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HEY Grants

The HEY Grants are an annual small grant round for LGBTQIA+ projects and initiatives. Round 13 HEY Grants OPEN NOW, and will close 5 PM, Friday 13 October.

Apply now

All applications will be managed on SmartyGrants. If using SmartyGrants doesn't support your access needs, please email HEY@YACVic.org.au.

Grants aren’t just provided to LGBTQIA+ based services but are also given to mainstream organisations to support the further breakdown of barriers that exist for LGBTQIA+ young people in all spaces.

The grant categories

  • Youth led projects for LGBTIQA+ young people with innovative projects they know will support their LGBTIQA+ peers. A youth led application must be proposed and led by people who are under 25! (They can get people older than that to proofread and assist them).
  • Social Connectedness projects for services to expand or improve their support for LGBTIQA+ young people, and for targeted projects for LGBTIQA+ young people that will improve their mental health and wellbeing.

The HEY Grants are administered by the HEY Partners.

Who should apply?

Any organisation or project designed to support LGBTQIA+ young people in Victoria is encouraged to apply. Applications from outside of Victoria will not be considered.

HEY actively encourages applications that are led by, and designed for:

  • LGBTQIA+ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people
  • LGBTQIA+ disabled young people, and LGBTQIA+ neurodiverse young people
  • LGBTQIA+ young people of colour, and LGBTQIA+ young people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities
  • LGBTQIA+ community members who are underrepresented in services and programs, such as asexual and aromantic young people, or young people with intersex variations
How do I apply?

Before submitting your application on SmartyGrants, we advise you to prepare some of your responses beforehand so that you can make your application process as smooth as possible.

There are some key questions that you will be asked to respond to as part of your application. Here are some templates you should use as a way to prepare and refine your responses before adding them to your full application on SmartyGrants once submissions open:

Youth Led projects
Social Connectedness projects

Please note, you will need to copy and paste the information you write in these documents onto SmartyGrants for your application to count.

How to use SmartyGrants

  1. Once submissions open, click the link from this webpage which will take you to SmartyGrants.
  2. Here you'll be presented with a page where you can either preview your application or start a submission.
  3. If you start a submission, you'll be presented with a log on screen where you can register.

You can save progress on your application at any time on SmartyGrants. If your application is approved, this is also where you'll be asked to file progress reports once your project has been funded.

 

Read our FAQs

Previous grant recipients

Round 12 of the HEY Grants provided $102,000 to 11 incredible projects and organisations across the state. The grants were selected by a panel of LGBTIQA+ community members who prioritised new applicants to address intersections and gaps in LGBTIQA+ services.

See our previous recipients

Round 12

  • Each Social and Community Health Yarra Ranges

    Each Social and Community Health Yarra Ranges - $10,000

    Each Social and Community Health runs the Rural Rainbows program, which are peer-led support groups for LGBTQIA+ young people in the Yarra Ranges. Their aim is to improve the mental health and wellbeing of local LGBTQI+ young people by providing safe and vibrant spaces for them to connect, have fun, and be themselves.
  • More Than Melanin

    More Than Melanin - $10,000

    A magazine for and by POC and Bla(c)k women and LGBTQIA+ people currently published annually, issue no. 3 of More than Melanin aims to examine life and mental health post-2020 through a satirical lens. It centres the voices of youth from racially marginalised communities, especially the voices of queer people and women from these spaces.
  • The Mental Health Coach

    The Mental Health Coach - $10,000

    The Mental Health Coach will deliver cost-free Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training to LGBTIQA+ young people across Victoria. Adult workers who support this population can also pay a fee to attend. This blended group's MHFA will be evaluated along with the viability and self-sustainability of this business model for metro and rural populations.
  • headspace Narre Warren

    headspace Narre Warren - $10,000

    This project supports young people in the South-East of Melbourne to remove barriers for participation in opportunities they may not otherwise experience. Facilitated by lived experience peer workers, the project will assist LGBTQIA+ youth to grow their community through social events while providing consistent, accessible and safe spaces to enhance social connections and wellbeing.
  • Rainbow Alliance Stawell

    Rainbow Alliance Stawell - $10,000

    Rainbow Alliance is a peer-led support group for LGBTQIA+ young people in Stawell and surrounds that promotes local and state-wide opportunities for connection, support, celebration and advocacy to ensure the positive mental health and wellbeing of young people, and increase their scope of possibility.
  • Macedon Ranges Shire Council

    Macedon Ranges Shire Council - $10,000

    Project Pride is a mental health, wellbeing and social connection event with two proposed outcomes: LGBTIQA+ dance for young people in the Macedon Ranges and central Victoria, and the creative co-design of a large-scale video installation for projection at the dance event.
  • Junction Skate at the Y

    Junction Skate at the Y - $7,864.70

    This project will provide Junction Skate and BMX Park an avenue for the promotion of LGBTQIA+ young people and women in the community to participate in skateboarding. It will kickstart their push for equality within the skateboarding community, especially the local community of Junction Skate and BMX Park. The project will empower LGBTQIA+ young people, increase their participation in skateboarding, provide exposure for their issues, and aid in the running of events.
  • Brotherhood of Saint Laurence

    Brotherhood of Saint Laurence - $4,900

    Brotherhood of Saint Laurence will deliver a peer network for LGBTIQA+ young people (aged 16-24) living in Broadmeadows, Glen Waverley and Shepparton Education First Youth Foyers in Victoria. The group will create a supportive and fun space for LGBTQIA+ young people experiencing homelessness with the aim of increasing social connection, self-esteem and a sense of belonging.
  • We Eatin' Good

    We Eatin' Good - $10,000

    We Eatin' Good is a collaborative project that provides a platform and safe space for young QTBIPoC to explore the intersections of culture, queerness and identity through the universal language of food. They aim to uplift their communities by producing a range of creative projects that showcase the talents of QTBIPoC on and off the screen.
  • headspace Wonthaggi and Relationships Australia Victoria

    headspace Wonthaggi and Relationships Australia - $10,000

    headspace Wonthaggi will work with the Wonthaggi Union Community Arts Centre to build upon previous work and events that show LGBTQIA+ young people (and their families and friends) that they are not alone, and empower them to feel self-assured and secure within themselves. These events will be educational, informative and entertaining.