The $25K UNIFIED Grant returns to help deserving creatives work in music

UNIFIED Music Group is giving away $25,000 in grants to innovative creatives.

The UNIFIED Grant, now in its second year, awards five deserving creatives with $5,000 each for working tirelessly to change things for the better.

In its first year, The Unified Grant had close to 200 applicants from around the world putting together a wide array of impressive creative initiatives, and it took a dedicated panel to select the five talented and incredibly worthy winners:

• Georgia Beach – Office Gossip Design
• Neal Walters – Neal Walters Photography
• Aaron Dobos – Producer/Engineer/Mixer
• Ashleigh Hills – Tram Sessions
• Michelle Grace Hunder & Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore – Her Sound, Her Story

From left - right: Ashleigh Hills, Aaron Dobos, Michelle Grace Hunder & Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore, Neal Walters, Gerogia Beach

The company's founder and CEO Jaddan Comerford announced the grant at last year's BIGSOUND to foster the next generation of driven creatives who want to work in music but don’t play an instrument.

Last year's recipient Neal Walters used the funds to purchase new cameras for  a photography book that will feature portraits of people in the music industry.

"So far the prize money has been used in preparation for the book," he said. "It will be shot entirely on film, so we have invested in that and new cameras to make it happen. The UNIFIED Grant absolutely helped with getting this book to become a reality. Without it, we couldn't have dreamed on having the right equipment and time to make it happen.”

Applications for The UNIFIED Grant open on September 4 at www.theunifiedgrant.com. Applications close on September 30, 2017.