The Awesome Foundation expands to Atlanta

ATLANTA - Feb. 28, 2014 - PRLog -- The Awesome Foundation – Atlanta Chapter is part of an international network of people who find and reward Awesome in the world. The chapter was created to celebrate ideas and projects that spread goodness in the metropolitan Atlanta area. To date, Awesome Foundation chapters have given out a wide spectrum of grants, including towards the creation of public artwork, mobile applications or scientific experiments. As of December 2013, the Awesome Foundation has grown to 89 Chapters, from Boston to London, to Paris and Melbourne, with new micro-trustees coming soon in Nairobi, Kenya; The continent of Africa’s first Awesome chapter.

Awesome Foundation chapters give $1000 grants each month. Winners are chosen by consensus. The submission window for the inaugural grant will be open from March 1 – March 20, 2014.  The funds will be awarded April during the chapter’s launch event.   The funds come from the micro-trustees themselves, with no claims on neither future ownership nor expectation of repayment, other than that a grantee will apply the grant to the purpose proposed.

Proposals are simple: 350 – 1500 words submitted using a simple online application that explains why the project meets the foundation's standard for awesomeness and how the project will immediately impact the city.

“Organized channels sometimes neglect the folks with the greatest need.  Red tape and bureaucracy often prevent small artistic, creative, innovative, educational, environmental and other notable projects to go without sponsorship because they are not part of an organized charity or large non-profit organization,” said Atlanta Chapter’s founder, Dr. Dionne Mahaffey.

“Awesome Foundation Chapters do not consider 501c3 status exclusively as the starting point for assessing a project’s “awesome quotient,” she continued.

The Atlanta Chapter’s grants will support projects in sciences, arts, civic engagement, media, entertainment… just about anything as long as long as it contributes to making Atlanta awesome.  The grants can go to groups, individuals, small no-profit organizations, almost any entity.  The monthly $1000 grant is obtained from contributions by the chapter’s trustees who make a monthly contribution to fund the award.  Trustees also vote on the submissions to determine the winner each month.

“It is the trustees contributing the money that meet once a month to review the applications received by the Chapter and decide on who will win the grant for the month,” Mahaffey said.   “We've already identified a few dedicated trustees who have made the conscious choice to foster Awesome out of their own disposable income. We have a few more slots to fill to complete our diverse roster of micro-trustees for the Atlanta Chapter, she concluded.

Yasmin Smith, one of the first trustees to join Awesome Atlanta decided to come on board because of “the fulfillment that comes from being a volunteer agent of positive change in the Atlanta community. It’s like getting together with a group of friends each month and agreeing to help launch a great idea or complete an impressive and impactful community initiative, ”  she said.

The Trustee obligations are simple, but serious:

·         To be willing to commit no more than $100 per month in the interest of Awesome.

·         To participate in a monthly grant application review session.

·         To play an active role in reviewing grant-applications and collectively deciding who gets them.

·         To commit to finding a replacement micro-trustee, if one leaves the board.

Why an Awesome Chapter in Atlanta?

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the state of Georgia. This amazing and innovative international American city is a thriving business center with an assorted mix of residents with southern charm and world-class sophistication. Atlanta attractions are an illustrious mix of world class museums, art galleries, classical music venues, thriving theatre scene, four major sports teams, numerous convention centers ,the world’s busiest airport, modern landmarks, gardens, parks and more which all makes it a vibrant, bustling metropolis that attracts young and old alike. Many have visited, fallen in love with and subsequently relocated to this beautiful and bustling city to partake of its hospitality and to call it their home. Unfortunately, Atlanta also suffers from high rates of poverty and is 4th in the country for suburban poverty growth.  That coupled with struggling public schools, human trafficking of children, homelessness, underfunded arts programs and many other problems facing metropolitan cities,  makes Atlanta ripe for the launch of The Awesome Foundation – Atlanta Chapter.  www.awesomeatlanta.org --Follow on Twitter @AwesomeAtlanta


About the Awesome Foundation: The Awesome Foundation for the Arts and Sciences is an ever-growing, worldwide network of people devoted to forwarding the interest of awesomeness in the universe. Created in the long hot summer days of 2009 in Boston, the Foundation distributes a series of monthly $1,000 grants to projects and their creators. The money is pooled together from the coffers of ten or so self-organizing “micro-trustees” and given upfront in cash, check, or gold doubloons. The chapters are organized by a founder and trustees around geographic areas or topics of interest.  www.awesomefoundation.org