What RainbowYOUTH does

RainbowYOUTH is a registered New Zealand non-profit organisation founded in 1989 that delivers support services to queer, gender diverse, takatāpui, and intersex young people aged 13-27, along with their whānau and wider communities. Operating from five regional centres across Aotearoa New Zealand (Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland, Te Whanganui-a-Tara/Wellington, Te Tai Tokerau/Northland, Taranaki, and Bay of Plenty), the organisation provides drop-in services, one-on-one peer support for trans and sexuality concerns, youth-led social groups, a free gender-affirming Community Wardrobe, the Sea and Stone Spa IPL Hair Removal Club (in collaboration with Gender Minorities Aotearoa), educational resources via the InsideOUT sub-brand, and identity-document assistance through Naming New Zealand.

The business model is non-commercial: nearly all services are delivered free of charge, with the only disclosed pricing being a NZD $20 membership fee for the IPL Club (with financial-hardship waivers). Revenue is generated primarily through donations and fundraising — which the organisation states account for over half of annual income — supplemented by grants from a disclosed network of trusts, foundations, and local councils (Tindall Foundation, Foundation North, Lion Foundation, NZ Lotteries, Auckland Council, and others). The organisation is member-based, governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, and supported by a small paid staff team of approximately 23 employees supplemented by trained volunteer facilitators.

Operationally, RainbowYOUTH has no proprietary technology platform; its digital infrastructure consists of a Squarespace-hosted website, regional Instagram accounts, and multiple Discord servers for social-group engagement. The InsideOUT sub-brand (developed with CORE Education, Curative, and the University of Auckland) provides free video-based teaching resources for schools. The organisation underwent a restructuring in April 2024 that eliminated four positions amid funding sustainability pressures, and experienced executive leadership turnover in 2025-2026, with Amber Gribble resigning as Executive Director in December 2025 and Petazae Thoms appointed as Kaiwhakahaere Matua | Director in March 2026.

Name

RainbowYOUTH

Legal name

RainbowYOUTH

Website

https://rainbowyouth.org.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

RainbowYOUTH is a New Zealand non-profit, founded in 1989, providing free peer support, drop-in services, social groups, community wardrobe, and gender-affirming resources to queer, gender diverse, takatāpui, and intersex youth aged 13-27 across five regions, funded primarily through donations and grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Support Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Child and Youth Services (624110), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Social Assistance (624), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

LGBTQ+ Rights & Advocacy Organizations (BPAGAFAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Disability Services & Independent Living Support (BPAGACAG), Disability Services & Independent Living Support (BPAGAEAG), Minority, Indigenous & Disability Rights (BPADAGAH)

Keywords

• Youth support services
• Peer support programs
• Gender affirming services
• Community drop-in centers
• Queer youth advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Auckland

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Primary revenue source relying on public donations and fundraising activities. The organization states that over half of their annual income comes from donations and fundraising.
2. Grants and Funder Support: Support from various organizations including Trusts Foundations, local councils, and government agencies. Logo section shows support from: Tindall Foundation, NPDC, COGS, BayTrust, Wellington Community Fund, Whangarei DC, Auckland Council, Devonport-Takapuna LB, Howick LB, Waitemata LB, Nikau Foundation, Lottery Grants Board, Foundation North, Rule Foundation, Lion Foundation, and NZ Lotteries.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

RainbowYOUTH provides free, strengths-based peer support, social groups, and community resources for queer, gender diverse, takatāpui, and intersex youth aged 13-27 across five regions of Aotearoa New Zealand. Core offerings include the Trans Peer Support Service (TPSS), Sexuality Peer Support, regional drop-in centres, social groups facilitated by trained staff, a free gender-affirming Community Wardrobe, and the Sea and Stone Spa IPL hair removal club for transgender people. The organisation also produces Inside Out educational video resources for schools and runs the Naming New Zealand initiative to help young people update identity documents.

Product overview

RainbowYOUTH is a non-profit organization offering a comprehensive suite of support services for queer, gender diverse, takatāpui, and intersex young people in Aotearoa New Zealand. The core offerings include Trans Peer Support Service (TPSS) for gender-affirming care navigation, Sexuality Peer Support, Drop-in Centres across multiple regions (Auckland, Wellington, Northland, Taranaki, Bay of Plenty), and Social Groups. Additional services include the Community Wardrobe for gender-affirming clothing, the IPL Hair Removal Club (Sea and Stone Spa) for transgender facial hair removal, Naming NZ for identity document assistance, and Inside Out educational resources for schools. Services are provided across five regions: Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland, Wellington, Northland, Taranaki, and Bay of Plenty.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• InsideOUT: A set of freely available video-based teaching resources aimed at decreasing homophobic and transphobic bullying in schools. The resource includes episodes for Year 7-8 and Year 9-13 students, covering topics such as gender, sex, sexuality, transgender and intersex identities, diversity, bullying, and respect. It was jointly produced by CORE Education, Curative, RainbowYOUTH, and the University of Auckland.

