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= [[File:TheAwesomeFoundationLogo.jpg|thumb|TheAwesomeFoundationLogo.jpg]]Overview =
[http://www.awesomefoundation.org/en The Awesome Foundation] is a way to celebrate and support the brilliant ideas that every-day people have, and thus create more awesomeness in the universe and at large. They do this Each independently-operated chapter under the Awesome Foundation supports entrepreneurs and innovators by awarding a $1000 grant each month to a really swell idea. ! No strings attached. And AWESOME THINGS COME OF IT!!!
An Awesome Foundation "Chapter" is born when a group of 10 seemingly normal people (or unruly misfits) come together as 'micro-trustees', and agree to pool $100each 100 each of their own money, every month. Some chapters are assisted by more than 10 donors to raise funds for the grant. The self-organized group then collectively decides upon a project to receive their collective $1000. While the Awesome Foundation's first circle of ten originated in Boston, MA in 2009, it has since exploded into a worldwide phenomenon with 89 chapters and 899 in 18 countries. So far, the Awesome Foundation has funded 3079 projects funded (that's $8993,079,000!). Each chapter is completely autonomous, and organized around geographic location or topic of interest, including technology, arts, food, social good, and beyond.
Ultimately, it is a way for regular people to philanthropically support other regular people's dreams, because we all know that it is regular people have the most ingenious flashes of brilliance, wildest fantasies, and diversity of interest and experience in making something unique happen!
= Goals =
According to Christina Xu, Chancellor of the Institute on Higher Awesome Studies (the Awesome Foundation's non-profit sector), the main goals of the Awesome Foundation include the following:
*Democratise and Rethink Philanthropy
*Local Sovereignty
*Staying Flexible
*Sustainable & Meaningful Funding
*Having Fun
= Origins =
Tim Hwang founded The Awesome Foundation in 2009, to address his frustration with the unavailability of small amounts of funding for small projects. So, he rallied 10 friends to begin this experiment in 'guerilla funding'. In their home-made Foundation, anyone could be eligible for the $1000 grant by submitting a simple 7 question application on their website.[[File A few questions found on the application include the following:AF Note"Tell us about your awesome project!", "How will you use the money?", and "Tell us a little about yourself". Beyond these questions, applicants are given the opportunity to share photos or websites relevant to their projects.JPG|thumb]]
They found that $1000 was a very sweet amount of money- it was small enough that the trustees did not worry about risk in what they were investing in, knowing another month would role around fast, but it was plenty of funding to legitimize the awesomeness of a person's idea and motivate them to GO BIG with it (like an activation energy!). The grants began to create great ripple effects in the community; festivals funded once would reoccur annually, people's inventions would receive media coverage and lead to more inventions, and they would find highly commendable applications at home and abroad. Casual tinkerers were becoming bonafide citizen problem solvers! Communities And it didn't take billionaires to get them started.
= Current Chapters and Some of Their Awesomeness<br/> =
<span style="font-size: 12px;">## ALL CURRENT AWESOME CHAPTERS ARE CLASSIFIED BY CITY OR TOPIC, NOT BY SCHOOL AFFILIATION (however, many universities' towns are still not in this list!) ## [[File:AF Chicago.jpg|thumb|AF Chicago.jpg]][[File:AF Austin.jpeg|thumb|AF Austin.jpeg]]</span>
Awesome Chapters are becoming valuable nodes in their communities; creating a reason for very interesting, imaginative, cross-discipline people to encounter each other and public attractions which allow them to bond. Many Awesome Projects are very community-centric, here are a few:
