The Pinnacle Foundation
Supporting LGBTIQ+ youth through scholarships and mentoring.
The Pinnacle Foundation is a national charity providing scholarships and mentors to 16-24 year old lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, intersex or queer (LGBTIQ) students who are marginalised because of their gender or sexual identity. Too many young LGBTIQ+ people suffer from crushing discrimination and rejection by their families, communities or faiths, and their self-esteem and mental health suffers. As a result, they often lose the environment, money and support needed to keep up their studies.
2016 Pitch
Funds raised: $24,835
The Pinnacle Foundation presented in November 2016 at TFN Live in Sydney to raise $24,835 to support a scholarship program that seeks to help turn vulnerable youth into accomplished students and future leaders, by assisting in funding their education through a scholarship program.
The impact...
When Sean and Dibs from the Pinnacle Foundation presented at TFN Sydney, they were raising money so they could provide more scholarships for their young LGBTIQ+ scholars. Studying at university can be a tough experience for any young person, however, for young people who are LGBTIQ+, it can be a lot tougher. Issues such as disconnection from family, bullying and harassment at school, or dealing with their sexuality are common obstacles that can lead to these young people dropping out of study or not engaging at all.
The Funding Network’s community responded by pledging over $24,000. This grant supported 5 LGBTIQ+ students with scholarships to support them while they're studying at University. In total, they presented 29 scholarships in 2017, which was the most they have ever given out in a year, and is going a long way to fulfilling The Pinnacle Foundation's mission to light the spark within.
Meet Damian - one of these scholars the TFN community supported. Damian's Pinnacle scholarship enabled him to study Arts (Honours)/Economics at the University of Queensland. With the help of this support, his mentor and the Pinnacle alumni, Damian was awarded Queensland's 2018 Rhodes Scholarship to study in Oxford next year.
“We were able to give more vulnerable students a chance to achieve their full potential by fulfilling their educational dreams” - Sean Linkson, Co-Founder and Director
See their Impact Report.
Learn more about The Pinnacle Foundation.
Supporting Sustainable Development Goals:
