Archive for February, 2011

Announcing the Awesome Foundation Sydney!

Monday, February 28th, 2011

It’s with awesome pleasure that we can announce the founding board of micro-trustees for the Awesome Foundation Sydney!

As you all know, the Awesome Foundation has been spreading it’s seeds across the planet these last 12 months and it’s exciting to see chapters opening up in places like Sydney, Melbourne, Toronto, LA and many more!

The Awesome Foundation Sydney has been brought together by founding members, Bruno Mattarollo and Steve Hopkins. Like all other chapters, it will provide a $1000 no-strings-attached grant once a month to a project which the board deems suitably awesome.

The founding board for AF Sydney is:

Bruno Mattarollo: Proud Dad of one amazing boy. Has a love of the web and sustainability. Interests include human rights and social innovation.

Steve Hopkins: @trampolineday founder and coffee drinker. Working with an ecosystems approach to make good stuff happen.

Jess Nichols: Cocktail-obsessed social media tragic who works on the web at @deloitteonline (part of @green_dot).

James Martin: Generalising technologist and asker of questions.

Greg Turner: Interaction designer and djangohead. Greg is an interaction designer and computer scientist who specialises in emerging forms of interaction, online and otherwise.

Alan Rogers: Thingmaker.

Suzie Graham: India, Vedic philosophy, Reiki II, Philanthropy, Indigenous 3rd world health. Science + communications 2.0. Medical research @centenaryinst.

Scott Drummond: Community manager passionate about helping people connect and share their experiences.

Lisa Herrod: Founder and Principal User Experience consultant at Scenario Seven.

Sebastian Eckersley-Maslin: Anthill 30 under 30 in 2010 and founder of www.smallestmultinational.com, as well as many others.

The first Awesome Foundation Sydney grant will be awarded in late March, 2011. If you know someone who is doing something awesome, tell them they should apply!

Posted by Steve Hopkins at 5:10 pm Comments

Power of Awesome

Sunday, February 27th, 2011

This is a post from  Awesome Foundation Melbourne micro-trustee Jan Stewart.

Tonight the Awesome Melbourne Foundation dinner took place for the second time. The thing that struck me about our meeting was the amazingly rapid development in social cohesion amongst the group and the creativity and transformation that occurred in each person’s life in the space of a month. The co-founders deliberately chose a very diverse group of individuals for the Melbourne chapter of Awesome. It can often take time for such diversity to find common ground.

The element I underestimated in this whole situation is awesomeness itself. Each person in the group asked to be a part of this because we obviously love and value awesomeness immensely. It is this quality that we have in common, and it is this quality that was responsible for the massive development in social cohesion and creativity in a very short amount of time.

In keeping our eye primarily on awesomeness, even though there was the temptation to be distracted by our differences, this aspect pulled us all together collectively and forward individually. Most people in the group also experienced a massive shift in their personal life circumstances within the last month, from choosing to formally re-educate themselves in order to further business skills, to landing new employment in an amazing social venture, to resigning from an unfulfilling job in order to develop a start-up and application for an overseas job, to deciding to study meditation every day for a month, to deciding to do a 10 day Vipassana retreat, to starting a fantastic new job with enormous growth potential and ability to positively impact thousands of people through evolution of internal business communications, and more.

Not only is the mission of the group to give freely and with no strings attached to some awesome idea, but the awesomeness is simultaneously and amazingly impacting within the group. The awesomeness is impressing internally, externally, individually and collectively.

When we are witness to exponential development, it can serve us to understand why. In this instance it is keeping our focus on awesomeness, that allows awesomeness to manifest. Keeping our eye on creativity and positivity, and allowing some time (even though in this instance it didn’t take much time), for the awesomeness to emerge.

The other fantastic element was the care and creativity that was expressed tonight during the dinner to support all of the ideas in ways other than financial. This expression was simultaneously explosive and cool, both full and empty. Something was unleashed.

This has big implications.

It means that all we have to do is keep our eye on the positive, on the awesome, and keep giving to that.

Less attractive elements may arise in the picture. We can simply let them be and continue to keep our focus open and positive and let awesomeness do it’s amazing work.

And release it’s momentous power.

Posted by Edward Harran at 7:45 am Comments

An @awesome party, indeed!

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011

Next month will mark the 1-year anniversary of the Awesome Foundation San Francisco, and we thought, “Close enough. Let’s have a party!” So on Sunday, February 13th, we held our first Awesome Foundation SF party (hopefully the first of many to come), and invited past recipients and friends to come celebrate with us. In true Awesome fashion, what started off as a just-for-fun get together turned into an inspiring look at how micro-financing of local innovators can encourage large-scale change.

