A quirky grass-roots effort supports an array of 'Awesome’ projects
From Philanthropy.com
A cannon that shoots cotton candy. An opera written, directed, and performed by grade-school children. A public hammock that can hold 15 people.
That’s not the usual portfolio of projects that America’s big foundations support. But they all got off the ground with money from a footloose group of grant makers called the Awesome Foundation for the Arts and Sciences.
The three-year-old Awesome Foundation is neither an official foundation nor a registered charity. Rather, it is a loosely affiliated collection of some three-dozen autonomous groups in the United States, Canada, and abroad (including Australia, Great Britain, and Switzerland).
Each Awesome chapter is essentially a giving circle, usually made up of 10 volunteer trustees who each offer $100 a month toward a no-strings-attached grant, or Awesome Fellowship. The grants are $1,000 each, awarded monthly after all the trustees vote. Individuals or groups can apply through an online application that asks just three questions.
About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. We believe that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org.