Introducing our micro-grant recipients

 

In January, we launched a micro-grant program to help power-up grassroots advocacy and community building in Alberta, as part of our response to Premier Danielle Smith’s attack on the freedom, rights and healthcare access of transgender youth and their families. We received dozens of applications, reflecting the commitment, strength and creativity of 2SLGBTQIA+ advocates and allies across Alberta. 

We are now thrilled to introduce you to the 12 projects we’re funding across the province.

Each group has it's own vision and unique flavour. Some are fully focused on activism and political advocacy, while others are focused on building inclusive spaces and fostering community care. The range of initiatives reflects something our communities have long known: it takes a village to build and sustain a movement. It takes protesting in the streets, and community spaces that foster queer joy and healing. 

We're proud to play our part in sustaining vital advocacy and community building in Alberta. 

HAK

HAK is a trans and queer led and focused grassroots collective, dedicated to educating and supporting individuals in learning and unlearning interpersonal, institutional, and structural forms of gender-based violence. Our work specifically seeks to educate and bring awareness to the realities that transphobia and queerphobia are direct forms of gender-based violence, and should be included under the umbrella of gender-based violence. 

“We are planning to hold an event focused on activating queer and trans joy as a means to resist an increase in structural gender-based violence in Alberta. We categorize anti-trans legislation to be acts of structural gender-based violence and all members of HAK have extensive experience creating workshops focused on gender-based violence prevention, including through acts of queer joy. Drawing from JJ Wright's research on queer joy as prevention for gender-based violence, we will present a workshop on how trans joy can be used as a community-building tool to resist transphobia. While we present the workshop, participants will be encouraged to create art expressing trans joy with provided materials, including small canvases, paint pallets, and brushes.”

Stronger Together

Stronger Together is a trans‑led, community‑driven advocacy collective based in Alberta, formed in response to the escalating wave of anti‑trans legislation, misinformation, and social hostility across the province. Our role is to protect, uplift, and mobilize trans, non‑binary, and gender‑diverse Albertans through rapid‑response organizing, community education, and direct support.

“With support from Queer Momentum’s microgrant program, Stronger Together will implement a focused set of rapid‑response, community‑driven activities designed to protect, uplift, and mobilize trans people across Alberta during a period of escalating political hostility. Our goal is to strengthen community safety, expand our organizing capacity, and build the collective power needed to resist anti‑trans policies and narratives.”

They Got Talent (TGT)

TGT is produced by Holtasoli, Dogiichow, King Neptune, and Karla Marx, as an (almost) weekly performance showcase focused on drag and queer art. Our show is supported by The Cabaret Company and runs out of Dickens Pub.

We propose a showcase of transgender and non-binary performance artists to celebrate trans identity for Transgender Day of Visibility. With the continued anti-trans legislation in Alberta pushing trans people in the margins, our show offers the opportunity to highlight the trans joy that exists within our communities and provides a stage to amplify trans voices. We want to run a show that focuses on trans and non-binary performers of any medium with critique from a professional drag artist and a lip sync battle at the end of the show. Although we encourage all performance types on our stage, most performers choose to explore the art of drag, which creates unique opportunities for our show to feature the rich gender diversity and expression found within the Calgary trans community

Parents of 2STGD Youth in Calgary

We are two qualitative researchers at Mount Royal University studying the impacts of the "parental rights" movement on queer families, specifically focusing on efforts to curtail inclusive education, sport, and healthcare.

With Queer Momentum support, they are planning a workshop, “Safety and Wellbeing Planning for Parents and Caregivers of 2STGD Youth”, that will provide parents with strategies to care for their kiddos, to identify what supports are already in place, to remind themselves of their support circles so they feel less alone, and to feel confident that they know how to support their kids facing intense mental health challenges arising from experiences of transphobia.

Give Voice AB

Give Voice AB is a volunteer grassroots group in St. Albert, Alberta, formed by a small circle of neighbours who wanted to support community engagement and constructive civic action. We are about a dozen local advocates who meet regularly to learn, connect, and encourage respectful participation in public life. We contribute through volunteer effort, collaboration, and a shared commitment to strengthening community and democratic involvement from the ground up

Give Voice AB will host “In Unity: Supporting Trans People and Human Rights in Our Community” a gathering intended to create a welcoming space where trans community members feel seen, respected, and less isolated, and where allies better understand how to contribute to safety, dignity, and belonging.

OUTLaw

OUTLaw Alberta is a student organization within the Faculty of Law at the University of Alberta, composed of queer students and their allies. Our primary purpose is to promote a queer positive atmosphere within the Law School. OUTlaw Alberta is dedicated to raising questions and addressing issues around the LGBTQ community, its members, and the law.

