Bevis Masson-Leach received a Backing the Future grant for his project Hometown, which included hip-hop workshops in Moree. Photo: Marcus Coblyn.
A $50,000 grant awarded to music producer Bevis Masson-Leach helped deliver his Hometown hip-hop workshop series across regional NSW, including a three-day program for young people in Moree.
Applications are now open for the next NSW round of the Backing the Future program. It offers one-off grants to people developing early-stage projects for young people aged 12 to 30 in rural, regional and remote communities.
The program is designed for individuals or groups of individuals, rather than registered charities or organisations. Groups can apply by naming one person to lead the application and project.
Applicants must be aged 18 or over. They must also show a real connection to, or understanding of, the rural or regional community where they plan to work.
A person hoping to deliver a project in the Moree Plains could apply if they meet these and the program’s other rules.
Mr Masson-Leach received a 2022 Backing the Future grant to create Hometown, a pilot series of hip-hop writing and music production workshops across regional NSW.
As part of the project, young people in Moree took part in a three-day workshop on Gomeroi Country in May 2023. The workshop involved Gomeroi rapper Kobie Dee and local organisation Mad Proppa Deadly.
Participants were encouraged to write, perform and produce their own music while learning from artists with links to regional communities.
Mr Masson-Leach said the project was based on the idea that music gives young people a safe way to express themselves.
“Making music is an outlet, a way to share your story and a positive avenue to vent frustrations and emotions which otherwise will get directed elsewhere,” he said.
“We aim to provide a safe space for the young people involved to freely express themselves without censorship and embrace the cathartic process of music making.
“It can be deep, but it can also just be about having some fun in the moment.”
Hometown is one example of the early-stage work the Backing the Future program supports.
Applicants do not have to be young people themselves, but they must explain how young people will help shape the project. Eligible ideas must have been in active development for less than three years.
The grant can cover costs involved in developing and delivering a project, including wages, equipment, travel and venue hire.
Past grants have also supported an accessible agricultural careers platform and a program about respectful discussion in rural and regional schools.
Ten recipients will be selected for the NSW round, with successful applicants given 12 months to deliver their projects.
The program is an initiative of the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation and is supported by the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal.
Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation manager Claire Mannion said early-stage ideas often found it hard to attract funding because they had not yet been proven.
“We know that it’s often really hard to get funding for an idea that isn’t proven,” Ms Mannion said.
“But as a foundation, we are keen to take a chance and back good ideas, to see what’s possible.”
Applications for the NSW round close on Wednesday, August 19.
A free online information session will be held from 12pm to 1pm on Tuesday, July 28.
People can discuss an idea with FRRR’s Youth Futures team on 1800 170 020 or youthfutures@frrr.org.au.
Full program rules and application details are available at:
