The Future Me Fund is a grant program designed to empower and uplift LGBTQIA+SB young people aged 18 years old years old and under. We are offering 5 grants of $1000 to support arts, culture and community based projects created and carried out by young people in this age bracket.

The Queer Futures Fund is a grant program designed to empower and uplift LGBTQIA+SB young people aged between 18 to 26 years old. You can apply for a grant up to $15,000 to support an arts, culture and community based project as long as it is for and by LGBTQIA+ youth.

The main difference between these two grant streams is the age range we are targeting and working with and grant amounts available. The Future Me Fund is aimed at young LGBTQIA+SB people (18 and under) who have recently graduated or are still in school and have an idea or creative project they would like to bring to life. It could be anything at all!

The Queer Futures Fund is aimed at an older cohort of young people who might not be eligible for government funding or have the experience to apply for big grants from larger organisations. Whether you’re just learning the ropes of creating and delivering arts, culture and community based projects, or someone who has some experience behind them, we want to hear from you!

Some of our previous applicants are emerging artists, community organisers, writers, directors and filmmakers, but the possibilities are endless. Our aim is to uplift and support Queer storytelling, community building and cultural shifts in whatever form it takes (Ie your project!).

We have carefully crafted the Queer Futures Fund and Future Me Fund application forms to be as friendly and accessible as possible, however we also acknowledge that our version of ‘accessible” is limited to our own lived experience and may not be the best fit for everybody. If there is a way we can make this process work better for you and remove barriers please get in touch with Lulkbudia by emailing artsandculture@wearitpurple.org.

To apply for the Queer Futures Fund you must be 26 years old or younger (18 to 26) by the 1st November 2024, identify as LGBTQIA+SB and be based in so-called Australia. 

If you are over 26 years old and have a LGBTQIA+SB young person within this age bracket involved in leading your project you can still apply for the Queers Futures Fund. However, we recommend that you support the young person in this age bracket to apply for the grant themselves (and note your working relationship/collaboration on the application). 

If you’re still unsure, please get in touch with Lulkbudia at artsandculture@wearitpurple.org to see if your project is eligible. 

We accept submissions from small organisations and individuals. Individuals do not have to be auspiced by an organisation to apply. 

If your project is successful you will need to have an Australian Business Number (ABN) (https://abr.business.gov.au/FAQ/ABNBasics) and Tax File number (TFN) (https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/tax-file-number/what-is-a-tax-file-number) to send us an invoice for your grant and receive payment.

We strongly encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and those with English as a second language, people living with a disability, people who are neurodiverse, people who are based in Regional and Rural communities and people with lower socio-economic backgrounds.

You do not have to be openly LGBTQIA+SB to apply for the Future Me or Queer Futures Fund.  Wherever you are on your LGTBQIA+SB journey, your identity is valid and will be respected here. You can choose whether your involvement with Wear it Purple is public or private.

Anything! Everything! As long as it’s an art, culture or community based project with LGBTQIA+ leadership.

In the past, we’ve supported short films, writing groups, traveling queer venues, queer storytelling workshops, community events, animations, underage discos and web series! Check them out here! https://www.wearitpurple.org/2023-grant-reciepients

The Queer Futures Fund must go towards projects and cannot be used for personal use like financial aid, assisting with study or top surgeries etc. Wear it Purple has a separate grant program supporting young LGBTQIA+ young people with financial aid - you can find out more about this here! https://www.wearitpurple.org/financial-assistance-grant

You can apply for up to $15,000 on a sliding scale to support your project.

The ranges of funding available are:

• $10,000 - $15,000

• $5,000 - $10,000

• $2,500 - $5,000

• $1,000 - $2,500

We decided to include a sliding scale amount so that we can assess the range of funding your project needs to get started.

Think of the amount at the beginning of the scale as the minimum amount you need to facilitate your project and the amount at the end of the scale being your ideal dream budget. This will help us identify what projects need the most resources to operate and how we can support as many projects as possible to have the biggest impact. 

If your application is successful you may receive up to the amount that you have requested, however some projects may receive less than requested depending on our funding allocations. 

