Chicago, IL
Project 1033: A proposal to empower Chicagoans
От Jacob Verrey December 2020
Turning the Page
От Elizabeth Ferry December 2020
Austin Gallery
От Human Scale December 2020Awesome Tenners
От Chicago Awesome Foundation December 2020
The Connection Community Garden
От Margaret Morris November 2020GetMePPEChicago
От Tricia Pendergrast November 2020
CPR for the Deaf and Disabled
От Zaineb Al-Abdulla October 2020
Word Choice Cafe
От Venita Williams September 2020
Bike Lane Uprising
От Christina Whitehouse August 2020
BIPOC Terp Fund Chi
От Chelsea Bundy August 2020
Jumping Juniors Double Dutch
От Paulette Jones July 2020
Rogers Park Community Response Team (RPCRT)
От Heidi Massey July 2020
COVID-19 Emergency Response Programming
От Colin Higgins June 2020
Community Language Classes
От Angela Lin June 2020
Online Scholastic Chess Tournaments
От Lee Lazar May 2020
You Got The Juice (COVID-19 Emergency Assistance)
От Keevan Dantzler May 2020
The Arts for Illinois Relief Fund
От EVA SILVERMAN April 2020
Craft Circle to Empower Our Youth
От Lariel Joy March 2020
Culture Coach Stage Comes to Your Neighborhood
От Susan Fox February 2020
The Elders of South Side Music Legacies
От Brandon Payton-Carrillo January 2020
Wasted - A Youth Production about Pollution
От Free Street Theater December 2019
Manga Arts Studio
От Eric Zaragoza December 2019
Douglass 18
От Space p11 November 2019
Reflections on Fire: Abandoning Old Ideas
От Frank Maugeri November 2019
Chicago Artists Exhibit
От Ivonne Cruz October 2019
The Chicago Tool Library
От Tessa Vierk September 2019
Flu Shots & Drink Shots -- Immunology @ a Bar!
От Monica Metzler August 2019
Helping Rebuilding Exchange Build for the Future
От Julian Pastin July 2019
Community-Based Scent Education
От Jas Brooks June 2019
AMFM Presents: Feast "A Festival in Three Courses"
От Ciera Mckissick May 2019
TRQPiTECA Queer Pride Chicago 2019 - Sound System
От Natalie Murillo May 2019
The Chicago Mobile Makerspace
От Maya Bird-Murphy April 2019
Throwing a Citywide Wedding Ball for LGBT Muslims
От Mahdia Lynn March 2019
Energy Audits Evanston
От Aaron Boxerman February 2019
Crafternoons with LGBTQIA Elders
От Mikey Anderson January 2019
KEENSports
От KEEN Chicago December 2018
Know Your Rights Education
От Diana Vargas November 2018
Black Dog Metal Arts
От Jamie Caitlin Lovell October 2018
Safety Planning Clinic for Undocumented Families
От Rebekah Rashidfarokhi September 2018
Refugee High
От Elly Fishman August 2018
An Arm and a Leg:Podcast re: Cost of Health Care
От Dan Weissmann July 2018
Ghostskate 2018 Season & Chicago Expansion
От Stuart Anderson June 2018
Sewing Literacy 101
От Amy Malysa May 2018
Glass Case Mini Art Gallery at The WasteShed
От Eleanor Ray April 2018
World's Fair 2018
От Sasha Tycko March 2018
Afrofuturist mural in Englewood!
От Ryan Wilson February 2018
Where is Washington Heights?
От Hana L Anderson January 2018
Scream Class
От GOLDGRRL December 2017
Awesome Weekend
От Dave Stanford December 2017
Refugee Education & Adventure CHallenge (REACH)
От Shana Wills November 2017The East Side Project
От Mary Kate Witry October 2017SHE CAST : a for-youth by-youth podcast
От Kayla Lane Freeman September 2017
Back of the Yards - Bread truck mobile art exhibit
От Megan E. Doherty August 2017
TECHNE: Electronic Music Powered by Girls Chicago
От Jessie Marino July 2017
BarberQue
От Megan Hinchy June 2017
OPEN STUDIO: A CELEBRATION OF CHICAGO'S DRAG SCENE
От Molly Hewitt June 2017
Prison Interview Series
От Michael Fischer April 2017
YogaCare: Training Yoga Teachers on the South Side
От YogaCare March 2017
Operation Evergreen: Guitars Over Guns Program
От Andrew DeMuro February 2017Empowering Teen Authors & Teen Publishers
От Jennifer Steele January 2017
All-Latino re-imagining of WAITING FOR GODOT
От Tympanic Theatre Company December 2016
A Dance of Welcome
От Shawn Lent November 2016Bridging the Gap
От Quabeeny Daniels October 2016
Floating Museum
От Jeremiah Hulsebos-Spofford September 2016
Project Onward Artist Book
От Rebecca Lyn Beaird August 2016
Water for a Thirsty Therapeutic Garden
От Elizabeth Lindau July 2016
Sandcastle Maker
От Tim Parsons June 2016
Operation Endangered Species
От Catherine Zdunek May 2016
Free stamps and envelopes on tax day
От Roy Trakovski April 2016
Walk All Night - A Drum Beat Journey
От Elilta Tewelde March 2016
Seat buttons
От Annie Morse February 2016
4Us Girls Club Self-Image Zine Project
От Annette kelly January 2016
The Music Box
От Aquil Charlton December 2015
Thresholds: Illusions for the Senses & the Mind
От Jeanette Andrews December 2015
Drums for the Deaf
От Tiana Pyer-Pereira September 2015
Pop-Up Puppet Truck
От Donny Gettinger August 2015
Open Source Furniture: Enzo Mari Design Workshop
От Chicago Design Museum July 2015
Literature Emitting Diodes
От Carley Gomez June 2015
"I Looked Up To The Screen Above"
От Simon Pyle May 2015
Making Hermosa hermosa!
