Do you even awesome?
#humblebrag warning: every month I meet the other trustees of the Awesome Foundation Sydney in a bar to choose a Sydney artist, activist, musician, designer, creator, author, lobbyist or eccentric to give $1,000 of our own money to. No strings attached. Simply because we think they are awesome.
Anybody can apply and at the moment we receive fewer than 10 applications per month so your odds are good. We ring the successful applicant immediately after making the decision and the money goes straight to your bank account. Here’s a video of ambassador Cass Mao calling a previous winner. I say again: no strings attached.
Some are worthy causes, some are just fun. For instance my favourite project we’ve backed so far was Physique Aerobics. Who doesn’t love the bear-like expanse of Dan Ilic in dayglo lycra?
Keep in mind some of these criteria:
- We like ideas that can be totally executed for $1,000 or less
- Not just about self-expression but which make a positive impact on a community
- Help improve, inspire, bring laughter, learning, tolerance or understanding to a community
- Ideas with a sensibly detailed budget beat vaguely budgeted ideas
- We don’t fund the production of your website, or a new camera, or a new laptop. That’s because we’d all quite like someone to pay for us to have a new website, camera or laptop. Buy your own damn laptop!
- Ideas that make a difference to a local community are preferred over ideas that make a difference in an overseas community
- Ideas which are awesome but which don’t have a hope of raising funding through traditional funding sources (arts or local gov grants, etc) are preferred
In recent months we’ve funded a nightime art exhibition projected on a wall in a public space, an indigenous cafe project, and a project encouraging Sydneysiders to strike up a conversation with strangers in the street.
Learn more and apply for next month’s $1,000 at: http://www.awesomefoundation.org/en/chapters/sydney
