Chicago, IL
Dream Girl Sewing Class
By Seneca Stevenson January 2025
Bonds Behind Bars
By Lucky Jefferson January 2025
Queer Soup Night Chicago
By Mariel Brown-Fallon December 2024
Engaged Arts and Craftivisms
By Sabaha Lee Round November 2024
The Scarecrow
By Anthony Michael Stokes November 2024
Improvised Music for Pipe Organ in Chicago
By Jack Langdon October 2024Raising the Bar for Women's Cycling in Chicago
By 606 Racing September 2024
Little Village Arts Fest 2024
By Laura Nunez August 2024
Ceasefire Choir Convening in Chicago
By Jennifer Kovar July 2024Disability Dance & Ensemble Thinking Workshop
By Shireen Hamza June 2024
Guardians of the Earth and Sky
By Irene Hsiao May 2024
Euripides' Medea by Bump in the Night Theatre
By Garrett McCann May 2024
The Big Bata Weekend
By Cuán McCann April 2024
The Black & Brown Femme Film Festival
By Vici Howard March 2024
Martial Arts & Self Defense for Refugee Kids
By Said Hatim February 2024
Saturday Morning
By Jeffrey Nils Gardner January 2024
Soul Jack Digital Lab
By Mr. Tony Montes December 2023
Chicago Circle Singing
By Davin Youngs November 2023
Performances for hospice and bed bound older adult
By Lauren Latessa October 2023
Chicago Baking Buddies
By Emaan Mohsin October 2023
Wolves
By Chris X September 2023
Alzheimer's/Dementia Ofrenda
By Amelia Garza September 2023
Bike Carrier Trailer for Orchard Village Bike Club
By Julia Morrow August 2023
Liberation Library
By Bettina Johnson August 2023
LGBTQ/Seniors Movie And Dinner Events
By Eurydice Moore June 2023
Like A Rose Conference
By Chandria Taylor May 2023
Picnic with the Pollinators
By Angela Courtney April 2023
Clear the Chicago River Bank of Invasives!
By Kerrie Rovito March 2023
Ladies of Song Button-o-matic
By Christy Bennett February 2023
Women Who Discovered How to Measure the Universe
By Ellie Levine February 2023
Satire at the End of the World
By Christine Wenc January 2023
FLOW Box
By Kisha Barrett January 2023
Kindness Kiosk
By Michelle Kliman + Michael Greene December 2022
The Angels of Menachap
By Logan Mulch December 2022
Seeds of Hope garden
By Laura Thiessen November 2022
Let's Carve Stone
By Jyl Bonaguro October 2022
West Side Equestrian Trick Riding Club
By Beatrice Scescke September 2022
South/West Side Community Jams
By Bril Barrett August 2022
Nita’s Love Train
By Juanita Tennyson July 2022
Reentry Program for women at Cook County Jail
By Jenna Pasanen July 2022
Public Classes in the Ancient Art of Popotillo
By Breanne "Cari" Carlson June 2022
Souper Heroes Feeds Chicago
By Lauren Tighe (on behalf of Kenneth Purnell) May 2022South Side Book Fair
By Kevin Lilly May 2022
Readers' Bridge
By Chris Houchens April 2022
Urban Native Transit Project
By Becky DeGraffenried, Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative April 2022
Community Cook-Outs 2022
By Diego Garcia March 2022
Real world skills in the surreal world.
