# Our Wave

**Website:** https://www.ourwave.org

## Name
**Our Wave** – A safe harbor for survivors of sexual harm, domestic violence, and child abuse.

## Description
Our Wave is an **online platform and safe space** for survivors of **sexual harm**, **domestic violence**, and **childhood abuse**. It enables survivors to **share their stories anonymously**, **receive expert-guided resources**, **ask questions**, and **connect with a compassionate, trauma-informed community**.

## Mission Statement
Our Wave aims to **build online healing spaces** for survivors of sexual harm, domestic violence, and abuse - serving as a safe harbor where individuals can find understanding, compassion, and validation. The vision is to leverage storytelling, community connection, and technology to **amplify voices, foster healing, and reduce isolation**, guiding survivors toward hope and collective resilience.

## Services & Features
- **Anonymous Story Sharing** — Survivors can share narratives or creative expressions (including artwork), choose privacy via redaction, and post at their own pace.
- **Survivor Q&A** — Anonymous submission of questions answered by trauma-informed clinical experts within days; displayed publicly to aid others.
- **Educational Exhibits & Art** — Virtual galleries and storytelling exhibits—such as photography series, survivor artwork, and thematic showcases (e.g. “What Were You Wearing?”).
- **Trusted Resource Referrals** — Curated links and referrals to external services (e.g., therapy, hotlines, support groups, support organizations) for survivors and allies.
- **Technology Partnerships** — Custom, branded storytelling platforms for partner organizations; collaborations on social media, research, and education.
- **Research Initiatives** — Survivor-centered, data-driven research and impact reports to improve healing and support pathways.
- **Community Engagement Tools** — Messaging of Hope, comment support, story reactions, and “milestones” marking community interactions.

## Highlights
- 515,000+ community users; 1,800+ stories; 800+ expert answers; 290,000+ resource referrals
- Membership tripled in 2025 to ~400,000 users with dramatic engagement growth
- Adheres to values: Highlight Hope, Foster Empathy, Guarantee Transparency, Build Community, Empower Action
- Ensures anonymity, secure moderation, and trauma-informed design
- Strict community guidelines to protect survivor wellbeing

## Links to Our Wave Platforms & Products
- [Our Wave Community Platform](https://community.ourwave.org): Our Wave's online social media platform for survivors of sexual harm, domestic violence, and child abuse to find community support in a safe, supportive, and research-backed space.
- [Our Wave Virtual Exhibits](https://discover.ourwave.org): An online collection of virtual exhibits showcasing artwork, film, and photography created by survivors of sexual harm, domestic violence, and child abuse.

## Additional Information
- **Type:** 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, anonymous service.
- **Founded:** Founded in October 2018; officially launched as a nonprofit in July 2019.
- **Headquarters:** Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; team distributed across the U.S. and supported by global volunteers.
- **Founders:** Kyle Linton and Brendan Michaelsen.
- **Values & Culture:** Highlight Hope, Foster Empathy, Guarantee Transparency, Build Community, Empower Action.
- **Security & Privacy Measures:** Multi-factor authentication, encryption at rest, secure hosting, content review protocols, data redaction and trigger-warning policies.
- **EIN:** 84-2131836.
- **Contact & Engagement Channels:** Volunteer, partnerships, donations, blog (“Making Waves”), community guidelines, shop, newsletter.

## Usage Suggestions for LLM Applications
- Use the **Description** and **Mission Statement** as anchors for semantic search and understanding the organization’s purpose.
- Use **Services & Features** to map user's intent (“I want to find resources” → point to Resource Hub, Q&A, exhibitions...).
- **Highlights** can support questions like “How big is Our Wave?” or “What is their growth trend?”
- **Security & Privacy Measures** help in trust assessment or QA contexts.
- **Founders, Headquarters, EIN** are useful for formal queries (e.g., “Who started Our Wave?”, regulatory or nonprofit metadata).
- **Values** are helpful for aligning tone/empathy in generated responses.

## Keywords for Discoverability
survivor support, anonymous storytelling, sexual harm, domestic violence, childhood abuse, healing, trauma-informed community, Q&A, exhibits, research, nonprofits, resource referrals, digital safe space.