The first round of grants from giving circle group The Channel have been announced.

The philanthropic organisation raises funds from its members and then awards them to projects that benefit LGBTIQ+ people.

Hosted by the Gay and Lesbian Foundation of Australia, The Channel members have picked two projects from a competitive field of applicants.

For their first round the fund sought out projects that matched the theme of ‘Brave’. The $5000 Hampton grant has been awarded to Pride in Care, an organisation created by  Lisa Gerrand.

Pride in Care, is an advocacy, education and leadership organisation lead by same sex attracted and sex and gender diverse young people with an out of home care experience (that’s young people who have lived in foster care, residential care or kinship care).

Taking inspiration from the RISE program in the US, the group will develop leadership skills to educate workers and carers on how best to work with LGBTQI+ young people in care.

The $10,000 Haring grant has been awarded to documentary project A Clever Label.

A Clever Label (or ACL) is an interactive, immersive documentary experience exposing the influence of the Australian Christian Lobby on our democracy and its impacts on LGBTQI people.

The project will follow Michela Ledwidge as she leads the audience to make their own discoveries and connect the dots. Using interactive virtual reality technology, Michela shares her personal story as a queer transwoman as a starting point to spotlight public but often hidden data.

OIP Staff