By Jeremy Bower March 2022
Our Faces Our Voices
By ben salus February 2022
Mutual Aid Garden and Free Seed Library
By Jen Delos Reyes February 2022
Sounds of Solidarity
By Amara Martin January 2022
The Go Hub: A Community Mobility Center
By Olatunji Oboi Reed January 2022
Shoreline
By JeeYeun Lee December 2021
compileHer Hackathon
By Olivia Jerdee December 2021
Babies and Barbershops
By Vikki Collier November 2021Humboldt Park Cinema Club
By Lindsay Vallance November 2021
KEEN Winter Care Packages
By Laura Fillenwarth October 2021
AbundantChi
By Jorden Smith October 2021
Nightingale-in-Residence
By Emily Eddy September 2021
Gardening Club for Individuals With Disabilities
By Dana DeBofsky September 2021
Youth Art Fest
By Dianna C Long August 2021
Outdoor Micro Gallery for Terrain
By Elaine Luther August 2021
EveryMom Chicago Newborn Kits
By Jamie Taratoot August 2021
M.E.A.N. Girls Empowerment Wellness Picnic
By Falon Lawson July 2021
Sensory Kits for Students at Esperanza School
By Madeleine Starr July 2021
Mofindu's Urban Village
By Markeya Howard July 2021
Summer Gardening /Recreation Youth Project
By Charles Wilson June 2021
Heat Lightning
By MaryAnn McGovern June 2021
Williamson Street Mural
By Conner Wild June 2021
Anne's Haven - Women in the Workforce
By Allegra Bradley June 2021
OnWord Skate Co. Building a Better Chicago
By Lid Madrid / OnWord Skate Collective May 2021
Mural Dances
By Rachel Damon May 2021
Sneaker Design Challenge
By Ben Salus May 2021
Covid Self-Care Kits in Domestic Violence Shelters
By Pearl O. Ugwu-Dike May 2021
Casitas para Pajaritos
By Theodora Z Salazar April 2021
Window Plays
By Nikki Bauer April 2021
Storytelling for Children with Visual Impairments
By Tekki Lomnicki April 2021
Asphalt to Awesome: A Monarch Butterfly Garden
By Anna Wassenaar March 2021
Field Trips to the Circus
By CircEsteem March 2021
Feed The Community
By Niquenya Collins March 2021
Real Freedom Projects
By Brett Swinney March 2021
Into the Frontier
By Rex Cassidy and Alex Cassidy February 2021
The Gage Park Mural Project
By Mario Mena February 2021
Stone Temple Community Garden - Fencing in Peace
By Tony Abruscato February 2021
A Place to Demand Justice
By Maxwell Emcays January 2021
Put Your Hands Together-Emergency Food Assistance
By Jayne Siou January 2021
Marvelous Machines
By Wynter Rose January 2021
Project 1033: A proposal to empower Chicagoans
By Institute for Transparent Policing December 2020
Turning the Page
By Elizabeth Ferry December 2020
Austin Gallery
By Human Scale December 2020Awesome Tenners
By Chicago Awesome Foundation December 2020
The Connection Community Garden
By Margaret Morris November 2020GetMePPEChicago
By Tricia Pendergrast November 2020
CPR for the Deaf and Disabled
By Zaineb Al-Abdulla October 2020
Word Choice Cafe
By Venita Williams September 2020
BIPOC Terp Fund Chi
By Chelsea Bundy August 2020
Bike Lane Uprising
By Christina Whitehouse August 2020
Rogers Park Community Response Team (RPCRT)
By Heidi Massey July 2020
Jumping Juniors Double Dutch
By Paulette Jones July 2020
Community Language Classes
By Angela Lin June 2020
COVID-19 Emergency Response Programming
By Colin Higgins June 2020
Online Scholastic Chess Tournaments
By Lee Lazar May 2020
You Got The Juice (COVID-19 Emergency Assistance)
By Keevan Dantzler May 2020
The Arts for Illinois Relief Fund
By EVA SILVERMAN April 2020
Craft Circle to Empower Our Youth
By Lariel Joy March 2020
Culture Coach Stage Comes to Your Neighborhood
By Susan Fox February 2020
The Elders of South Side Music Legacies
By Brandon Payton-Carrillo January 2020
Wasted - A Youth Production about Pollution
By Free Street Theater December 2019
Manga Arts Studio
By Eric Zaragoza December 2019
Reflections on Fire: Abandoning Old Ideas
By Frank Maugeri November 2019
Douglass 18
By Space p11 November 2019
Chicago Artists Exhibit
By Ivonne Cruz October 2019
The Chicago Tool Library
By Tessa Vierk September 2019
Flu Shots & Drink Shots -- Immunology @ a Bar!
