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We offer grant based funding to young people with passion projects (Protostars) and organisations working to unleash creativity in young people (Believers).
Grant Programs
We offer two types of grants. Our direct grant making is designed to benefit young people directly and this program is called Protostars. Our indirect grant making is designed to support organisations who share our hopes for developing creativity in young people and this grant is called Believers.
Protostars
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Protostars is a direct grantmaking program. We give young people aged 18-25 in AU/NZ $1000 to work on their passion projects. To us, a passion project is anything that allows someone to unlock and access their creativity by doing work that excites and energises them. In the past, we've funded diverse projects that include: a community garden, a metaverse art exhibition, art curation apps, a travelling STEM roadshow, a sustainable go-kart build, haptic feedback VR gloves, battle bot builds, a queer comedy show, an underground arts zine and more!
Learn more
Believers
Believer grants are designed to support organisations and groups that are working to unleash creativity in young people. Once a year we give out a total of 50,000 across 3-5 projects. In the past we’ve sponsored robotics competitions, STEM workshops for remote schools, and a school camp.
Learn more
Through creativity,
we can unlock empathy, connecting us deeply with ourselves and others. It opens our hearts and minds,
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revealing hidden talents and passions and nurturing a sense of individuality and identity.
Creative participation brings people together and makes for a more dynamic and cohesive society.
Reimagining grant making.
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WE LOVE STORIES NOT REPORTS
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We do not require any reporting. All we ask is that, if you are able, you help us tell the story of creativity by sharing your work with your community.
WE MOVE FAST
Applications for Protostars are generally open for 1 month and we take 2 weeks to assess and notify applicants. Once you have been accepted into the community, we usually send you the funding within 2 weeks.
WE ITERATE BASED ON FEEDBACK
We believe in creativity and we aim to be as creative as we can ourselves. This means we experiment, learn and iterate often and our programs and grants change quickly in response to community feedback.
We believe that organisations and people working on amazing projects should have more time to do the actual work instead of spending it on reporting, decoding complicated legal documents, or writing lengthy applications. We are trying to do things differently.
FAQs
Which grants should I apply for?
This is a great question, here's a little breakdown for you to make things simpler:
You might want to apply for Protostars if:
- You are based in Australia/New Zealand
- You are currently 18-25 years old
- You are working on a passion project by yourself or with some friends
You might want to apply for Believers if:
- You are an individual, a group/team, or an organisation
- You are over 18 years old (there is no upper age limit for Believers)
- You are based in Australia
- The work you are doing is going to take place in Australia
- The work you are doing is going to unleash creativity in young people at scale
If you're not sure which grant to apply for, send us an email.
We are also running information sessions for both grants in June for our latest intakes in 2025:
- Believers Information Session and AMA: Tuesday 3 June, 4:00-5:00 PM AEST
- Protostars Season 10 Information Session and AMA: Tuesday 3 June, 5:30-6:30 PM AEST
When can I apply?
- Protostars runs three times a year, and the dates vary. Sign up for our mailing list and select “Protostars” to be notified when the next program is up and running, or check our Protostars page to see if there is one up now.
- Believers funding is given out once a year. Applications for Believers Vol.2 will open in May 2025.
Do you fund projects outside of AU/NZ?
Unfortunately no. We are only able to fund projects from AU/NZ. We have different eligibility when it comes to each grant program, as outlined below:
- Protostars: We are able to fund a limited number of Protostars from New Zealand.
- Believers: We are not able to fund projects from New Zealand.
What are the reporting requirements?
- Protostars - currently none but do have requirements for participating in the program, and we ask that you fill in our end of cohort survey. Check the protostars page for more details.
- Believers - We have minimal requirements. Please check the believers page for more details.
Creativity is the meta
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