The Impact Storytelling Collective opens 9 November. Founding members join free.
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Charity work
The charity Naz asked me to build
In 2014, in Naz’s memory, I set up the Naz and Matt Foundation. It has grown because of the LGBTQI+ people and parents who trust us with their stories, and the volunteers who show up for them. It has been a privilege to lead it ever since.
What the Foundation does
The Naz and Matt Foundation is a registered charity (number 1160694). It works to remove the barriers that stop religious and culturally conservative parents from accepting their LGBTQI+ children.
“Never let religion, any religion or culture, come in the way of the unconditional love between parents and their LGBTQI+ children.”
Our mission
Support
Free, trauma-informed one-to-one and group support for LGBTQI+ people, and their parents, from religious and culturally conservative backgrounds.
Out and Proud Parents Day
A celebration, every 30 July, of religious parents who are proud of their LGBTQI+ children. It won Campaign of the Year at the 2022 Rainbow Honours.
Films and books
Including My God, I’m Queer for Channel 4, Best TV Programme at the 2021 Asian Media Awards, and the children’s book Salim’s Secret.
Education
Talks, training and workshops for schools, colleges, universities, government, police and community groups.
551
Requests for help and support in 2025
328
People supported in 2025
2014
Founded in Naz’s memory
How it began
In the days after Naz died, I did not want to live without him. I could not see any way forward.
At the moment I was about to take my own life, I heard his voice. Clear and familiar, speaking directly to me:
“Matt darling, I know you feel like you do not have a reason to stay, so I want to give you that reason to stay. Because you always did everything I ever asked of you, I know you will do this when I ask you. I want you to set up a group, a foundation, or something that will help prevent other people, in similar situations as ours, from going through what we went through.”
I sat down on the floor of our flat and cried for a long time. That is where the Foundation began. The idea came from Naz, and that is why it means so much to me. If it could keep me here, perhaps it could help others too.
I live with the guilt of not seeing what Naz was going through, and I will carry that for the rest of my life. It is also why I refuse to look away from what so many LGBTQI+ people still face because of how their families interpret religion and culture.
Since then, I have spent most of my time listening to the people who come to the Foundation for help. Listening is how we learn. With an extraordinary family of volunteers, we turn what we hear into action. The Foundation was built by the community, for the community.
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What it taught me
What running a charity taught me about telling stories
I’ve led a charity for more than 12 years. Every week I see both sides: the people living through something hard, and the organisation trying to show what it does for them without losing their trust.
That shapes how I work with every client:
Consent comes first, and it can be taken back.
Dignity over drama. Nobody should be reduced to the worst moment of their life to raise money.
Safeguarding is part of the brief, from the first conversation to the final edit.
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Get involved
Support the Foundation
The Foundation relies on donations and volunteers. If this work matters to you, you can donate, volunteer, or share it with someone who needs it.
“I will not stop, we will not stop, until every mother and father accepts their LGBTQI+ child for the person they were born to be.”
Matt Mahmood-Ogston