By Monica Metzler August 2019
Helping Rebuilding Exchange Build for the Future
By Julian Pastin July 2019
Community-Based Scent Education
By Jas Brooks June 2019
AMFM Presents: Feast "A Festival in Three Courses"
By Ciera Mckissick May 2019
TRQPiTECA Queer Pride Chicago 2019 - Sound System
By Natalie Murillo May 2019
The Chicago Mobile Makerspace
By Maya Bird-Murphy April 2019
Throwing a Citywide Wedding Ball for LGBT Muslims
By Mahdia Lynn March 2019
Energy Audits Evanston
By Aaron Boxerman February 2019
Crafternoons with LGBTQIA Elders
By Mikey Anderson January 2019
KEENSports
By KEEN Chicago December 2018
Know Your Rights Education
By Diana Vargas November 2018
Black Dog Metal Arts
By Jamie Caitlin Lovell October 2018
Safety Planning Clinic for Undocumented Families
By Rebekah Rashidfarokhi September 2018
Refugee High
By Elly Fishman August 2018
An Arm and a Leg:Podcast re: Cost of Health Care
By Dan Weissmann July 2018
Ghostskate 2018 Season & Chicago Expansion
By Stuart Anderson June 2018
Sewing Literacy 101
By Amy Malysa May 2018
Glass Case Mini Art Gallery at The WasteShed
By Eleanor Ray April 2018
World's Fair 2018
By Sasha Tycko March 2018
Afrofuturist mural in Englewood!
By Ryan Wilson February 2018
Where is Washington Heights?
By Hana L Anderson January 2018
Scream Class
By GOLDGRRL December 2017
Awesome Weekend
By Dave Stanford December 2017
Refugee Education & Adventure CHallenge (REACH)
By Shana Wills November 2017The East Side Project
By Mary Kate Witry October 2017SHE CAST : a for-youth by-youth podcast
By Kayla Lane Freeman September 2017
Back of the Yards - Bread truck mobile art exhibit
By Megan E. Doherty August 2017
TECHNE: Electronic Music Powered by Girls Chicago
By Jessie Marino July 2017
BarberQue
By Megan Hinchy June 2017
OPEN STUDIO: A CELEBRATION OF CHICAGO'S DRAG SCENE
By Molly Hewitt June 2017
Prison Interview Series
By Michael Fischer April 2017
YogaCare: Training Yoga Teachers on the South Side
By YogaCare March 2017
Operation Evergreen: Guitars Over Guns Program
By Andrew DeMuro February 2017Empowering Teen Authors & Teen Publishers
By Jennifer Steele January 2017
All-Latino re-imagining of WAITING FOR GODOT
By Tympanic Theatre Company December 2016
A Dance of Welcome
By Shawn Lent November 2016Bridging the Gap
By Quabeeny Daniels October 2016
Floating Museum
By Jeremiah Hulsebos-Spofford September 2016
Project Onward Artist Book
By Rebecca Lyn Beaird August 2016
Water for a Thirsty Therapeutic Garden
By Elizabeth Lindau July 2016
Sandcastle Maker
By Tim Parsons June 2016
Operation Endangered Species
By Catherine Zdunek May 2016
Free stamps and envelopes on tax day
By Roy Trakovski April 2016
Walk All Night - A Drum Beat Journey
By Elilta Tewelde March 2016
Seat buttons
By Annie Morse February 2016
4Us Girls Club Self-Image Zine Project
By Annette kelly January 2016
The Music Box
By Aquil Charlton December 2015
Thresholds: Illusions for the Senses & the Mind
By Jeanette Andrews December 2015
Drums for the Deaf
By Tiana Pyer-Pereira September 2015
Pop-Up Puppet Truck
By Donny Gettinger August 2015
Open Source Furniture: Enzo Mari Design Workshop
By Chicago Design Museum July 2015
Literature Emitting Diodes
By Carley Gomez June 2015
"I Looked Up To The Screen Above"
By Simon Pyle May 2015
Making Hermosa hermosa!
