Foundation Grants (up to $10,000)

Celebrating & Supporting Two-Spirit Youth
And Then I Was Free
This project represents a step forward in our mission to create a more inclusive and supportive environment for Indigenous Two-Spirit youth. Rooted in our unwavering commitment to making a meaningful impact, we are set to launch Two-Spirit-specific programming that seeks to celebrate individuals and address the unique challenges.

Comida Para Todes – Food For All
Marikass Toronto
A monthly vegan community kitchen that offers free and low-cost meals for 2SLBTQAI+ community members, prioritizing racialized individuals. With an elevated experience of live performances by local talents, which will be recorded and shared online. A zine will be published at completion with food recipes, highlighting performers and thanking sponsors.

HIV+ Community Arts Gallery and Studio Spaces
People With AIDS Foundation Toronto
PWA is creating a gallery and studio space for HIV+ community members, within a hub for grassroots community organizations, to hold public exhibitions of HIV+ artists, and to provide consistent and ongoing space for artist studio practice, art workshops and other cultural presentations accessible to HIV+/2sLGBTQ+ people across the GTA.

Pathways and Connections
Fife House Foundation
This project aims to support the physical & mental well-being of vulnerable 2SLGBTQ+ community members who are living with HIV/AIDS – particularly seniors and women who have or are experiencing housing insecurity/homelessness to participate in activities and access spaces that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to.

The Flin Flon Cowboy
Flin Flon Cowboy Collective
The Flin Flon Cowboy is an original autobiographical musical that explores disability, love, and sexuality through the remarkable life story of Ken Harrower, a queer disabled performer and singer from Flin Flon, Manitoba backed by live musicians as his country-western band.

Foundation Grants (up to $7,500)

Building Capacity of QTBIPOC Youth in Durham Region Through Ballroom
AIDS Committee of Durham Region
Monthly vogue, drag, and dance workshops for QTBIPOC youth that will culminate in a ball. The goal is to foster a sense of community, enhance sexual health knowledge, build relationships with Queer mentors, and develop artistic skills for QTBIPOC youth.

The Modern Guide for Queer & Trans Asian Youth (multilingual resources)
Asian Community AIDS Services (ACAS)
The Modern Guide is a much needed update to a decade old resource. With this resource they aim to provide guidance and support for East & Southeast Asian LGBTQ+ youth and their family members in the coming out process with a culturally-specific lens.

Rainbow Roots: Advocating for Equitable Reproductive Care for 2SLGBTQIA Families
Birth Mark
Rainbow Roots is an advocacy project created with 2SLGBTQIA community members to help intended parents learn about their rights and how to advocate for their needs in family building journeys. We are addressing intersecting barriers related to 2SLGBTQIA family building through community advocacy, outreach, and training modules for healthcare professionals.

Becoming Sanjina
BollyHeelsTO
BollyHeelsTO will share Sanjina DaBish Queen’s story in the form of a musical, building upon a previous project. They aim to open the doors to both Bollywood and Hollywood to raise more awareness along with create and establish more openness within the South Asian and BIPOC communities.

“Unmasked Bodies”: Asian and Migrant LGBTQ+ Sex Worker Rights and Wellness Series
Butterfly – Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Support Network
A community-led initiative that aims to foster connections and provide resources for Trans, Queer and GenderQueer Asian and Migrant Sex Workers. Their project aims to “unmask” the stigma and barriers through engagement in training and programming that vitalizes social connection, community care and solidarity.

HERMAPHRODITUS at Toronto Fringe Festival
Dead Name Theatre
HERMAPHRODITUS is a theatrical retelling of the Greek myth of Hermaphroditus, the child of Hermes and Aphrodite. Hermaphroditus desires to be a part of the greater Olympus and fights through Transphobia and discrimination to get there. This world-premiere was presented July 5-16 at the 2023 Toronto Fringe Festival.

The Gender Layer Tool- For Conceptualizing Experiences of Gender
Faelix Kayn
This project will review, revise and widely disseminate Faelix Kayn’s Gender Layer Tool (2016) and accompanying workshop in order to provide a free, accessible and more inclusive resource for understanding gender, presentation and perceived presentation in a way that includes and normalizes fluid, neurodiverse and non-western genders.