“OUTlaw is partnering with the Indigenous Law Student’s Association (ILSA) to host a 3 part event: An expert panel discussion, followed by a student social, and concluding with a celebratory drag performance. This will be an inter-disciplinary talk that can appeal to the broader student community; students in medicine, pharmacy, education, and students playing campus sports are all potentially impacted by these laws. The event will begin with an expert panel to promote knowledge on current 2SLGBTQI+ issues in health, law, and medicine, and to create respectful and critical dialogue about the legislation. The panel of speakers are: Brooks Arcand Paul, Dr. Florence Ashley and Dr. James Makokis.”

Youth Empowered Together (YET)

YET provides a safe and fun space for the queer youth and young adults and their allies by hosting weekly hangouts and the occasional community event at Spirit of Hope United Church. Youth coordinators focus on collaborating with other queer organizations and resources to support and connect with their community.  YET is youth and trans led by co-coordinators Emi and Benji, and supported by ‘YET Grannies’ and facilitators, Cathy and Judy. We also have a small team of queer youth leaders that make our nights run smoothly.

YET will uplift queer artists and spread queer joy by hosting a talent showcase and resource fair. The free event will begin with an Indigenous-led opening ceremony, followed by the talent showcase featuring about 15 queer performances. The resource fair will provide an opportunity for the community to connect with relevant resources, and for organizations to connect with each other. Everyone will also be able to enjoy a hot or cold non-alcoholic beverage and a taco-in-a-bag meal.

Rainbow Threads Gathering

Rainbow Threads Gathering creates a safer, joyful community space for trans and queer families facing Alberta's increasingly hostile political climate. We center trans liberation and build resilience through connection, rest, mutual support, workshops, storytelling, and more. Our focus is providing respite and community care for families and individuals navigating government attacks on trans rights and increasing social pressures. 

With Alberta's government actively restricting trans youth's access to healthcare, sports participation, and self-expression, trans and gender-diverse people and their families are living under constant stress, scrutiny, and isolation. Rainbow Threads Gathering is our response: a trans-centered LGBTQ+ gathering where people can experience safety, connection, and joy without the pressures of the outside world.From May 1-3, 2026, we're bringing together up to 100 LGBTQ+ individuals and families at Van Es Camp & Conference Centre, with trans and gender-diverse people explicitly centered in all programming and decision-making. While the gathering welcomes the broader LGBTQ+ community, trans liberation is our non-negotiable foundation. This gathering directly counters the isolation and fear the government's policies are designed to create, particularly for trans Albertans.

Fake Mustache Drag Troupe

Fake Mustache Drag Troupe is a Calgary-based, trans-led artist collective founded in 2005. We are widely recognized as Canada’s longest-running drag troupe and have produced two decades of programming rooted in queer community, gender creativity, and political performance. Our work creates space for artists and audiences to explore identity, belonging, and expression through drag and interdisciplinary performance. 

Fake Mustache Drag Troupe will host a 4-part workshop pilot series running from March to June at Knox United Church in Calgary. Knox United is an accessible, queer-centric venue and a strong partner site for arts-based community programming rooted in inclusion, belonging, and cultural safety. This project will act as a pilot for a sustainable year-round workshop series supporting queer and trans artists, emerging performers, and community members.

The pilot is designed to strengthen queer and trans community connections while building practical artistic skills.

Rang De Pride

Rang De Pride (RDP) was created because something was missing: a vibrant community where every individual within the South Asian Queer diaspora experiences a profound sense of belonging. We create brave and safe spaces for people who have felt too queer for their culture and religion or too cultural and religious for the queer scene, centering Desi queer identities and lived experiences. RDP is the first and only South Asian queer collective across the Prairies. 

“We will develop and deliver a series of educational workshops focused on trans visibility, history, and advocacy, with a particular emphasis on South Asian contexts and the growing impact of anti-trans policies in Alberta. This project is grounded in an intersectional framework that recognizes how anti-trans legislation disproportionately affects BIPOC communities, who face layered forms of discrimination due to systemic racism, colonial legacies, and transphobia.

