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🎧Stories of Giving & Receiving 🎧
Hayden Tonazzi: Mentoring Regional Artists
In Stories of Giving & Receiving, host Emilia Kefford, granddaughter of VFFF's founder, Sir Vincent Fairfax, speaks directly to changemakers supported through VFFF’s Backing Young People strategy. These conversations shine a light on their challenges, achievements, and what it takes to truly effect change.
In this episode, Hayden Tonazzi, a theatre director and creative producer, shares how a Backing the Future grant allowed him to mentor regional artists in New South Wales. The grant enabled Hayden to provide mentorship and resources to local artists, empowering and skilling them to develop and sustain community-based drama programs for local young people.
Hayden also discusses his work as a producer on Saplings, which explored youth experiences in the justice system. He reflects on the challenges of engaging young people in regional areas and the lasting impact of his programs.
Listen to the episode here.
Learn more about Hayden's work here.
About Backing the Future
Backing the Future grants, delivered in partnership with the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR), provide $50,000 to support early-stage projects led by individuals or groups that are not typically eligible for traditional philanthropic funding. These grants focus on projects benefiting young people in regional New South Wales and Queensland, with an emphasis on fostering innovation and empowering changemakers to create lasting, positive impacts in their communities.
The next round of Backing the Future is now open for applicants in QLD. This round will close on 17 March 2025.
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