Vogue for Black Liberation (Vogue/Ballroom Summer Camp)
Freedom School – Toronto
Vogue for Black Liberation is a project to engage children/youth in ballroom culture/arts as an expression of Black LGBTQ+ liberation. As part of a summer ballroom camp in 2023 children and youth will dance and create art with: Twysted Miyaki Mugler, Tamar Carter, Kimora Amour and many others.

Queer Taiko with RAW
Raging Asian Women Taiko Drummers
“Queer Taiko” is a series of three interactive arts-based workshops inviting 2SLGBTTIQQ community members to activate the power and potential of taiko for emotional expression and collective action. Through movement, games and reflection, participants will learn taiko stills, practise creative embodied expression, and build community.

Meet, Eat & Move Your Feet: Healthy Living for 2SLGBTTIQ+ Seniors
Sunshine Centres for Seniors
This project will provide opportunities for 2SLGBTTIQ+ seniors to enjoy 30 social and recreational activities together including dance, neighbourhood walks, and outings to diverse local restaurants as well as participating in five health and wellness events. The project will create social connections and improve Rainbow seniors’ overall health and well-being.

Connected – Check – In Series
Ubuntu – Black Trans, Non-Binary and 2Spirit Collective
Connected – Check – In Series is a drop-in program which will run once a month from August 2023 through March 2024. The sessions will foster community connectedness and empowerment of Black Trans, Non-Binary and 2Spirit people, through informative, fun facilitated sessions curated based on community feedback.

DAO – Trans Community Outreach – Now focusing on our Trans community’s mental health and support, through ongoing group support/presentations/education and access to private counselling services. Including access to FTM garments to ease Body Dysphoria Syndrome.

Passion Fruit: Club Kidz Alley – An arts and culture homage to the 90’s era of Queer Club Kid culture told through the artistry of Video, Drag, Music, and Immersive Performance. Presented through a short film and a Queer Sex-Positive Arts Event Experience by Torontonian racialized queer Nightlife artists.

From Bigotry to Bollywood: 2SLGBTQ+ Stories in Motion – Five South Asian 2SLGBTQ+ artists will work with fifteen 2SLGBTQ+ seniors to create five original dances that tell stories of their lived experiences. These pieces will then be performed at #BollywoodMonster Mashup, the largest South Asian festival in Canada.

Queer Youth Cabaret – Queer Youth Cabaret provides young queer artists with a platform to express their identity while acquiring mentorship and learning to guide their artistry. Twelve selected artists from the 2SLGBTQIA+ community will develop and rehearse performances to be presented at Soulpepper on June 24 and 25 during Pride Month.

LGTBQ2+ Youth mural Jam – On June 22, a series of workshops will be held at ScarboroughArts, invitingLGTBQ2+ Youth, to create/participate in a mural jamLEARNING. Mentored by Monica Wickeler and youth-artist FP MONKEY, the muralJAM will take place at the West-Scarborough-Neighborhood-Community-Center on July/August 22

Queen West Art Crawl Festival – Kid Zone – The Kid Zone project focuses on creating a space for 2SLGBTQ+ families and their youth. This project creates live and interactive theatre that teaches inclusivity, Arts and Crafts, Young Art Entrepreneurs, and Drag story/Drag In the Park. Working with community partners, this initiative creates an inclusive space for all.

Period Equity for All – Period Equity for All will benefit and serve 2SLGBTTIQQ+ individuals in the Toronto community by providing a full range of free period products in all washrooms (dispensers included) and free comprehensive training on reusable period products.

Backstage Center Technical Apprenticeship (BCTA) – The Backstage Center Technical Apprenticeship provides unique performing arts technical skills training to underrepresented youth ages 15-30 with career aspirations in the production industry. Apprentices receive high-quality, paid job training and are paired with professional mentors in the production industry for 5-6 weeks on professional theatre shows produced by SIA.

Never Get In Your Own Way – New Play Development – Roseneath commissioned Indigenous artist Brendan Chandler to create a short piece for young audiences that could be performed digitally. Using digital components the longer live version will be 30-40 minutes in length.

Bricks and Glitter 2022 – Bricks and Glitter is a community arts festival that provides a low barrier, intersectional space for celebrating 2SQTBIPOC+ talent, and building community capacity in arts and activism. In 2022, a three-month workshop series will take place after a weekend of programming spanning the Toronto to Peel region.

Mental Health Zine – Zine focused on the mental health needs and experiences of queer youth in Toronto and the GTA. The issue will provide a creative outlet for queer and trans youth as well as a toolkit to help those who are struggling. 

Durham Region 2022 Pride Week Festival – With in-person and virtual components – Emerging from two years plus of restrictions, it is important to be visible and to reconnect with our community giving new life, renewed hope, and a sense of pride in ourselves and our community. This will be done through virtual and in-person events.

Rainbow Families: Increasing Capacity and Support for QTBIPOC and Trans and Non-binary Led Families in South Etobicoke – This project will focus on increasing support to and resources for QTBIPOC and trans and non-binary led families within south Etobicoke by offering a Family PRIDE Day celebration in June as well as monthly drop-in programs at LAMP’s EarlyON and Family Centre for families with children up to age 6.

Sugar Plum – Sugar Plum is a queer coming of age story. It is a dance-theatre comedy that embraces those who have been systematically rejected by ballet, imagining what the future can look like if all bodies were welcome on the dance floor.

Queer Jewish Incubator – Queer Jewish Incubator responds to a demonstrated need to bolster emerging LGBTQ+ Jewish leaders with the skills, community, and mentorship to advance LGBTQ+ Jewish life in Toronto. The project invests in these leaders as the visionaries, storytellers, guides, weavers, and disrupters currently needed within our Toronto Jewish communal context.

Camp Rainbow Phoenix – Virtual and in-person leadership camp for 2SLGBTQI youth 12-17. Leadership summer camp experience embedded with identity-specific programming. Educational and fun!

Ondru Koodal – This initiative will organize and create inter-generational spaces including events, gatherings and workshops that are centred around radical joy, love and pleasure for queer trans, non-binary and intersex Tamil people and their loved ones.

QueerDigital Speaker Series – Indigenous Friends Association (IFA) will host (3) QueerDigital Speaker Series for Queer BIPOC communities around ways digital spaces can affirm and support queer identities and foster solidarity and relationship building between Black and Indigenous communities. We will invite the Queer Black, Indigenous, and Afro-Indigenous speakers to facilitate conversations.

Out and About Under the Rainbow: Creating Connections for 2SLGBTTIQ+ Seniors – Our project will create connections among 2SLGBTTIQ+ seniors through social, recreational, artistic and educational activities which provide opportunities to be “out and about under the Rainbow”. Presentations by BIPOC/TC artists will celebrate their artistic contributions. Outreach to BIPOC/TQ individuals and the broader LGBTTIQ+ community will encourage involvement in the project.

Rainbow Griffins RFC – Pathway to Inclusive Sports – 2SLGBTQIA+ – Rainbow Griffins is actively promoting 2SLGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and Newcomers inclusive rugby to activate players to their potential without discrimination, and Captains into Equity, Diversity, Inclusion (EDI) Champions. To do so, RGRFC will invest heavily in training new players, regardless of gender, age, skill, financial situation and experience.

Queer Asian Joy – This grant will be used to launch an online hub and home for our LGBTQ2+ Inclusive Education materials so that teachers, student groups, partners, and community members can access these materials for free.

Wear We Stand – For four weeks in August 2022, the Wear We Stand project will bring together 2SLGBTQIA+ QTBIPOC youth in Scarborough to learn how to design and create screen-printed t-shirts as a way of engaging with gender-affirming fashion and self-expression through workshops on radical self-love and social justice equity.

QTBIPOCSA Youth Abilities – This initiative will create a safe environment for QTBIPOC multicultural youth with intellectual, physical and developmental abilities to learn heritage through workshops, and allow each member to learn their own ancestry & culture. The group will create an art mural to use going forward – a shield of power.

LGBTQ2+ Inclusive Education: Online Hub – This initiative will launch an online hub and home for LGBTQ2+ Inclusive Education materials so that teachers, student groups, partners, and community members can access these materials for free.

Sanjina: The Untold Story of a Fijian Drag Queen – BollyHeelsTO will share the story of a Fijian male, gay dancer based in Toronto named Sanjay DaBish Queen, in the form of a short dance piece. The aim is to open doors to both Bollywood and Hollywood and raise more awareness, create, and establish more openness within the South Asian and BIPOC communities.

