The One Club Opens 2023 COLORFUL Grant Program for BIPOC Creatives

Mar. 30, 2023

The One Club for Creativity announced the 2023 launch of COLORFUL, a grant program for Young Guns 21 to help young BIPOC creatives around the world advance their careers.

There is no fee to apply, and the grant is open globally to BIPOC creatives who qualify for the club’s prestigious Young Guns 21 competition: they must be aged 30 years and under with at least two years of professional creative experience, and cannot have previously won Young Guns in the past.

Candidates submit links to six projects in their portfolio, as well as a short essay and a 60-second phone or webcam video to introduce themselves and describe their dream creative project. Deadline for the free COLORFUL application is May 12, 2023.

A jury predominantly composed of BIPOC creative luminaries, many of them past YG winners, will review submissions and select one gifted entrant to receive the first-place grant of $3,000 towards a personal creative project of their choosing.  Runner up will receive a $2,000 grant, and two third-place winners will each receive $1,000.

In addition, all COLORFUL finalists receive free entry into Young Guns 21, as will the first 10 qualifying candidates to enter when the COLORFUL competition opens.

Funding for COLORFUL is provided by Russell’s Reserve Bourbon, creative studio and artist rep agency Sunday Afternoon, as well as personal contributions from Menno Kluin, CCO at Ogilvy New York, and award-winning multidisciplinary artist and designer Rich Tu, who conceived of the grant program two years ago.

Tu, a YG8 winner who also hosts the "First Generation Burden" podcast, said:

"There are too many headlines about companies stepping away from inclusive initiatives, and it’s become part of my life’s mission to defy that trend. This third season of COLORFUL is a celebration of representation, and a confirmation of our values when it comes to doing the hard work and awarding brilliant emerging creatives."

 

Russell’s Reserve is a bourbon that focuses on inviting everyone to become a part of the family. Tu is a part of Russell’s Reserve’s Bourbon Board, which was created to uplift influential community members who are helping to create more equitable spaces and making sure everyone has a seat at the table. 

Branding for this year’s program was created by New York-based Sunday Afternoon, using the custom typeface (also called COLORFUL) designed by Tre Seals at Vocal Type Foundry in Washington DC, a YG17 winner.  The result is an exuberant new look, reflecting the grant program’s ability to help BIPOC creatives "make waves" in the industry. The COLORFUL typeface is available for sale, with all proceeds going to the grant program.

COLORFUL is the latest example of The One Club’s ongoing global nonprofit commitment to pushing diversity and inclusion forward in advertising and design.  Other initiatives include the annual Where Are All The Black People diversity conference and career fair; global Creative Boot Camps and mentorship programs for diverse college students and other young creatives; ONE School, the groundbreaking free portfolio program for Black creatives in the US and UK; ONE Production, a free training program for BIPOC students looking to enter the world of food styling, and others.

In 2021, The One Club also introduced The One Show Fusion Pencil and ADC Annual Awards Fusion Cube, the advertising and design industry’s first global awards to recognize great work that best incorporates diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) principles, and underrepresented groups in both creative content and the team that made it.

Unlike for-profit awards shows, The One Club is a non-profit organization that puts revenue generated from awards entries back into the industry in the form of programs under its four pillars: Education, Inclusion & Diversity, Gender Equality and Creative Development.