2026 Level Up Grant Recipient
At Gen Collective, we believe deeply in the power of women backing women, through connection, opportunity, and tangible support. That belief sits at the heart of our Level Up Grant, an annual initiative proudly delivered in partnership with Sorted Advisory, designed to help local women take their next bold step forward.
Today, we are thrilled to announce the 2026 Level Up Grant recipient: Sarah Johnstone, founder of Landmates.
About the Level Up Grant
The Gen Collective x Sorted Advisory Level Up Grant was created to empower women in the Hunter region who are ready to grow, innovate, or evolve their business or career.
Each year, one recipient is awarded $3,000 in funding ($2,000 from Gen Collective and $1,000 from Sorted Advisory), alongside mentoring, community connection, and visibility through the Gen Collective network.
The grant exists to:
Empower women to take the next step in their professional journey
Encourage innovation, resilience, and sustainable growth
Strengthen connections within the Hunter business community
Showcase women creating meaningful local impact
Provide access to mentoring and professional development
This year’s applications demonstrated incredible passion, clarity, and purpose, making the selection process both inspiring and challenging.
Meet the 2026 Recipient
Sarah Johnstone - Founder of Landmates
Sarah Johnstone is the solo founder of Landmates, Australia’s licensed nationwide tiny home marketplace, proudly headquartered in Newcastle.
With a background spanning residential and commercial construction project management and real estate, Sarah has seen firsthand the growing cracks in Australia’s housing system, particularly the severe undersupply of safe, affordable housing.
Rather than waiting for long-term policy reform, Sarah set out to create practical, immediate solutions.
Landmates connects tiny homeowners with landowners for site leases, while also facilitating the buying and selling of tiny homes. The platform removes one of the biggest barriers to tiny home living: finding somewhere to put it.
At the same time, Landmates unlocks under-utilised land across Australia, creating passive income opportunities for landowners while providing affordable, dignified housing for those who need it most.
Why Landmates Stood Out
Sarah’s application aligned powerfully with the values of the Level Up Grant, clarity of purpose, feasibility, and real-world impact.
Landmates addresses a critical and growing issue, particularly for single women over 55, now the fastest-growing demographic at risk of homelessness in Australia. Many of these women face impossible choices: unaffordable rentals, unsafe housing, or remaining in unhealthy or violent situations due to lack of alternatives.
Landmates offers a different path, one rooted in dignity, independence, and security.
How Sarah Will Use the Level Up Grant
The Level Up Grant will support the next phase of Landmates’ growth by strengthening the supply side of the marketplace, encouraging more landowners to list their land and participate in tiny home hosting.
The funding will be used for:
Marketing and advertising ($1,500): Targeted campaigns to educate landowners on the benefits and simplicity of leasing land for tiny homes
Travel and community engagement ($1,000): Attending expos, events, and meetings with members, stakeholders, and government representatives to build partnerships and share stories
Licensing and compliance ($500): Ensuring Landmates continues to operate professionally, safely, and in full regulatory compliance
These initiatives will directly increase the availability of tiny home sites, helping more Australians access affordable housing here in the Hunter and beyond.
What the Grant Means to Sarah
For Sarah, receiving the Level Up Grant represents more than funding, it marks a shift from survival to sustainable growth.
For over two years, she has fully bootstrapped Landmates as a solo founder, laying foundations, building the platform, and doing the unseen work required to turn a vision into reality.
This grant enables Landmates to scale its impact, reach more landowners, and form partnerships that can help transform Australia’s housing landscape, starting locally.
As Sarah shared, this support helps turn years of groundwork into tangible change, unlocking land, restoring independence, and creating real pathways to housing security for vulnerable Australians.
Looking Ahead
As part of the Level Up Grant, Sarah will:
Share a progress update with the Gen Collective community
Participate in promotional storytelling and events
Receive mentoring support from Gen Collective and Sorted Advisory
Attend the annual Gen Collective Level Up Conference
We are incredibly proud to support Sarah and Landmates, and we cannot wait to see the ripple effect of this work across our region.
Congratulations Sarah
Thank you to Sorted Advisory for their continued partnership and commitment to empowering women in business, and to every woman who applied for the 2026 Level Up Grant, your ideas, courage, and impact inspire us daily.
Here’s to women creating solutions, building futures, and lifting each other as we level up together.
Learn more about Sarah’s work at Landmates here.
The below images have been supplied by Black Clay Tiny Homes.
