Ron Ehemann Community Leather and Kink Archives Grant Program

Program Purpose

The Leather Archives & Museum (LA&M) Community Leather and Kink Archives Grant Program exists to support community members with an interest in preserving, documenting and uplifting the history and ongoing work of their local leather and kink clubs, organizations, dungeons, play spaces and communities.

The program is designed to connect individuals with LA&M’s archivist and resources to learn best practices and tools for building and maintaining a community archive. Working with the archivist, the recipient of this grant will explore resources, tools and methods for collecting and preserving oral histories, organizational records, photographs, sound and video recordings, documentary ephemera, and more. The program is open to individuals who are already working on a project, or those who are hoping to start within the next 12 months.

Three recipients will be selected from among the applications received. Each recipient will receive a grant of up to $2,000 to support their travel and research.

Who May Apply

Applicants must meet the following requirements:

• Be at least 18 years of age at the time of application
• Be a part of a leather or kink community in their local area
• Work with their local community to document, share, and preserve their histories
• Be able to travel to Chicago for 2 to 4 days to work with LA&M staff within the grant timeline. Note: the LA&M building will be closed for renovation through 2026-2027; the bulk of the collections will not be accessible for ordinary research. In Chicago, you will attend workshops with LA&M staff to learn best practices for recording oral histories and documenting and preserving community history, using selected portions of the LA&M collections as examples for hands-on learning.
• Agree to comply with LA&M ethical and archival standards

Application Requirements

All applications must include:

• Project Proposal (1–2 pages)
  • Description of the local club, organization, space, or individual in which the applicant is interested
  • Current status of existing archive or recorded history, if any
  • Reason for interest in documenting this particular history
  • Estimated budget for travel and materials costs
  • Description of how the collected resources, interviews, or project outcomes will be archived and preserved long term.
• Applicant Background Statement (1-2 pages)
  • Relevant experience or community connection
  • Why the applicant is suited to carry out the work
  • May include resume, bio and personal leather and kink involvement, if applicable
• Letter of Support (1-2 pages)
  • Brief statement of interest or approval from organization or individual participating in the project.
  • (Optional) Letter from someone with knowledge of the applicant’s research or archival experience

Funding Guidelines

Grant recipients will receive a stipend of $600, and up to $1,200 for travel to Chicago to meet and work with LA&M staff. Travel may be booked by LA&M directly, or reimbursed after purchase.

An additional $200 is available to purchase materials or tools to assist with implementing the work in the local community. These items may be purchased directly by LA&M, or reimbursed after purchase.

Ethical Standards & Community Responsibility

All funded projects must agree to follow ethical research practices:

• Obtain written informed consent for interviews
• Obtain donation agreements or releases for all materials collected or reproduced
• Respect privacy and confidentiality when requested
• Avoid exploitation of community stories or materials
• Respect the rights of individuals and communities to own and define the meaning of their own archives, stories, and lived experiences
• Follow LA&M archival storage and handling guidelines when applicable

Selection Criteria

Applications will be evaluated competitively based on:

• Feasibility of the proposed work
• Potential community impact
• Preservation and long-term accessibility of results
• Focus on under-documented organizations, spaces, individuals or communities
• Regional representation from different areas

Grant Recipient Responsibilities

Recipients must agree to:

• Complete the project within the approved timeline
• Submit a final written report (3–5 pages)
• Participate in a public program or presentation if requested
• Have a plan to preserve the collected materials, interviews, or project outcomes with the LA&M or another library, archive, or community organization.
• Credit LA&M support in any finding aids, publications, websites, presentations or exhibits that result from this work

Submission Deadlines & Review Process

• Applications must be submitted by the posted deadline
• Late or incomplete applications will not be reviewed
• Awards will be announced after committee review
• Funding decisions are final

Project Timeline

• March 2, 2026 – Applications Begin
• April 15, 2026 – Applications Due
• May 1, 2026 – Recipients Announced
• June 30 – Dec 15, 2026 – LA&M Workshop Visit Completed
• Dec 31, 2026 – Grant Program Completed

Questions & Support

Applicants may contact LA&M staff for clarification or proposal guidance prior to submission at online@leatherarchives.org.

Funding for this program is provided by the John Paul Palatinus Trust and Full Kit Gear, in memory of Ron Ehemann. Ron was active in Chicago’s LGBT community for over 50 years. As a law student in Chicago in the early 1970s, he volunteered at the Barbara Beckman House, a forerunner to Horizons Community Services and the Center on Halsted. In 1978, Ron became one of Chicago’s first openly gay attorneys, representing many of the city’s bars and organizations. With John Chester and Tim Drake, Mr. Ehemann founded Organization to Promote Equality Now (OPEN), Illinois’ first gay/lesbian political action party. He successfully lobbied then Governor James Thompson for an anti-discrimination directive to the Illinois Department of Personnel. He lobbied for and submitted written testimony in favor of an Illinois House Bill amending the state’s Ethnic Intimidation Act to include gays and lesbians.

In 1982 Ehemann joined the staff of GayLife newspaper as a legal columnist and advisor. There he met his life-partner of 35 years, Chuck Renslow, with whom he co-founded the Greater Chicago Gay & Lesbian Democrats. Mr. Ehemann also made numerous appearances before the mainstream media representing the LGBT community and was the first person to address the police training academy and police roll calls on sensitivity training on LGBT citizens. In 1983 Ehemann was featured in Newsweek Magazine for an article on the gay community, politics and the impact of AIDS.

In 1994 Ehemann and Renslow were granted custody of two young children. Ehemann then chose to take on the role of the stay at home parent, but continued to work with Renslow managing their many businesses; Man’s Country, Gold Coast, Bistro Too, Chicago Eagle, Chicago Meatpackers, International Mr. Leather and the founding of The Leather Archives & Museum. As Chuck’s health declined, Ron took over managing the businesses, opening Man’s Country membership to include women and transgender people.  While doing all of this he helped raise money for community organizations and charities too numerous to mention.

In 2023, Ron began working on a new project to encourage individuals to learn more about their local leather and kink history in partnership with LA&M. Ron passed away unexpectedly on October 25, 2024.