor of LGBTQ Families Day and a co-author with COLAGE on parentage law research, making it a direct peer in legal advocacy for LGBTQ+ families.
• PFLAG National: PFLAG is the first and largest organization for LGBTQ+ people, their parents, families, and allies, with hundreds of chapters. It is a co-sponsor of LGBTQ Families Day and shares COLAGE's family-centered, peer-support mission, though PFLAG's reach extends to the broader ally community.
• Movement Advancement Project (MAP): MAP is a nonpartisan LGBTQ+ policy research and advocacy think tank. COLAGE co-authored MAP's 2023 parentage laws report, making MAP a directly comparable peer in the policy/research function that complements COLAGE's community programming.
• Family Equality: Family Equality is the most directly comparable peer — a national LGBTQ+ family advocacy nonprofit. It is COLAGE's longest-standing strategic partner and co-host of Family Week in Provincetown, serving a substantially overlapping mission around legal protections and lived equality for LGBTQ+ families.
• National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR): NCLR is a national legal advocacy organization focused on advancing the rights of LGBTQ+ people and families. COLAGE has partnered with NCLR on the 2023 parentage laws report, and NCLR's litigation and policy work closely parallels COLAGE's legal advocacy stream.

Broad incumbents

• GLAAD: GLAAD is a leading LGBTQ+ media advocacy organization with a much broader, national communications mandate. As a co-sponsor of LGBTQ Families Day, GLAAD is a broad incumbent peer whose media and narrative work supports and overlaps with COLAGE's storytelling and visibility goals.
• Lambda Legal: Lambda Legal is a major national legal organization pursuing impact litigation for LGBTQ+ civil rights. It is a broad incumbent peer whose work on family recognition, employment, and healthcare intersects with COLAGE's legal advocacy on parentage and family protections.
• Human Rights Campaign: HRC is the largest U.S. LGBTQ+ civil rights advocacy organization, operating broadly across lobbying, education, and corporate engagement. While not focused specifically on queerspawn, HRC's work on family and parental rights makes it a broad incumbent peer in the same advocacy ecosystem.

Emerging players

• The Trevor Project: The Trevor Project focuses on crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ young people. It is an emerging player peer in the LGBTQ+ youth services space, addressing an adjacent but overlapping demographic and competing for some of the same donor dollars.
• Mombian: Mombian is an award-winning LGBTQ+-parenting blog/media property founded by Dana Rudolph. As co-creator of LGBTQ Families Day with COLAGE and other partners, Mombian is an emerging-player peer focused on LGBTQ+ parenting content and visibility.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/colage
• Instagraminstagram.com/colage
• Xx.com/COLAGENational

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Colage