Need some more awesome in your February?  Join us at 6:30PM, Thursday, 21 February at the Renaissance Event Venue for our February Pitch Party!  Pitches kick off at 7:00PM, so grab a drink and a front row seat before then.  Spread the word, and make sure you RSVP on the Facebook Event so we know you’re coming!  Everyone is welcome, and the event, as always, is free.   Stick around after the event, because we’ll be having Awesome Hours after the $1,000 no-strings-attached microgrant is given away.  What are Awesome Hours?  They’re like office hours, but way more fun.  It’s a time for anyone to sit down with trustees, volunteers, past winners, and like-minded people to talk about anything – the Awesome Foundation, a pitch idea you’ve had, getting involved, or just chat about whatever’s on your mind. Awesome Kingston has been around for over a year in the Limestone City, having held its inaugural pitch party in November 2011.  Since then, we’ve funded some great projects geared toward making Kingston even more awesome.  We give away $1,000 no-strings-attached microgrants funded by 10 trustees from the community.  Got an idea yourself?  Come out to the pitch night to see what we’re all about, and apply through the website!… read more →

We’re always getting tons of questions about whether a specific project or idea is eligible for a monthly microgrant – and let’s be fair, awesomeness is pretty hard to define specifically!  We all have different ideas on what that means, so we’ve tried to narrow it down a little bit based on what we prefer (read: always exceptions to be made!) to see from applications to Awesome Foundation – Kingston.  We want you and your project to succeed, and we also want to be realistic about expectations.  When in doubt, get in touch with us!   Is Your Idea Awesome? We’re looking for awesome ideas – whether they come from companies, organizations, teams, or individuals. The project should be something new, exciting, and unique; not an existing, ongoing, or recurring project. It should have impact on the local Kingston community, and the more people it involves or affects, the better!   We’re not looking to fund fundraisers, long-term established projects, overhead, marketing, or administration. We’re looking for small, agile undertakings where $1,000 is all that’s needed, or at least the majority of it – not a drop in the bucket of a massive budget. $1,000 is not a huge sum of money,… read more →

Awesome Foundation – Calgary’s January 2013 $1,000 micro-grant went to Neil Egsgard with “Kensington Interaction,” a space built by Neil to showcase local knowledge and to connect community in the Calgary neighbourhood of Sunnyside.

January’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to Ashley Cabecinha and Ka Lei Ku to support the hosting of speed-board-gaming events in Ottawa. Ashley and Ka explain that speed-gaming is “like speed dating, but less awkward and way more fun.” The premise is straightforward:  “Show up, sign in, grab a drink and snack, and mingle while you wait for peeps to show. Once everyone’s arrived, you’ll randomly be assigned to a table. One of our ‘Game Genies’ will teach you a game that’s short and sweet, and you’ll have about 30 minutes to play it with your new friends. Once the hourglass runs out, you get a few minutes to grab another drink and snack, and the cycle continues — you move to a new table with a new game and new people!” “Board gaming is so hot right now,” say Ashley and Ka. “We know — we’ve been to ALL the board gaming nights in town. They’re fun, but something is missing: facilitated interaction. We’re also throwing in some crazy delicious snacks, and a little liquid courage to help everyone play nice. We both love food, so we hate it when people offer food at an event, and it’s mediocre, or offer… read more →

Are you ready to usher in the new year with some Awesome?  Join us at 6:30PM, Thursday, 17 January at the Kingston Yacht Club for our January Pitch Party!  Pitches kick off at 7:00PM, so grab a drink and head upstairs to claim a seat before then.  Spread the word, and make sure you RSVP on the Facebook Event so we know you’re coming!  Everyone is welcome, and the event, as always, is free. Stick around after the event, because we’ll be having Awesome Hours after the $1000 no-strings-attached microgrant is given away.  What are Awesome Hours?  They’re like office hours, but way more fun.  It’s a time for anyone to sit down with trustees, volunteers, past winners, and like-minded people to talk about anything – the Awesome Foundation, a pitch idea you’ve had, getting involved, or just chat about whatever’s on your mind. We’ve also got a special surprise for you during the event, so we’re extra excited this month!  We’re also welcoming guest trustee Bryant Tong for the month and are looking forward to having him participate. Awesome Kingston has been around for over a year in the Limestone City, having held its inaugural pitch party in November 2011.  Since then, we’ve funded some… read more →