От Colin Bird April 2015
The Scarlet "S" Project
От Catherine Paula Muskett March 2015
Red Line Comfort Stations
От Rhoda Rosen and Billy McGuinness February 2015
StudentsXpress
От Rachel Switall February 2015
The Kung-Fu Cage
От Andy North December 2014
The Beauty Pack
От Gena Palmieri November 2014
Cage and Garden
От Katherine Miles August 2014Beach Party at the End of the World
От Katie Mazzini July 2014
Memoir Writing Workshops for Seniors
От Hazel A. Domangue June 2014
Community Portraits: North & South Lawndale
От William Estrada May 2014
Cook County Sheriff Beekeeping Initiative
От Kathryn Dunne February 2014
Multi-generational Community Engagement Screening
От La Toia Janine Brown February 2014
Chicago Recipe Box
От Chelsea Middendorf on behalf of Potluck: Chicago December 2013
Community Nursing Home Garden
От Barbara Dykes December 2013
Hook & Eye
От Laboratory Dancers October 2013
Home is where the heart is...
От Chang October 2013
Love Life Balloons (Johnny's Red Balloon Project)
От Johnny Michael August 2013
World's Largest Cardboard Box Castle
От Blake Grigsby May 2013
Clean Graffiti
От Elizabeth Ortiz & Gilberto Sandoval April 2013
Dunes Learning Center Food Waste Education
От Alexandra Schindler March 2013
Garfield Park Positive Improvements
От Matt Litwin January 2013
It's A New Day at CVCA
От Charity White December 2012
Wake Up! Waltz
От Josie Elizabeth Davis November 2012
Free Art for the Residents of Englewood
От Timothy Campbell October 2012
Jurassic Geriatrics
От David Daniels September 2012
Milwaukee Avenue Mini Golf Course
От Katherine Darnstadt August 2012
The Great Fire: A Traveling Truck Show
От Kayce Bayer July 2012
Layin' Down Tracks
От Dyan Flores June 2012
Chic-A-Go-Go
От Jake Austen May 2012
Learnapalooza Chicago
От Maggie Schutz April 2012
Free art hunts
От Patrick skoff March 2012
Silent Theater Seeks Voice
От Lacy Campbell February 2012
Da Favela to the Guetto: Pinhole Photography
От Paco Barba December 2011
Poetry + QR Codes
От Felix Jung November 2011
City of Big Shovels
От Ben Helphand October 2011
Open Source Scanning Tunneling Microscope
От Sacha De'Angeli October 2011
Possibility Potlucks & "What if" Stores
От Melanie Kahl September 2011
Neighborhood Little Free Library
От Rick Brooks July 2011
За Нас
The Chicago chapter has been funding awesomeness in the Windy City since the summer of 2011. We've funded everything from little free libraries and puppet shows to electron microscopes and a temporary mini golf course on Milwaukee Avenue. See a map of the projects we have funded over the years.
What's your awesome idea? Apply today for a $1,000 no-strings-attached grant. Our short grant application is available here. We generally review applications on the third Tuesday of every month, and respond to applicants anywhere from 2-6 weeks after receiving the submission.
The Awesome Foundation Chicago Chapter will be awarding 10 mini-grants of $1,000 in memory of Mark Rogovin, noted Chicago muralist, who served as an apprentice to David Alfaro Siqueiros on the March of Humanity in Mexico. He was the founder of the Public Art Workshop, and the Peace Museum, and was known for fostering public art and mentoring young artists throughout his lifetime. These grants will be awarded through the Awesome Foundation’s regular monthly review process (please indicate that you are interested in this award). Projects must feature a public art component and take place in the Chicago metro area. Projects that include mentoring young artists, or are applications from young artists just establishing their careers are of special interest. Awards will be selected as they merit (may not be given out once a month) until the funds are exhausted.
Join us! If you'd like to play a direct role in deciding what we fund next, become a trustee! Our group is comprised of 10+ Trustees who promise to fulfill three duties:
- Financial Contribution: Commit $100 per month in the interest of Awesome for at least 6 months. This contribution goes towards the $1,000 award we grant each month.
- Participation: Play an active role in accepting and reviewing applications, and in deciding with the other trustees by consensus who will receive the grant.
- New Projects: With no specific leadership roles, every trustee is a leader in their own right. We like trustees to come up with new project ideas for the chapter to do, and help organize the group into getting it done.
Trustees serve until they resign. If you're interested in joining us as a trustee, we invite you to complete our rolling application, and we'll try to get back to you shortly.
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