Drag Academy – Drag Academy (run by The Concerned Kids Charity of Toronto) brings together 2SLGBTQ+ artists who share their expertise in drag through immersive classes.

QueerDigital – Indigenous Friends Association will deliver 8 QueerDigital educational sessions to Queer BIPOC youth in the GTA, with content around the intersections of Queer digital spaces and Indigeneity. The aim of the program is to increase the digital literacy and career skills of the participants while simultaneously embracing their identities.

2021 Virtual Visible Pride Week – An initiative that will assist Pride Durham in continuing Pride in the Durham Region through virtual events and online presence.

Music In Community: Rainbow Writes 2021 – A music program for Scarborough LGBTQ2S+ youth to explore, collaborate on, and create music that discusses identity for the BIPOC and LGBTQ2S+ communities. At the end of the project, youth will have recorded and completed 2-3 original songs.

Durham TransEmpowerment – An initiative by Durham Alliance Outreach that seeks to improve and ease the cost that the trans community faces in transition.

Bigger Than We 2 – A project to develop an intergenerational creative experience using the arts to build connections and facilitate knowledge exchange among members of the GTA’s Black queer communities.

Journey of Rainbow Pride in Scarborough 10 year anniversary – A documentary bringing much needed visibility to QTBIPOC community with intellectual and physical disabilities. It will be used as a tool to raise awareness, generate discussion and to address the stigma that the community faces.

Queen West Art Crawl Festival – Kids Zone – A project that focuses on creating spaces for our 2SLGBTQ+ families and their youth. The event will bring live and interactive theatre that teaches inclusivity, along with arts/crafts and drag story time.

Mature Trans Sisters – A social drop-in group where mature trans women unite, talk and learn, share resources, and enjoy a hot meal. Led and supported by participants and facilitators, MTS is a safe space for self-identified trans women, gender-non confirming, Two-Spirit and intersex people aged 45 years plus.

EducAsian – Community Learning for LGBTQ+ Youth in the Face of Anti-Asian Racism – A workshop series that will equip and empower East and Southeast Asian LGBTQ+ youth with basic knowledge and skills to deal with Anti-Asian racism in their daily lives and connect them to the community.

Queering Education in ASL in Drag – Ontario Rainbow Alliance of the Deaf – two hours of family and queer/trans friendly storytelling in ASL, plus educational information-sharing sessions bridging the gap between different identities in LGBTQIA spaces.

Performance Creation Program – The Artists Mentoring Youth (AMY) Project – an opportunity for trans women and trans femmes of colour, ages 16-29, to create original performance work based on their lives, in an affirming and supportive space.

Searching for Eastman – Citadel + Compagnie – a multidisciplinary performance piece based on the life and work of musical genius Julius Eastman (1940-1990) – Black/Queer, an exceptional outspoken voice in the (White) minimalistic music scene.

Disability Express Photoshoot – Rainbow’s Pride in Scarborough – a youth-led art and costume-making workshop series, photoshoot and exhibition, recognizing the need for positive spaces that celebrate the diversity of LGBTQ2+ youth in Scarborough labelled with physical, mental, and intellectual disabilities.

Non-Binary Lives and the Journey of Faith – Generous Space Ministries – production of a documentary film featuring non-binary individuals and their spiritual journeys to educate, particularly in the context of faith communities where non-binary folks are at significant risk of rejection and discrimination.

Drumming Up! Taiko With RAW Raging Asian Women – Taiko Drummers – interactive arts-based workshops inviting LGBTQ2S+ community members to activate the power and potential of taiko for emotional expression and collective action.

Machane Lev – Canadian Young Judaea – Canada’s first and only overnight LGBTQ+ Jewish summer camp, giving attendees a safe place to explore gender, sexual and religious identities.

Rainbow Seniors: Proud and Active – Sunshine Centres for Seniors – outings, art-making, and a speakers’ series to give LGBTQ+ seniors enjoyable opportunities for social interaction, physical exercise, cognitive stimulation and engagement in their community.

