The Victorian Government is backing the State’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse, intersex, queer and asexual (LGBTIQA+) communities with grants to help organisations strengthen their work and grow.
Minister for Equality Harriet Shing has announced 16 recipients will receive a share of $400,000 as part of the LGBTIQA+ Organisational Development Grants program for 2024.
“We’re supporting LGBTIQA+ organisations and groups with these grants so they can deliver programs that will help to build safe, supportive and inclusive communities for LGBTIQA+ communities across the state,” said Minister for Equality Harriet Shing.
“Our continued support for the LGBTIQA+ sector is embedded in Pride in our future, Victoria’s first long-term plan for LGBTIQA+ equality, which is setting the agenda to 2032 to ensure all Victorians are safe, free and equal.”
The annual grants program established by the Labor Government in 2016 helps organisations and groups grow their capacity to support LGBTIQA+ communities across Victoria.
Close to a third of the projects supported through the grants program this year will be delivered in regional Victoria, with projects ranging from literary festivals to promoting LGBTIQA+ participation in sport and to those telling queer history.
A number of the grant recipients support marginalised LGBTIQA+ communities, including First Nations and multicultural communities, as well as LGBTIQA+ seniors, people with disability and young people.
Recipients include Our Point 3 Incorporated, which will use their funding to help LGBTIQA+ international students with podcast production and interview training that will enable them to share their stories.
Flat Out will use its funding to further develop and strengthen its work with trans and gender diverse people in the criminal justice system through its program, Beyond Bricks and Bars.
In Victoria, equality is not negotiable and the Government is strengthening the LGBTIQA+ sector through a range of supports aligned with the Pride in our future: Victoria’s LGBTIQA+ strategy 2022-32.
More than 100 LGBTIQA+ organisations have been supported by the Organisational Development Grants Program since 2016, enabling them to grow and develop the services and programs they offer to Victoria’s LGBTIQA+ communities.
For more information about the LGBTIQA+ Organisational Development Grants program and the 2024 recipients, visit: www.vic.gov.au for details.