FCKH8 Earns $300,000 for Charity

Forget what your mama told you. Luke Montgomery proves that dropping f bombs is not only fun, it’s socially rewarding.

In addition to starting important dialogues by blasting bigotry online and getting middle school kids in hot water, Montgomery’s FCKH8 campaign is also giving back to the LGBT community in a big way.

What started as an expletive-laced stance for marriage equality has become a powerful voice against hatred. “In the beginning, everything we did was pink,” general manager Cole Stevens says of the campaign’s initial merchandise offerings. “Then when bullying became a hot topic, we switched to purple.”

Stevens is rightfully proud of the campaign’s accomplishments. “In the past six months we have earned $300,000 for worthwhile causes like the Trevor Project, the American Foundation for Equal Rights, Equality California, the Courage Campaign, and Lambda Legal,” he says. “Five dollars from every shirt we sell gets divvied up and distributed to those charities.”

So far, all sales — which have shipped to locations as far away as Australia and Thailand — have happened online thanks to free viral promotion, but Stevens says FCKH8 will be hitting the road this summer, selling T-shirts, gear, and calendars, and promoting the good word at pride festivals all over the country. A schedule will be posted on its site, FCKH8.com.

Read more about the campaign here.