NAC, DSAC and PESP
Through the NAC, DSAC and PESP, Twist received a grant at the end of 2022 to stimulate employment in the arts sector, and managed to create over 120 short term jobs for artists through the Fresha Festival extension programme. See www.freshafestival.co.za for more details. 
USAID
Twist has received funding in 2021 from USAID from the American People to work with our partner, Savanna Trust in Zimbabwe, on a pilot project called Acting Against Wildlife Crime. The project works with community-based theatre groups living near protected wildlife areas in Zimbabwe, to create and perform new work in their communities. This capacity development project has an additional community engagement component, where stakeholders are brought together in a community dialogue to find solutions to wildlife crime in their areas, and develop self-driven action plans accordingly.
KZN Performing Arts Trust
The KZN Performing Arts Trust has been a supporter of Twist Projects between 2017 and 2021. The Trust, administered by Nedbank, has supported the Fresha Festival as well as the development and distribution of the skills books we have developed. The relationship continues on a project-related basis.
National Arts Council
Twist received funding in 2020 from the NAC to work with previously graduated groups to create and perform new work in schools. This capacity development project involved working with the graduated Twist alumni to develop concepts and proposals for new work to be performed in schools, to match them with a suitable mentor, and to provide grants for this work to be staged at schools. Due to the Covid-19 Lockdown, this work was shared online, and can now be found on our You-tube site.
The National Lotteries Commission (NLC)
The National Lotteries Commission (NLC) relies on funds from the proceeds of the National Lottery. The Lotteries Act and regulations guide the way in which NLC funding may be allocated. The NLC wants the grants to make a difference to the lives of all South Africans, especially those more vulnerable, and to improve the sustainability of the beneficiary organisations.
Available funds are distributed to registered and qualifying non-profit organisations in the fields of charities; arts, culture and national heritage; and sport and recreation. By placing its emphasis on areas of greatest need and potential, the NLC contributes to South Africa’s development.
Twist received a grant agreement with the NLC for the 2015-2016 project cycle and again in 2018-2019. We are currently waiting to hear the outcome of a grant application for the 2021-2022 cycle.
Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands
The international exchange components of the project have been supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands, to expose Dutch theatre groups at different local festivals, interacting with Twist groups and young theatre makers. Performances and workshops are conducted to exchange skills and encourage new thinking about theatre.
The festivals where these groups appear include the National Arts Festival (Grahamstown), Isigcawu (Durban/KwaMashu), Musho! (Durban), Uhuru Festival (Wushwini/Inanda) and KKNK (Oudshoorn).
The Embassy has also supported the development of our three theatre skills books, available on Amazon and on the “books” tab of this website.
Pro Helvetia and the Swiss Development Council
Exchange across borders within the SADC region for the annual Novel-Script Project has been supported for a number of years by Pro-Helvetia, the Swiss Arts Council, and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). In addition, Pro-Helvetia funded a short research residency in Switzerland for the three partners of Twist (SA), Mahamba (Mozambique) and Savanna Trust (Zimbabwe) in 2018.
KZN Department of Arts and Culture
The vision of the KZN Department of Arts and Culture is to build prosperity and social cohesion through Arts and Culture. The KZN DAC has been a supporter of Twist Projects between 2011 and 2014. The relationship continues on a project-related basis.