The workshops will serve community members across intersecting identities, including individuals from diverse South Asian religious backgrounds, gender-diverse and trans folks, people across age groups, newcomers, and participants from varied cultural and religious communities. Historically, our programming has attracted participants from different demographic groups, including from South Asia, Southeast Asia, South America, the Middle East, and East Africa, reflecting the broad and multicultural reach of our work”

Pride Corner on Whyte

We are a front line advocacy group that focuses on protesting homophobic street preachers in Edmonton, organizing rallies and events in support of the queer community, answering calls to counter protest various homophobic/transphobic individuals who come to Edmonton and creating queer programming like movie nights, queer story time and cooking classes. We are comprised of 2 co-organizers and 1 community liaison, along with about 15 adult volunteers (the adult briGAYde) who help with event planning and execution, protests, and safety planning. 

We would be using this microgrant to help pay the many wonderful humans we invite to speak to our attendees and share knowledge. We invite elders regularly to the corner to speak and shed light on what the world is going through, and also individuals of various backgrounds to spread resiliency and joy. We provide snacks and drinks year round to our attendees and unhoused community members. The money can also help us with gas cards and bus tickets for attendees and the youth who join our events. “

Evergreens Community GSA

Evergreens Community GSA is a group for 2SLGBTQ+ youth in grades 6-12. We meet every Monday in south Edmonton. Our group was created in February 2025 as a response to the transphobic bills introduced by the provincial government. Since our inception, we have seen our group grow from 2 youth to 25. The leadership team is comprised of 7 queer adults, including our founder and Director. 

“We will host a rally on Transgender Day of Visibility, March 31, 2026. The event will run from 6pm to 8pm at SSUC Edmonton. Through partnership with YET Edmonton, Pride Corner on Whyte, Camp Dragonfly, and other community agencies, advocates and representatives, we will have a resource fair set up around the perimeter of our venue. We will have pizza and pop, as with every Evergreens gathering we share a meal together. The event will be unstructured for the first and last 30 minutes, allowing participants to visit the resource booths, engage with our community collage, and network with other folks who love and support trans people, and more specifically, trans youth”

Canmore Pride Society, on behalf of the Bow Valley Pride Network

The Bow Valley Pride Network (BVPN) is a joint initiative of Canmore Pride Society and Banff Pride Society, two grassroots non-profit organizations based in the Bow Valley. While community programming in each town differs, we collaborate through the BVPN on advocacy-focused work.

Our mission is to foster an inclusive Bow Valley by supporting local businesses, organizations, and individuals in creating safe, welcoming, and visibly affirming spaces for 2SLGBTQIA+ people.

“Through this grant, we aim to tell the stories of queer and trans people living in the Bow Valley. We will use storytelling as a tool to connect individuals, businesses, and organizations to the importance of supporting the 2SLGBTQIA+ community — with a particular focus on trans communities during this time in Alberta.

We plan to share eight community stories through this project. Each story will include a professional portrait and a written narrative gathered through an interview process. The stories will primarily centre trans community members, while also including people in their communities such as parents, caregivers, educators, and allies.

We believe storytelling is one of the most effective ways to build empathy and understanding. By sharing these stories, we aim to show that participation in the Bow Valley Pride Network is a tangible way for individuals and organizations to uplift and support trans community members. The stories will also highlight shared values such as safety, belonging, and care — particularly for youth in schools and public spaces.”

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Momentum is seeking proposals from qualified communications and design firms or independent practitioners to lead a comprehensive rebrand. This includes the development of a new visual identity, refined messaging framework, and a suite of practical tools and assets to support both day-to-day communications and high-impact advocacy work.

This work is being undertaken alongside the launch of a new strategic plan. As Momentum enters its third year, the organization is experiencing rapid growth and increased national visibility. This rebrand is intended to define its next phase of development and position Momentum clearly as Canada’s leading 2SLGBTQIA+ advocacy organization.

The selected partner will be expected to deliver a cohesive and adaptable brand system that reflects the organization’s role in shaping public discourse and mobilizing communities. Proponents have an option to include the development of a new Wordpress-based website. See Appendix A for further details.

The Society of Queer Momentum is seeking a full-time Communications Specialist to help lead the organization’s communications, campaigns, and public profile. This is a one-year contract, with anticipated start date in early June 2026

This is a full-time position (35 hours per week) with a $70,000 salary and two weeks (10 days) vacation.

Reporting to the Executive Director, the Communications Specialist will play a central role in shaping how Momentum communicates with supporters, partners, media, and the broader public. This role is responsible for delivering strong, strategic, and high-quality communications that advance advocacy goals, support organizing and campaign work, strengthen Momentum’s brand, and help grow the organization’s reach and impact across Canada.

This position is suited to someone who is politically aware, strategically minded, highly organized, and deeply committed to 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and issues. The successful candidate will bring strong judgment, excellent writing and editing skills, and the ability to produce high-quality work in a fast-moving environment. 

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