Elevate Collective
Empowering mid- and upper-level disabled screenwriters with the mentorship, coaching and connections they need to level-up their careers.
Applications for Elevate Collective are currently closed and will re-open in 2025.
Check your eligibility to be contacted when applications open. If you're eligible for the program, we'll reach out to you when we're next accepting applications.
BENEFITS
Professional Development Grant
$5,000 in funding for professional development, which includes career coaching, professional development, work-from-home equipment, script consultation and/or IP acquisition.
Consideration for Concierge Access
Our Concierge is a free service that connects mid-level disabled writers with creative executives, showrunners and producers for development and staffing opportunities.
Office Hours
Quarterly office hours with your Elevate Collective Cohort and the Inevitable Foundation team to provide ongoing support.
Community Building Events
Regular events for members to meet their peers and build community with other disabled screenwriters.
Elevate Collective Partnerships
Inevitable Foundation is partnering with leading organizations to provide Elevate Awards to a diverse group of disabled writers across film and television.
Inevitable Foundation x Caring Across Generations Care Award
In Winter 2022, the Care Award was awarded to Keisha Zollar, a disabled writer who has also been a caregiver and who is working on a project that centers care and caregiving.
Inevitable Foundation x Loreen Arbus Foundation Awards
Disabled women and nonbinary screenwriters selected by Inevitable and The Loreen Arbus Foundation will each receive an $8,000 grant, along with mentorship, coaching, and connections to advance their careers.
Note: Women and nonbinary applicants will automatically be considered based on demographic information on the application.
Inevitable Foundation x STARZ #TakeTheLead Awards
In Winter 2024, the STARZ #TakeTheLead Awards were awarded to Kryzz Gautier, Hari Ziyad and writing partners Chris and Charlie Frazier.
Each winner was selected as a good fit for premium cable and received a $12,500 grant as well as mentoring and coaching from STARZ programming executives.
FAQ
For Applicants
Background
Why did you create Elevate Collective?
Mid- and upper-level disabled screenwriters need targeted support, education, connections and financial resources—small to medium-sized actions that can have an outsized impact, especially in an industry that is mostly focused on supporting emerging talent. Based on the learnings from our Fellowship program, we wanted to support more disabled screenwriters and help them accelerate their careers, with an important emphasis on building community. For mid- and upper-level disabled writers, there are very few places to turn for this industry-specific support, which is why we created Elevate Collective.
What is the difference between the Elevate Collective and an Elevate Collective Award?
Elevate Collective is an ongoing community of disabled writers who can turn to each other for ongoing support, networking and camaraderie. The Collective is made up of Elevate Collective Award recipients, who have received one-time $5,000 grants that can be used for coaching, education, mentorship, work-from-home equipment and/or IP acquisition.
What does an Elevate Collective Award include?
Elevate Collective Members receive a $5,000 professional development grant, which can be used for career coaching, professional development script consultations, equipment and IP acquisition. Elevate Collective Members also have quarterly check-ins with the Inevitable Foundation team and regular events for members to meet their peers and build community with other disabled screenwriters.
Does Inevitable Foundation own the Intellectual Property (IP) that Elevate Collective Members acquire?
No. When Elevate Collective Members use Elevate Collective Awards to purchase IP, the Member is the right’s holder.
How long does an Elevate Collective Award last?
The financial benefits of an Elevate Collective Award must be used within six (6) months. However, Elevate Collective Members will continue to have access to events and community building opportunities indefinitely.
Can I apply for an Elevate Collective Award more than once?
Yes. If you receive an Elevate Collective Award, you are not permitted to apply again for one (1) calendar year, after which you may re-apply. Receiving an Elevate Collective Award once does not guarantee that you will selected in the future.
Eligibility
What are your eligibility requirements?
General eligibility requirements:
Self-identifies as disabled.
18 years of age or older.
Currently pursuing a career in screenwriting.
Not enrolled in an accredited degree program.
Currently or previously has worked in the entertainment industry.
Applicants must also meet at least two (2) of the following criteria:
Has an agent or a manager
Member of the WGA, Animation Guild or equivalent union
Has sold a script, TV show, or pitch before
Has staffed on a tv show or received a writing credit on a movie
Has been or currently are in development with a major production company, studio, or network
How do I apply for an Elevate Collective Award?
Take our Eligibility Questionnaire to determine your eligibility and apply for Elevate Collective.
If I apply for the Elevate Collective Award, can I still be selected for the Screenwriting Fellowship?
Yes. All our programs are designed to be complementary, and applying for/receiving benefits from one program does not exclude you from any others.
Do I need to be disabled to receive an Elevate Collective Award?
Yes. Elevate Collective is for individuals that self-identify as disabled. This includes physical, intellectual, developmental, psychiatric, visible or invisible disabilities.
Do you accept international entries?
Yes. Please note that international applicants are subject to additional review in order to comply with U.S. Treasury Department regulations.
Can I apply as a writing team?
If only one member of your writing team is disabled, only that individual is eligible to receive an Elevate Collective Award and must apply individually.
If you and your writing partner are both disabled, you may apply for Elevate Collective together.
To do so, please submit individual applications, including individual demographic information. You and your writing partner may submit the same answers for the "Writer Questions” section of the application. Your applications will be reviewed as an individual party, and you will be selected together or not at all. If you receive an Elevate Collective Award as a writing team, you will share the funding received. At Inevitable Foundation’s discretion, additional support may be provided to writing teams pursuing professional development opportunities with individual costs. Writing partners are expected to have long-term professional partnerships.
Application Process
What information does the Application ask for?
The Application requires the following information:
Standard Demographic Information including race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.
Writer Questions (max 250 words each)
What have you accomplished in your career over the last two years?
What is the next level you want to achieve in your career
What are the biggest things in the way of you reaching that next level?
Why is disability representation important to you?
What projects are you currently working on?
List title, format, genre(s) and loglines.
Resume or CV
When is the submission deadline?
Elevate Awards are awarded on a rolling basis, so you can apply at any time. We generally read applications every three months.
Does it cost anything to apply for the Elevate Collective?
No. We don’t believe in charging the disability community for long-overdue opportunities.
Reporting
What are the reporting requirements for the Elevate Collective?
Members need to submit a templated report to the Foundation six months after receiving an Elevate Award to keep us updated on your progress.
terms & conditions
What are the Elevate Collective Terms and Conditions?
Read the Elevate Collective Terms and Conditions
Have another question?
Email us at programs@inevitable.foundation