The Awesome Foundation Comes to Gloucester

Hi Joey- I’m sure you are aware of this group but maybe not, but I’m proud to say I’m the newest Trustee of Awesome Gloucester and attended my first meeting last night at the Gloucester House.   Attached please find a press release about Awesome Gloucester.  There are no names of the 20 Trustees listed, honestly I haven’t met all the other 19 yet, but I was excited by the energy, enthusiasm and commitment to Gloucester that I felt in the room last night!  Simply Awesome.  I hope you will run something so that everyone knows that there is seed money available for all things that make Gloucester Awesome- no strings attached- and the application process is simple.  

Happy Holidays,

Grace Giambanco Numerosi

The Awesome Foundation Comes to Gloucester

Anyone who lives in Gloucester knows how awesome this town city is, but few know that a philanthropic group now exists to make Gloucester even more awesome. The name of this group is – as you might have guessed – Awesome Gloucester.

Awesome Gloucester is a local chapter of the Awesome Foundation, a global “experiment in community philanthropy” committed to giving out $1,000 micro-grants each month.  The group gives “no strings attached” micro-grants to applicants deemed to have the most awesome idea to enhance the community in some positive way.  The local chapter is made up of a board of twenty “trustees of awesome,” all of whom are members of the Gloucester community with an interest in supporting the positive aspirations of others and encouraging a spirit of open innovation in the city.

People of all ages are encouraged to enter project applications for consideration of these monthly micro-grants.  Awesome Gloucester is especially looking to fund projects that may not have any other avenue of funding, including project ideas that may be unconventional.  Though projects can be awesome in almost any way, Awesome Gloucester seeks to fund ideas that will be significantly enhanced with $1000 cash infusion. 

The group is also interested in supporting projects that fall into the following categories: (1) Innovation in Marine/Fishing Industry, (2) Preservation of Maritime Culture and Heritage and (3) and Community Appreciation and Togetherness.  Running through each category is a single concern: How is this idea, once implemented, going to make Gloucester more awesome?

To apply, interested teams and people need to fill out a very basic application online:
http://www.awesomefoundation.org/en/chapters/gloucester.  In a nutshell, to apply, applicants need to answer three main questions:

1.    Tell us about yourself.
2.    Tell us about your project.
3.    Tell us how you’ll use the money.

The deadline for applications is the 15th of each month.  From there, the process is pretty simple:  The twenty trustees will review and vote for their top three favorite projects. Then, three finalists will be invited to the Gloucester House restaurant for “Pitch Night,” or what some call “$1000 Thursday.”  (This happens the first Thursday evening of the next month). Next, the applicants each take a turn making their pitch to the trustees who then vote for the project they want to fund.  That night, a winner is announced and given $1,000 in cash on the spot!

The $1,000 micro-grant comes from the pockets of the 20 trustees who each donate $50 a month. As there are no strings attached to the grants, Awesome Gloucester simply wishes each winning applicant the best of luck without placing any demands on them once the money is awarded.  The group simply places faith in the goodness of people participating in the process.

Awesome Gloucester has already had its three successful pitch nights at which it awarded “Glosta Lobster”, Cape Ann Art Haven and Kestrel Educational Adventures each $1000.00 grant!  How cool is that?!

Find us at:

http://www.facebook.com/awesomegloucester
http://www.awesomefoundation.org/en/chapters/gloucester