The Queer Futures Fund is broken down into 4 sections of questions. The first 2 sections ask for your personal details (address, phone number e.c.t), Queer identity and other aspects of your identity that are important to you. This information helps us understand who you are and what unique lived experience you are bringing to your project.

In sections 3-4 there are 8 questions relating to your work/practice, vision for your project, the amount of money you are requesting, what you will spend the money on and the intended impact of your project (How does it better the lives of LGBTQIA+ young people?).

Do I have to submit a budget breakdown?

The simple answer is, yes you do have to submit a project budget along with your application.

We know this task can be really scary! Especially for folks who might be new to managing finances (or getting paid for their creative and community endeavors for the first time) and we want to make this part of the process as easy as possible for you so we have included a simple budget template in the application form. (Which you can access here too) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qr2JZ3Bs0wybMk2cJ6Gb5X3ZvWuU2pyr/view?usp=sharing

You do not have to submit quotes, bank statements or any official documentation along with your budget. Just a breakdown of what your expected expenses will be which we understand may be subject to change throughout the duration of your project.

Supporting materials:

We ask that you upload a project plan/timeline in this section. This is a great tool for both Wear it Purple and grant applicants to map out what is involved and required to make your project happen. We are happy to accept a working timeline as long as we have a rough idea of what’s involved in your project and whether it will be completed in a 12 month period.

You can submit supporting materials in whatever format suits you best. This could be support letters from community, a project pitch document or project collaborators and partners.

We will accept:

PDF (1-2 pages)

VIDEO (1min)

AUDIO (1min)

We’re sick of grants that make you compromise your creative vision to make your project ‘fundable’. Wear it Purple wants you to remain creatively free and so once we give you the money, it’s up to you to make it happen!

We require a check in 6 and 12 months after the grant has been released, which can be a quick zoom call, written update or video update to see how the project and timeline is going. This means that you don’t have to send us a lengthy report or make an acquittal every time something changes in your project. As long as the essence of your project and its impact are there, we’re happy for you to decide what the process looks like.

The biggest thing we ask is for funded projects to be completed no later than 12 months (one year) from the date you sign your contract (official letter of offer) in September/October 2024. This means that you plan on creating, running and completing your project by October 2025 With that being said, we also understand that sometimes life gets in the way and are always open to making it work around you.

We also ask that Wear it Purple’s support of your project be acknowledged on public promotional materials, which can look like:

• A Wear it Purple logo AND/OR “supported by Wear it Purple” written on your poster/promotional material or social media caption.

• A collaborative social media post promoting your project and involvement with Wear it Purple

• 5 Invitations/comps to the event/screening etc.

We also ask for collateral from your project (photos, videos, posters, scripts e.c.t) when it is completed to display on the Wear it Purple website among other supported projects.

A part of our grant agreement is that Wear it Purple will receive rights to include the project on our website and as part of the official Wear it Purple events (1-3 / year) at no extra cost, in perpetuity - unless specifically discussed otherwise.

For any questions - you know what to do! (email Lulkbudia!)

We are prioritizing intersectional identities with the distribution of these grants because people from these communities are excluded and/or exploited by the past and current systems that uphold so-called australia. While we all work, live and operate on Aboriginal land, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in this country are often denied access to resources and opportunities, or have to compromise their ways of being in order to fit into the colonial structures of Australia’s society.

Intersectionality refers to the way that overlapping aspects of someone’s identity influences the way they interact with and are treated in the world around them (attitudes, systems, structures in society ).

Aspects of a person's identity can include social characteristics such as:

• Aboriginality

• gender

• sex

• sexual orientation

• gender identity

• ethnicity

• skin colour

• nationality

• refugee or asylum seeker background

• migration or visa status

• language

• religion

• age

• mental health

• socioeconomic status

• housing status

• geographic location

• medical record

• criminal record

Just in the way that being LGBTQIA+ affects the way that we all see and experience the world, these other social characteristics of a person’s identity have a significant impact on their lived experience, as well as their access to opportunities and privilege.

As a Queer organisation we strive to make sure all voices in our community are being heard, and to elevate the voices that have been silenced, erased or overlooked by society’s systems.

That is why under the leadership of our amazing Youth Action Council, we are ensuring that half of the funding goes toward Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and projects/people based in regional, remote and rural “Australia”.