By Colin Bird April 2015
The Scarlet "S" Project
By Catherine Paula Muskett March 2015
StudentsXpress
By Rachel Switall February 2015
Red Line Comfort Stations
By Rhoda Rosen and Billy McGuinness February 2015
The Kung-Fu Cage
By Andy North December 2014
The Beauty Pack
By Gena Palmieri November 2014
Cage and Garden
By Katherine Miles August 2014Beach Party at the End of the World
By Katie Mazzini July 2014
Memoir Writing Workshops for Seniors
By Hazel A. Domangue June 2014
Community Portraits: North & South Lawndale
By William Estrada May 2014
Cook County Sheriff Beekeeping Initiative
By Kathryn Dunne February 2014
Multi-generational Community Engagement Screening
By La Toia Janine Brown February 2014
Chicago Recipe Box
By Chelsea Middendorf on behalf of Potluck: Chicago December 2013
Community Nursing Home Garden
By Barbara Dykes December 2013
Hook & Eye
By Laboratory Dancers October 2013
Home is where the heart is...
By Chang October 2013
Love Life Balloons (Johnny's Red Balloon Project)
By Johnny Michael August 2013
World's Largest Cardboard Box Castle
By Blake Grigsby May 2013
Clean Graffiti
By Elizabeth Ortiz & Gilberto Sandoval April 2013
Dunes Learning Center Food Waste Education
By Alexandra Schindler March 2013
Garfield Park Positive Improvements
By Matt Litwin January 2013
It's A New Day at CVCA
By Charity White December 2012
Wake Up! Waltz
By Josie Elizabeth Davis November 2012
Free Art for the Residents of Englewood
By Timothy Campbell October 2012
Jurassic Geriatrics
By David Daniels September 2012
Milwaukee Avenue Mini Golf Course
By Katherine Darnstadt August 2012
The Great Fire: A Traveling Truck Show
By Kayce Bayer July 2012
Layin' Down Tracks
By Dyan Flores June 2012
Chic-A-Go-Go
By Jake Austen May 2012
Learnapalooza Chicago
By Maggie Schutz April 2012
Free art hunts
By Patrick skoff March 2012
Silent Theater Seeks Voice
By Lacy Campbell February 2012
Da Favela to the Guetto: Pinhole Photography
By Paco Barba December 2011
Poetry + QR Codes
By Felix Jung November 2011
City of Big Shovels
By Ben Helphand October 2011
Open Source Scanning Tunneling Microscope
By Sacha De'Angeli October 2011
Possibility Potlucks & "What if" Stores
By Melanie Kahl September 2011
Neighborhood Little Free Library
By Rick Brooks July 2011
About Us
The Chicago chapter of the Awesome Foundation has been funding awesomeness in Chicagoland 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 with no-strings-attached $1,000 grants. See a map of the projects we have funded over the years. We are proudly and excitedly connected to the wider Awesome Foundation network.
What's your awesome idea? Do you have an awesome idea that would make your Chicagoland-based community awesome? Of course you do. Apply today for a $1,000 no-strings-attached grant to make your awesome idea a reality. Our short grant application is available here. The trustees review period is from the 15th to the 14th overlapping months. We evaluate each month’s applications on the fourth Tuesday of the following month (2025 expected dates: 28th January, 25th February, 25th March, 22nd April, 27th May, 24th June, 22nd July, 26th August, 23rd September, 28th October, 25th November, 23rd December) If you are unsure if your idea matches the types of project we fund, please review our past award winners listed above.
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 community members who commit to the following:
- Financial Contribution: Commit $100 per month in the interest of Awesome in Chicago for at least 6 months. This contribution goes towards the $1,000 award we grant each month. Reach out if this is a barrier to joining
- 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.
Keep in touch! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and sign up for our newsletter.