Founder Aubrey Crawley and the team at West London Queer Project have organised numerous events that bring the whole community together and help foster lasting connections between people.
Ahead of WLQP’s Inaugural Fundraiser on October 24th, 2024, QX chatted with Aubrey to catch up on the latest news.
Hello Aubrey, tell us something about the West London Queer Project?
Hi Ben! The West London Queer Project is a non-profit Community Interest Company (CIC) that was created to address the lack of spaces and opportunities for LGBTQ+ people in West London, and in 4 short years we have hosted over 600 events (Including comedy and drag shows, regular Friday & Lesbian+ Socials, cinema sing-alongs, boat parties, mental health workshops and twice monthly walks. In this time we have also established the ‘West London Warriors’, an inclusive Touch Rugby Club, we are working with Brentford, Chelsea and QPR Football Clubs hosting regular football sessions and events, and we also have a book club that meets once a month).
WLQP Is best described with our four pillars:
1. Let’s Talk (Mental Health, Wellness, and Sexual Health)
2. Let’s Get Physical (Sporting and Physical Health Activities)
3. Let’s Make a Difference (Advocacy, Education, and Awareness)
4. Let’s Have Some Fun (Social and Networking Activities)
How do you finance the events that you put on? Is fundraising a problem at the moment?
We are currently funded through The National Lottery and Sport England, with additional ‘event-based’ funding coming from Hounslow, Hammersmith & Fulham and Ealing Councils.
Unfortunately, funding and fundraising are becoming increasingly difficult as a result of the cost of living crisis and the cuts made to arts and culture by the previous government. I have also started to notice that an increasing number of funding bodies are prioritising organisations that are proactively addressing climate change, and while I do believe that climate change is the biggest threat that we are currently facing, this will result in a large portion of funding being redirected away from community/grassroots organisations.
When applying for funding, organisations like us need to demonstrate the ability to self-sustain and to generate match funding from other sources. We currently do this through event ticket sales, sponsorship and donations, however, we need to increase our match funding considerably in order to secure the funding to achieve our 5 year business plan. In order to do this, we have set ourselves a fundraising target of £40k which we aim to achieve through our Inaugural Fundraiser and a crowdfunding campaign. The details of both can be found at the links below.
So tell us about the fundraiser on the 24th of October. What is the goal amount you hope to raise?
The fundraiser is sponsored by DIVA and is being held at the gorgeous Broadcaster in White City. It’s not a black tie do or anything too fancy; rather a celebration of bringing people together, honouring the driving forces behind WLQP and I’ll be speaking briefly on our aims for the next 5 years. I don’t want to give too much away but there will be some exciting keynote speakers, a surprise performance, a raffle with a ton of great prizes and of course, dancing!
We are hoping to raise £20k at the fundraiser and a further £20k through the crowdfunding campaign.
How will the funds be used to make a difference?
The funds will be vital in helping us achieve our five year plan, which includes improving on what we currently offer, rolling out our services into the neighbouring boroughs of Richmond, Hillingdon, Harrow and Kensington & Chelsea, and employing a ‘Funding and Partnerships Manager’ and a ‘Community Engagement Officer’. These new roles will be vital in fulfilling our four pillars which I mentioned previously.
How much are the tickets and what can we expect on the night?
Tickets are £75 and include a welcome drink, canapés and a fun night of surprises, entertainment and laughter.
What are the opportunities for those who want to support future fundraising activities? And what other ways can people help?
One of our main goals is to host a number of free social, sporting and networking events throughout the year. This funding will allow to continue to do this and to expand our services throughout West London.
If people would like to help, they can either purchase a ticket to the fundraiser, make a donation towards our crowed funder. We are also always on the lookout for corporate donations and/or sponsorship.
Event
West London Queer Project’s Inaugural Fundraiser is on 24 October 2024, at 7 pm, The Broadcaster White City, 89 Wood Lane, London W12 7FX, United Kingdom.
https://www.wlqp.org/event-details/wlqps-inaugural-fundraiser