This means that half of the grant money no matter what will go towards these two groups, so a quarter of the fund pool each. We very well could give more than the reserved amount to projects by these groups - but it just means that this is built into the process of determining the recipients.

You can only apply once with each project. However, if you have a bunch of projects - feel free to apply as many times as you want.

If you’re 18 and Under, you can apply for both grants. However please know that the Queer Futures Fund is a bit more intensive and requires more information. Whilst we’ve tried to make the Future Me Fund as easy to apply as possible!

If you’re registered for GST, we can pay you additionally for GST. However, if you’re not, you will not receive additional GST.

Applicants will hear back about the verdict of their application after the two rounds of judging have been complete - which is late September/early October 2024. Shortly after you’ve been notified, you’ll have to sign the contract and send over your invoice to ensure it’ll be paid in time.

Darcie Cliff

Creative Arts Weekend

The Queer and Deadly workshop weekend will feature a number of 'write your story’ and ‘express yourself’ workshops, focussed around creative and performing arts, including writing, performance and painting, with the opportunity for participants to showcase their story/artwork at a performance evening. In terms of sexual violence with Indigenous, queer peoples, coming together and partaking in creative workshops is a really important way for youth to rebuild kinship relationships with their wider community which can encourage healing as a collective. Healing gives survivors back to themselves and with Queer, Indigenous youth being a part of the most marginalised groups in Australia - we want them to know that our event is a safe place; there's no need to fight or hide anymore.

Lulkbudia Mclean

DJ WORKSHOP PROGRAM

Deadly Decks is a grassroots program empowering young Mob in WA to explore their creativity and expand their musical expression through the artform of DJing. Coordinated and facilitated by 2 Lubly, Boorloo (Perth WA) based DJ duo, Lulkbudia (Miriwoong Gadjerong) and Sarah (Malgana, Nhanda,Yamaji), hailing from the Kimberley and Midwest regions of WA. Deadly Decks includes a series of skill sharing workshops and a showcase event for participants across regional, remote and metro WA to build their confidence and share their talent.

Imbi Nassi

TOOL-KIT (IN A ZINE) AND SINGLE DROP

imbi is a trans artist moving through the mediums of poetry, music and mysticism. in this offering, he presents a melodic musing on trans-masc yearning accompanied by a zine-form tool kit of personal revelations, interpersonal conversations and honest poetic reflections from themself and members of the queer community of so-called-sydney. in an attempt to share useful practices they have learnt both collaboratively and independently, imbi hopes to capture and convey the powerful moments shares and celebrated amongst queer family in this colony, reminding young queers of the decadent connections that await them and offering some help in the process of finding kin

Audley Anderson

DOCUMENTARY

A doco/factual series archiving, imagining and creating queer chosen families. FOUND follows existing chosen family relationships, finds and breaks down the barriers to forming queer intergenerational connections, and strengthens community by creating accessible avenues for finding family.

Aud Mason-Hyde

PUBLICATION
(INDEPENDENTLY PUBLISHED MAGAZINE)

DREAMLIFE is an independent magazine, which, from inception to distribution, is lead by a team of transgender, gender diverse and non binary people. The concept of DREAMLIFE is to take up a beautiful space with a physical manifestation of trans community, joy and resilience, countering the harmful anti-trans narratives so often played out in media.

Jay Van Nus

A parable of trans teenhood

2D ANIMATED SHORT FILM / MUSIC VIDEO

Rumble aims to keep young trans people company in what can often be a scary and lonely time - the queer teen years. To create an immersive experience, talented trans and ally musicians will create a sound mix to accompany an animated short film depicting some of the highs and lows and even euphoric ecstasy I encountered in my own trans journey, and navigate from feeling lost to a part of something beautiful!

Sarah Carroll

PILOT OF WEBSERIES

Award winning show from the fringe circuit Cherry will be turned into a short form online series about growing up in Western Sydney and grappling with their queer identity in the early 2000’s all with a bubblegum pop candy lens and a lil bit of...okay maybe a lot of Katy Perry.

