Inevitable Foundation, a non-profit organization aimed at helping screenwriters with disabilities, has launched the Elevate Collective Awards to help mid- and upper-level screenwriters with disabilities.
The awards, part of the Elevate Collective within the Inevitable Foundation, include $5,000 professional development grants aimed at helping writers with disabilities, allowing them to invest in things like career coaching, professional development , script consultation, work-from-home setups, and intellectual property acquisition. , by a version. The Foundation plans to award grants on a quarterly basis.
The Elevate Collective will also provide an opportunity for community building, networking opportunities for members, and will receive ongoing support from the Inevitable Foundation team. Applications are open on this link.
“We are thrilled to launch Elevate Collective and provide mid- and senior-level screenwriters with disabilities with targeted support, education, connections and financial resources to enhance their careers,” Inevitable Foundation co-founders Richie Siegel and Marisa Torelli-Pedevska said in a joint statement. “We built Elevate Collective based on a year and a half of learnings from running our scholarship program. Elevate Collective is the latest addition to the ecosystem we’re building to empower writers with disabilities, which also includes our concierge service for creative executives and showrunners, the Disability is Diversity campaign, and our screenwriting grant.
Additionally, on Wednesday, the Foundation announced the Elevate Collective Awards in partnership with Caring Across Generations and Humanitas.
The Inevitable Foundation x Caring Across Generations Care Award will provide a professional development grant of $5,000, with the recipient having access to ongoing development and script consulting services with the Caring Across Generations team.
“Caring is a crucial part of all of our lives, and it’s time to normalize that idea on screen,” Lydia Storie, associate director of culture change at Caring Across Generations, said in a statement. “We connect people with disabilities and others with lived experiences of care in Hollywood to change the stories we tell about aging, illness and disability. Partnering with the Inevitable Foundation on this Elevate award is the perfect alignment of our respective missions.
It was also announced the Inevitable Foundation x Humanitas Alumni Award which is also a $5,000 grant. The recipient of this award will have access to virtual and in-person Humanitas events and workshops, as well as tickets to the 2023 Humanitas Awards.
“Humanitas champions projects that explore the human condition in nuanced and meaningful ways, which can only be done effectively when programming slates are diverse in subject matter and inclusiveness behind and in front of the camera. We deeply believe in the Inevitable Foundation’s message that “there is no diversity, equity and inclusion without disability” and we are honored to partner with them for a collective Elevate award to benefit a alumnus of our New Voices Fellowship and College Screenwriting Awards programs,” Michelle Franke, executive director of Humanitas, said in a statement.
The Inevitable Foundation aims to break down barriers that prevent mid-career screenwriters with disabilities from reaching their full creative potential. According to a statement, people with disabilities make up less than 1% of writers behind the screen.