About Us

Welcome to Awesome Tulsa - the Tulsa chapter of the Awesome Foundation.

🎯OUR MISSION: Make Tulsa even more Awesome, $1,000 at a time!

Awesome Tulsa is a small, informal group of Tulsans who meet monthly to pool donations into $1,000 cash grants and then award them to local people or groups with brilliant ideas. We’re a diverse and quirky bunch, but deeply passionate about helping make Tulsa a more awesome place to live, work and play.

Sound like you? Scroll to the bottom to learn more about becoming a Trustee!

FIRST GRANT AWARD: MARCH 2023!

PLEASE CONTINUE READING BEFORE APPLYING!

HOW TO APPLY

To apply, simply click red “Apply For a Grant” to complete the brief application. Don’t forget to make sure you’re applying to the Tulsa chapter!

WHAT WE LOOK FOR

The biggest and boldest ideas for connecting and protecting our communities, celebrating our arts and culture, growing our local and national impact, or simply surprising and delighting your fellow Tulsans.

1) Is it Awesome?

We want ideas that are as impactful as they are unique. Ideas that surprise and inspire us and ultimately help fill our world with joy. We want brilliant ideas that traditional sources like banks, businesses, and non-profits won’t fund, ideas with the potential to grow into a movement of their own. When in doubt, we want to fund projects that make folks say, “Wow, that’s awesome!”

2) Is it Actionable?

We want to see your idea come to life! Your application should clearly explain how $1,000 enables you to take meaningful action in the next three months toward a significant milestone, event, or launch.

3) Is it Kind?

We want ideas everyone can feel good about supporting, and we prefer projects that leave the world a kinder, nicer, better place. Will this project help people? Will it make people happy? Does it bring people together rather than divide them?

4) Is it Beneficial to our Community?

From improving lives to sharing stories, we want to fund projects that directly and noticeably impact Northeast Oklahoma. For this reason, the best projects are those our neighbors can enjoy with us - buzzworthy, open or visible to the public, and aimed at Tulsa and surrounding areas. If you’re on the fence, we encourage you to apply!

WHAT WE DON'T FUND

-General operating funds for nonprofits

-Established companies or organizations

-Personal expenses (ex. rent, bills, travel, certifications, training, business startup funds)

-Projects based outside of Oklahoma (unlikely fit outside of Northeast Oklahoma)

-Projects requiring significant additional time or funding to be successful

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER I APPLY?

Applications are accepted at any time and will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Applications received within a given month will typically be reviewed the month following (ex. Applications received in March are reviewed in April).

There are a lot of Awesome ideas out there... Due to the high volume of applications, we, unfortunately, cannot respond to each one. Only applicants selected as finalists will receive an email with feedback from Trustees.

If your Awesome application is submitted towards the end of the month, we may roll yours over for consideration with the following month’s cohort of applicants. If you haven’t heard from us in 60 days, we encourage you to refine your application and apply again!

WHAT WE ASK

All we ask of winning projects is that you send us a quick write-up on how your project went afterward (with photos!) so we can share your awesome work on the Awesome Foundation website! Oh yeah, and don’t forget to pay it forward when you’re rich and famous :)

GENERAL DISCLAIMER

The Awesome Tulsa Trustees are an unincorporated group of donors trying to forward the awesomeness of the Tulsa region. Like you, we’re acting with the best intentions. By applying for an Awesome Tulsa grant, you agree to bear the full responsibility for any unlikely problems that arise, even if those problems include harm to you, someone else, or the community. And, you agree not to ruin our good faith in each other by taking any legal or financial actions against us or helping others to do so. But you likely knew all this already because you’re a responsible, awesome person. And lawsuits, contracts, insurance claims, and other administrative clauses often aren’t very awesome.

Please Note: Awesome Tulsa awards may be considered income for tax and student loan purposes; please consult with your advisor.

WANT TO JOIN AS A TRUSTEE?

Ready to join us in making Tulsa even more awesome!?

Trustees must make a one-year commitment to contribute $100 per month to help fund awards and to maintain an active role in helping us review applications and select grant winners each month. Meetings are held twice monthly, once to pick a winner and then again to award the grant. Meetings typically last one hour and may be attended in-person in Tulsa or remotely via Zoom.

To learn more, please email Tulsa@AwesomeFoundation.org