The party was produced on a modest budget with each trustee chipping in just enough to supply a little hummus, some wine, and perhaps 1 too many cases of beer (my bad). Hosted by the lovely people of PariSoma in downtown San Francisco, the spirited crowd was a diverse collection of go-getting artists, scientists, DIY makers, and general do-gooders.

Jesse Taggert, our Dean of Awesome, kicked off the party with a few introductions to the trustees and a quick congrats to this year’s recipients.

Then, since most of them have never met one another, each recipient got an opportunity to say a few words about their project and give thanks to their amazing partners in crime. And thanks to Rod Begbie and his slideshow-slinging skillz, everyone’s phenomenal work was showcased throughout the night on an over-sized projector screen in the main room.

Below are some clips from the event along with a few incriminating pics of the party-goers. Many thanks to this year’s recipients for sharing their work and their inspiration, and for boldly scaling the cliffs of awesome.

See you all at the next one!


Posted by Krista Sanders at 1:54 am Comments

Launch Party! All Welcome.

Monday, February 21st, 2011

We’re throwing a party on March 23 and we want you there! Word on the street says it’s going to be AWESOME!

The Awesome Foundation DC has been around for a few months now, we’ve funded a handful of spectacular projects, and have been overwhelmed with all the awesomely enthusiastic applications we have received from our community here. You guys are truly… well shucks… you know.

So now it’s time to share that awesomeness with the rest of the District. We hope will join us to officially launch the Awesome Foundation DC and celebrate just how awesome you all are.

  • Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011, 6 – 10 p.m
  • DISTRICT, 2473 18th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009  (in the heart of Adams Morgan)

  • Get in and grab your ticket now: http://dcawesome.eventbrite.com/

Your $10 Ticket to Awesome includes: 1 drink and 3 Awesome Tokens to donate to a selection of people who will be demo’ing their awesome ideas! ($15 = 8 Awesome Tokens, $20 = 13 Awesome Tokens…)

There will also be opportunities to share your very own awesome ideas, and of course, awesome DJ’s, drinks and dancing.

Hope you can make it! Tell your friends. All welcome. It’s going to be… AWESOME!

Many thanks to the most awesomely talented http://www.carolynsewell.com for the party graphics!

Posted by Bonnie Shaw at 3:18 pm Comments

DC gets Jazzed

Monday, February 21st, 2011

Spring is in the air and we’re excited here in DC.  In fact, we’re toe tapping, booty shaking, finger clicking excited. You could say we’re just totally jazzed to announce our February grant recipient.

A huge Awesome Foundation DC congratulations to Tom Pipkin (who tries to be awesome, often), and his project, The Pentworth Jazz Festival - a monthly jazz performance in the local park for the residents and neighbors of Petworth to enjoy, and an excuse for people to meet and interact.

The performances will take place about an hour before dusk on Saturdays, once a month over Spring and Summer.

Tom told us that “I believe it will show folks how easy it is to bring arts and music to local communities.  There is tons of talent in this city, and loads of people who are thirsty for it. Without this Awesome Grant, I wouldn’t be able to fund the project.”

We were particularly impressed with Tom’s ability to describe how his skills and experience would make this a viable and achievable project. He was able to clearly explain how he would spend the grant money (to pay musicians and purchase some AV equipment), and he has already started to develop partnerships with local music venues to make this project a reality. Now he’s going to celebrate his win by “getting to work and getting the ball rolling!”

At Awesome Foundation DC headquarters, we look for projects that demonstrate some kind of community impact. Tom was also able to clearly articulate how his projects would seed positive engagement in the local community.

“Blue moving blankets would be laid out in a grid on the grass so anyone can walk up and grab a piece of real estate.  If you have ever sat and relaxed and listened to a good jazz trio or quartet, outside, as the sun sets, then you know how awesome this is.

While our neighborhood is safe‚ and comprised of families and older folks who have lived here for generations, it is not without its violence.  In 2010 we had 8 homicides, almost exclusively teen gang violence.  The park location is one block from the 7th and Taylor St. crew territory, as well as at least 3 other crews in the immediate area.  Clearly an opportunity for the neighbors to come out and meet each other in a positive atmosphere is critical.”

We wish Tom the best of luck, and if you have relevant skills, and would like to get involved in the festival – as a performer or in support of Tom, please get in touch via email.

Posted by Bonnie Shaw at 3:09 pm Comments
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