Welcome to our newsletter. The work of GALFA as a giving organisation is growing steadily. We are very pleased to be supporting improved services for LGBTI people living with disabilities, as this group has received very little attention to date from either government or the disability sector. We are also increasing our reach through various activities including running the raffle at the recent Australian LGBTI awards, and stalls at pride events.

Ruth McNair, GALFA Board Chairperson

Myer-GALFA grant round latest recipient – Melba Support Services

Melba Support Services was the recipient of the latest Sidney Myer Fund-GALFA grant round focusing on LGBTI people living with disability. The $15,000 grant was given in December 2017.

Melba Support Services, based in Lilydale in Melbourne's outer east, will work with Sexuality, Equality, Disability partners to run 12 full-day workshops for disability support workers on the specific needs of LGBTI people. They will also coordinate 25 one-one-one planning sessions with LGBTI people living with disability in preparation for their NDIS packages. The consortium partners include Pride VIC, Stabilise, and Ananda Training and Consultancy. This project will complement our previous grant to Inclusion Melbourne in June 2017, who are developing training materials for disability support organisations on the specific needs of LGBTIQ people with intellectual disability.

Melba Support Services CEO, Glenn Foard, said “We are delighted to receive support from GALFA and the Sidney Myer Fund for this vital work. As an organisation, we want to support LGBTIQ individuals to exercise choice and control over their lives - a fundamental premise of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. We look forward to supporting individuals access the disability supports they require”.

GALFA at the Australian LGBTI Awards – 2 March 2018

GALFA was thrilled to be the charity for the raffle at the recent LGBTI Awards in Sydney. GALFA Board member Fiona Wilkie led the charge with eight enthusiastic volunteers. They raised over $16,000 and had lots of conversations about our work. Thanks to Silke Bader, Managing Director, Australian LGBTI Awards, Fiona and all of the volunteers for a wonderful outcome.

The Small Grants Program

In 2018, we will have 4 small grants rounds giving $2,000 per round.  This is a very important method to fund individuals and small groups that do not necessarily have DGR status, but are contributing to the wellbeing, visibility and connection of LGBTIQ Australians. Each small grant is worth up to $500. We received 7 applications for the first round in February, and 4 were funded:

• Busselton Pride, WA
• Trans* and Gender Diverse Circus, Vic
• Hawkesbury Community Outreach service, NSW
• The Apocalypse Tapestry Of Darlinghurst, NSW

Deadlines: Second round - June 20th. Third Round - September 19th. Fourth Round - December 19th. Applications can be made via the online form at: www.galfa.org.au/funding/small-grants-program/

Previous small grant recipient Bisexual+ Community Perth marching proudly at Perth Pride 25 November 2017.

GALFA at Melbourne and Sydney LGBTI festival days

Board members and volunteers ran a stall at Melbourne's Midsumma Carnival in January and Sydney's Fair Day in February. This is an important way for us to reach a wide range of LGBTIQ people and allies to talk about our work and receive feedback.

Cal Andrews, Ian Gould, Colin Krycer, Carol Wilkinson, Melbourne	Colin Krycer and Sarina Jackson, Sydney

Call for a designer for a new GALFA look

GALFA is seeking a designer to create a new logo/brand and website for the organisation. The overall objective is to create a highly professional, contemporary and mature presence as a leading philanthropic foundation for the LGBTIQ community. Alongside this our brand should demonstrate longevity, transparency and trustworthiness to our prospective supporters and partners. The design brief is at www.galfa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/GALFA-Design-Brief-FINAL-2-April-2018.pdf

COTA Vic and Transgender Victoria launch 21 March 2018

End of life decisions can be difficult enough without the added complications that can arise from being LGBTIQ. An excellent resource has been developed by COTA Vic with Transgender Victoria. This was funded by a $15,000 Myer-GALFA grant round in 2016.

This project is an excellent example of what can be achieved when a mainstream organisation partners with a LGBTIQ advocacy group.

Ian Gould representing GALFA at the launch, with Minister Martin Foley and
members of TGV, COTA Vic and NARI

This resource is available at cotavic.org.au/info/looking-for-information/lgbtiq-resources/.

LGBTI philanthropy second lowest

australiancharities.acnc.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Australias-Grant-making-Charities-in-2016_final-20180306.pdf

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission report on Australia's grant-making charities analysis of grant making revealed a stark picture of under-funding for LGBTI work. Of the 9,690 grant-making charities that listed specific target groups for grant giving, only 0.8% gave to LGBTI subgroups. This was the second lowest group after pre/post release offenders at 0.5%.

GALFA is committed to encouraging more mainstream charities to focus on LGBTI through our partnerships model of grant-making. We also encourage LGBTI individuals to consider donating to LGBTI-specific charities including GALFA to build this important work.

Thank you to all our generous donors that have contributed so far this year. It's easy to donate to GALFA either on line via our web site, or by setting up a regular monthly contribution. Donations over $2 are tax deductable.

Donations either once off or monthly can be made via our website - go to www.galfa.org.au and hit the Donations button.