QTBIPOC Drop-In – PFLAG Canada Durham Region – connecting folks who identify within the QTBIPOC community to educational programming, resourceful support groups, volunteer/employment opportunities and social networking with Durham Region’s growing QTBIPOC community.

Healthier Selves, Healthier Relationships, Healthier Communities (Ontario Rainbow Alliance of the Deaf) – provides a ten-week workshop series for LGBTQQ2SIA Deaf community members.

Asians in Motion II: LGBTTIQQ2SA Youth Forum (Asian Community AIDS Service) – a full-day community forum designed by and for self-identified East & Southeast Asian LGBTTIQQ2SA youth in Toronto and the GTA. The project goal is to increase youth capacity, and peer support network through training, awareness raising activities that will promote community leadership, communication, and advocacy.

Developing a Life Coaching Model for Asian Trans Women (Asian Community AIDS Service) – this project aims to develop a person-centred life coach model for Asian trans women to guide them in their journey to transitioning. 10-15 Asian trans women will be engaged by supporting their transitioning in the areas of real life experience, social and emotional well-being, disclosure, and other life challenges.

Boys In Chairs (Boys in Chairs Collective) – a devised, collective theatre piece that explores the specifics of three men’s experiences as queer disabled men.

An Intergenerational Gathering Telling the History of Toronto’s Black Queer Community (Intergenerational Gathering Planning Committee) – a one-day event bringing together the different generations of Toronto’s Black queer communities to share stories and learn about their history, to acknowledge and honour those involved in community building over the years including Black queer ancestors, and to celebrate the transformative work of community building.

Rainbow Outings and Art-Making: Seniors Celebrate Toronto Together (Sunshine Centres for Seniors) – this project will give LGBTQ seniors opportunities to celebrate Toronto’s diverse history through outings, walking tours, art-making and educational presentations. The project will enhance the health and wellness of LGBTQ seniors by providing social interaction, physical exercise, cognitive stimulation, and the chance to creatively express themselves through various artistic activities.

Youth Workshop Program (Buddies in Bad Times Theatre) – a free workshop series for queer youth that offers skills building and mentorship in various areas of performance, storytelling, and theatre.

Trans & Gender Diverse Community Drop-in / Working Group Meetings (Trans & Gender Diverse Community Working Group) – an open space with optional activities provided for Trans & Gender Diverse people in West-Toronto. Some sessions will include outside facilitators for key groups within the Trans & Gender Diverse Community. The open meetings are accessible, community-led meetings in which all Working Group planning is done.

PFLAG Teens & Tweens (PFLAG Durham) – a new youth services program that targets adolescents from aged 11 to 17 dealing with gender identity discrimination. This program provides a safe, affirming, positive space for these youth to connect, socialize, learn and share with others in facilitated creative, educational and social activities.

Heart to Heart: Queers Creating Better Relationships (Laura Krahn) – a 10-week group for LGBTQ spectrum women and nonbinary people aged 30-49 who want to create more fulfilling relationships. Participants will define “better relationships” in their own terms; explore what they need/want from themselves and others; build skills to negotiate conflict; and share knowledge and experience, making the community stronger.

SOY Youth Capacity Building through Volunteer Anti-Oppression Training (Supporting Our Youth) – will develop, implement, facilitate and evaluate a workshop that will provide crucial anti-oppression training to all current and future SOY volunteers and adult mentors.

Trans Collections Project (Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives) – arrange, describe, digitize and create research aids for three trans collections: Denise Hudson (Transvestites in Toronto), Rachel Lewis (various trans groups) and OneSong Transgender Support Services in Regina, SK. Collect material from trans elders in the community.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls (Roseneath Theatre) – Roseneath Theatre will develop and tour “Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls” by Dave Deveau, a play that deals with gender identity, empathy and integrity to elementary schools throughout the GTA.

Building Pride, Music & Belonging in the City of Toronto (Singing OUT, Toronto’s LGBTQ+ Community Chorus) – A June concert theme of “One Love” will speak to loving one’s self, loving others and loving our community. It will reach extended levels of inclusiveness, highlighting young, Canadian and LGBTQ+ composers and artists. Focus will also be on Indigenous pieces that will tell a story of love, history and advancement. A parallel story of LGBTQ+ rights will be woven into the performance through narration by choir members.