Te Bajao

DANCE

In October this year, movement artist Te Bajao (Ate Cheska) will perform their debut solo show 'becoming ghosts' at Queen Victoria Women's Centre as part of Melbourne Fringe Festival. Brought to you by a team of queer and POC creatives, 'becoming ghosts' pays homage and surrenders to the supernatural, drawing influence from creatures in Filipino folklore such as Aswang, as well as iconic psychological thriller and horror films such as Suspiria and The Grudge.

Bailey Montgomerie

COMPOSER LAB / PUBLIC PERFORMANCE / ALBUM / VIDEO RECORDING

Compose Queer Lab is a specialist composer lab that enables emerging queer musicians to unapologetically insert their own identities and experiences into new classical music works. In 2024, Divisi will select three young queer composers to develop their craft through a paid opportunity to compose for Divisi and work with queer industry professionals to create brand new innovative and uniquely queer musical works.

Malaika Green

ALBUM

"Yasmin" by Malaika Mfalme is a 9-track soul/folk album about love, loss, grief, and the journey of self-acceptance. Named and created for the late Yasmin Stelling (@yasminstellingmusic on instagram if you wish to tag) Malaika has produced a soulful homage to their late partner with the intent for her to live on through this work. Designed with a looping pedal, guitar, cajon, bass, keys, and pickaso bow (@pickasobow), the album is layered with harmonies and nods to Malaika's Tanzanian heritage. The album will be dropping very soon with support from Offbeat Collective (@offbeatcollective_) and Wear It Purple (@wear_it_purple). Watch this space for more info about the album and Malaika Mfalme {Angel King}!

Scott Parker

PODCAST

To My Future Self is a podcast & performance project amplifying the stories of LGBTQIA+ regional youth. Regional young people have stories to tell; stories about the joys, hopes and struggles of being a queer young person living in the country. Matriark Theatre will partner with queer community organisations on Birpai country in Port Macquarie to deliver a pilot program consisting of a podcast and live storytelling event. This program will connect queer youth, provide creative upskilling and leave participants feeling strong, confident and courageous in their identity.

Jace Reh

ART PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM & SHOWCASE

The Collaborative Radial Intersectional Performance Spaces Disability Collective (CRIPS) is excited to announce their queer performance development program supported by the Wear it Purple Queer Futures Fund. This program will be an accessible 6-month program open to community members aged 18-25 to hone their performance skills under a roster of community mentors and industry professionals. After this intensive offering skill development in music, art, and writing, participants will work together to put on a community showcase to share the beauty of their art with the Adelaide community.

Tasha Robinson

YOUTH WORKSHOPS

Words in Winter is a day of celebration for queer youth in the Daylesford region. From special guest, Erin RIley (they/them) doing a book talk about gender writing and identity, to music performances and workshops. 

Felix Jackson

COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITY ART WORKSHOPS AND ART INSTALLATION

‘A Place for Us’ is a collaborative art project for trans youth, centered around making our own safe spaces. The project aims to build and strengthen community connections through collaborating on a series of textile works that will be used to create an installation.

Cleo Rapture

BURLESQUE WORKSHOP

Unite, undress, and unleash your Big Dyke Energy. EMBODIED is a neo-burlesque dance workshop to explore your Queer sensuality and movement through the art of striptease. Over 90 minutes, you will journey from fully clothed to gloriously unwrapped through a curated, accessible burlesque routine; a golden opportunity to dress up, dance together, learn the art of the tease, and release your inner femme / themme fatale. Hosted by Lesbian Novocastrian dance instructor and performance artist, Cleo Rapture, this FREE workshop will step through the fundamentals of Burlesque and Striptease, with a focus on working the Queer gaze. Participants will have a safe, inclusive space to explore sensuality by moving their hips, hair and hearts, while feeling empowered and boosting their confidence.

Leah Ayres & Cody Robinson

SERIES OF COMMUNITY EVENTS

Join Inclusive Counselling Collective for Toowoomba Pride ’24 rainbow poetry workshops. We will be exploring themes of queer joy and how queer identities can be expressed through poetry, storytelling, and art. You’ll be given the opportunity to submit your piece for the Queer Stories Toowoomba anthology, which we will be published and made available in physical and digital formats.