Products and services

• Trans Peer Support Service (TPSS) Free, fully confidential peer support service for transgender, non-binary and gender diverse youth offering support with transitioning, identity, accessing gender affirming healthcare and social and whānau affirmation over 6 sessions.
• Sexuality Peer Support One-on-one peer support with a support worker for sexuality-related concerns including exploring feelings about sexuality, coming out to whānau, friends, school, or workplace, and connecting with others.
• Drop-in Centres Drop-in centres open to queer, intersex, takatāpui and gender diverse young people aged 13-27 where they can hang out, play games, and access the free community wardrobe and library.
• Social Groups Smoke, alcohol and drug-free social spaces for young people to connect in supportive, inclusive environments. Groups include STAR, Generation Queer (GQ), Whangaparāoa Rainbow Group, ArtistRY, Queer4Shore, CraftOUT, and Identity (I.D).
• Community Wardrobe Free gender-affirming clothing service available at each centre. Provides clothing, makeup, skincare, and gender-affirming items like binders to young people in a safe and supportive environment.
• Sea and Stone Spa - IPL Hair Removal Club A private club run by Gender Minorities Aotearoa in collaboration with RainbowYOUTH providing free facial hair removal to transgender people using IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) technology. Initial $20 membership fee applies with financial assistance available.
• Inside Out Educational Resource Program Freely available video-based teaching resources to decrease homophobic and transphobic bullying in schools, including episodes covering Gender/Sex/Sexuality, Transgender & Intersex, Diversity & Difference, Bullying, and Respect & Responsibility. Co-produced with CORE Education, Curative, and the University of Auckland.
• Naming New Zealand Initiative to help queer, gender diverse, takatāpui and intersex young people with updating identity documents. Provides resources, connections to helping organisations, and financial assistance grants.
• CADS & Altered High Youth Service Free mental health and addiction support service for Rainbow rangatahi aged 13-25 whose lives have been affected by alcohol or drug use, provided in partnership with CADS (a CADS clinician attends the Auckland drop-in centre every Friday).
• Information & Resources Online resources for young people, parents, whānau, and teachers including Gender 101, Sexuality 101, rainbow-friendly services directory, and teacher resources.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over half of annual income from donations and fundraising, demonstrating strong community support.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• InsideOUT KōarocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational charity working to create safe spaces for rainbow youth in schools. RY collaborates on advocacy campaigns (e.g., opposing the Gender Definition Bill) and shares resources. InsideOUT houses RY Wellington at their Anvil House office location.
• Gender Minorities AotearoacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the Sea and Stone Spa IPL Club providing free facial hair removal to transgender people. Gender Minorities Aotearoa runs the private club while RY refers and supports young people to access the service.
• NZ Parents and Guardians of Transgender and Gender Diverse Children (NZPOTC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the 'We Got You' Fundraiser supporting rangatahi and whānau affected by the ban on puberty blockers. NZPOTC provides peer support and resources for families.
• Professional Association for Transgender Health Association (PATHA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the 'We Got You' Fundraiser. PATHA provides professional healthcare expertise and updates on care pathways and legal challenges related to transgender healthcare.
• Auckland PrideminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRY supports Auckland Pride events including Big Gay Out and Dress With Pride. Also partnered on the High Court challenge regarding transgender sport inclusion guidelines.
• CADS & Altered High Youth ServiceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFree mental health and addiction support service for rainbow rangatahi aged 13-25. CADS Clinician attends RY Auckland drop-in center every Friday 2PM - 5PM.
• CORE EducationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject partner in the Inside Out educational resource development, providing expertise in education and pedagogical approach.
• University of AucklandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in the Inside Out educational resource project, contributing research and educational expertise.
• CurativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreative agency partner that co-produced and co-directed the Inside Out video resources with Dr John Fenaughty.
• Naming New Zealand PartnersminorOthersInitiative to help queer youth update identity documents. Connects young people with organizations that can help and assists with costs.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Minus18: Australia's leading LGBTQ+ youth organization providing events, resources, and queer-formal programming for young people. Comparable mission, age segment, and community-event delivery model in a neighbouring but distinct geography.
• QLife: Australia's LGBTQ+ peer-support phone and webchat service. Comparable peer-counselling/peer-support model for rainbow people across age groups, operating in Australia rather than Aotearoa.

Broad incumbents

• The Trevor Project: US-based leading LGBTQ+ youth crisis intervention and suicide prevention organization. Comparable mission, target demographic (queer/trans youth), and peer-support service model, but at vastly greater scale with digital-first delivery.
• Burnett Foundation Aotearoa: Largest NZ sexual and gender minority charity (formerly NZ AIDS Foundation). Comparable mission in rainbow health and wellbeing, but broader adult-focused portfolio and historical HIV/AIDS remit versus RY's youth-specific focus.
• Youthline: NZ's largest youth helpline and support organization serving all young people. Overlapping youth-services category and similar volunteer-driven helpline/community support model, though not rainbow-specialist.

Direct peers

• NZ Parents and Guardians of Transgender and Gender Diverse Children (NZPOTC): NZ peer-support organization for whānau of transgender and gender-diverse young people. Directly comparable target population (rainbow youth + families) and collaborative partner on RY's 'We Got You' fundraiser.
• InsideOUT Kōaro: NZ national charity creating safe school environments for rainbow youth, co-located with RY in Wellington and a co-development partner on advocacy campaigns. Directly comparable mission (rainbow youth in Aotearoa) with overlapping but distinct service focus (schools vs. community drop-in).
• Gender Minorities Aotearoa: NZ organization running the Sea and Stone Spa IPL Club in collaboration with RY, providing gender-affirming resources for transgender people. Directly comparable in transgender peer support and gender-affirming service delivery to RY's trans rangatahi.
• Outline Aotearoa: NZ's rainbow-specific counselling and support helpline offering 1-on-1 support for LGBTQ+ people. Comparable peer support model (confidential, volunteer/facilitator-led) serving overlapping rainbow populations, though nationwide/remote vs. RY's regional in-person model.

Emerging players

• Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa (PATHA): NZ professional association advancing transgender health. Direct collaboration partner with RY on the 'We Got You' fundraiser and overlapping focus on gender-affirming healthcare access for transgender rangatahi.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/rainbowyouth
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rainbow-youth

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 RainbowYOUTH