Awesome Foundation

The Awesome Foundation was founded by Tim Hwang in Boston in 2009. Tim developed the idea along with Emily Daniels and Jon Pierce during a road trip to a meet up at AS220 and soon after sent out the call for the first set of trustees.{{cite web|url=http://brosephstalin.com/2009/06/05/the-awesome-foundation-seeks-awesome-trustees/ |title=The Awesome Foundation Seeks Awesome Trustees |publisher=Brosephstalin.com |date=June 5, 2009 |access-date=January 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140117045545/http://brosephstalin.com/2009/06/05/the-awesome-foundation-seeks-awesome-trustees/ |archive-date=2014-01-17}} Less than two weeks after the call, the foundation announced its first trustees.{{cite web|url=http://brosephstalin.com/2009/06/23/the-awesome-foundation-micro-trustees/ |title=The Awesome Foundation Micro-Trustees |publisher=Brosephstalin.com |date=June 23, 2009 |access-date=January 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131222071023/http://brosephstalin.com/2009/06/23/the-awesome-foundation-micro-trustees/ |archive-date=2013-12-22}}

The Awesome Foundation has funded a wide range of projects including the arts, science, and social causes. Examples include creating a free library system in Chicago using birdhouses,{{cite web|last=Boodhoo |first=Niala |url=http://michiganradio.org/post/changing-chicago-1000-time |title=Changing Chicago, $1,000 at a time |publisher=Michigan Radio |date=August 3, 2011 |access-date=January 25, 2012}} growing mushrooms from phonebooks in Ottawa,{{cite web|url=http://senseandcommunity.com/2011/04/28/innovation-talking-with-awesome-ottawa/ |title=Innovation: Talking with Awesome Ottawa |publisher=sense and community |date=April 28, 2011 |access-date=January 25, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425140816/http://senseandcommunity.com/2011/04/28/innovation-talking-with-awesome-ottawa/ |archive-date=April 25, 2012 }} creating a free phone service for homeless people in Portland, and theatre for street youth in Edmonton.{{cite web|last=Stolte |first=Elise |url=https://edmontonjournal.com/news/Edmonton+philanthropists+support+awesome+projects/5526189/story.html |title=Edmonton philanthropists support 'awesome' projects |publisher=Edmonton Journal |date=October 11, 2011 |access-date=January 25, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117150126/http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Edmonton%2Bphilanthropists%2Bsupport%2Bawesome%2Bprojects/5526189/story.html |archive-date=January 17, 2012 }}

The inaugural $1,000 grant from the organization went towards the construction of a giant, long hammock in Boston.{{cite web |last=Moore |first=Galen |url=http://www.masshightech.com/stories/2009/08/03/daily6-Awesome-Foundation-goes-low-techwith-first-grant.html |title=Awesome Foundation goes low tech with first grant |publisher=Mass High Tech |date=August 3, 2009 |access-date=January 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120409023421/http://www.masshightech.com/stories/2009/08/03/daily6-Awesome-Foundation-goes-low-techwith-first-grant.html |archive-date=2012-04-09 |url-status=dead }} The resulting final project set a record for the world's largest portable hammock,{{cite web|url=http://www.worldrecordsacademy.org/biggest/largest_portable_hammock_world_record_set_by_Hansy_Better_Barraza_101827.htm |title=Largest Portable Hammock - world record set by Hansy Better Barraza |publisher=World Records Academy |date=August 20, 2010 |access-date=January 25, 2012}}{{cite web|url=http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/the-awesome-foundation-rocks-the-worlds-largest-portable-hammock-2347392.html |title=The Awesome Foundation Rocks the World's Largest Portable Hammock |publisher=Shine.yahoo.com |date=August 21, 2010 |access-date=January 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140414012320/https://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/the-awesome-foundation-rocks-the-worlds-largest-portable-hammock-2347392.html |archive-date=2014-04-14}} using curved steel pipes to frame 4,278 feet of rope fashioned from recycled bottles.{{cite web |url=http://thebighammock.org/ |title=The Big Hammock |publisher=thebighammock.org |access-date=January 25, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120717055100/http://thebighammock.org/ |archive-date=July 17, 2012 }} {{irrelevant citation|date=September 2014|reason=Content at the provided URL no longer refers to the Big Hammock.}}

A video of Random Swings of Joy,{{cite web|url=http://www.notcot.com/archives/2011/06/jeff-waldmans-swing-project.php |title=Jeff Waldman's Swing Project |publisher=NOTCOT |date=June 15, 2011 |access-date=January 25, 2012}} a project funded by the Los Angeles chapter to install $1,000 worth of swings around the city, went viral in June 2011, receiving coverage from the Huffington Post,{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/15/jeff-waldman-swings-los-angeles_n_877397.html |title=Jeff Waldman And Team Install Swings: Los Angeles (VIDEO) |publisher=Huffington Post |date=August 15, 2011 |access-date=January 25, 2012}} CBS News,{{cite web|last=Goodman |first=William |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/interesting-project-installs-swings-all-over-los-angeles/ |title=Interesting project installs swings all over Los Angeles |work=CBS News |date=June 14, 2011 |access-date=January 25, 2012}} and LAist.{{cite web |last=William-Ross |first=Lindsay |url=http://laist.com/2011/06/14/the_swingin_set_50_renegade_swings.php |title=The Swingin' Set: 50 Renegade Swings Installed Around L.A. |publisher=LAist |date=June 14, 2011 |access-date=January 25, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120124235520/http://laist.com/2011/06/14/the_swingin_set_50_renegade_swings.php |archive-date=January 24, 2012 }} Swings have also been installed in the Marshall Islands, Panama, San Francisco, and Toronto. Following the success of the Los Angeles video, Jeff Waldman started a kickstarter project to bring the project to Bolivia,{{cite web|url=http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/502952195/swings-bolivia |title=Swings: Bolivia |publisher=Kickstarter |access-date=January 25, 2012}} where the median age in 2011 was just 22.5.{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/bolivia/ |title=The World Factbook: Bolivia |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |date= |access-date=January 25, 2012}}

There are 96 active chapters{{cite web|url=http://awesomefoundation.org/chapters/ |title=Current Chapters |publisher=The Awesome Foundation |date= |access-date=July 12, 2019}} of the organization in operation. Chapters are based in cities or small locales around the world with four chapters dedicated to specific causes worldwide. Chapters are autonomous, though the original Boston chapter spearheaded an organizational model of consensus-based decision-making.{{cite web |last=Xu |first=Christina |url=https://www.pbs.org/idealab/2011/08/the-awesome-foundation-fosters-news-innovation-1k-at-a-time228.html |title=The Awesome Foundation Fosters News Innovation, $1K at a Time |publisher=PBS |date=August 18, 2011 |access-date=January 25, 2012 |archive-date=February 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225045921/http://www.pbs.org/idealab/2011/08/the-awesome-foundation-fosters-news-innovation-1k-at-a-time228.html |url-status=dead }} Chapters have access to all of the applications that the Awesome Foundation receives, though many will first look at applicants in their geographic area.{{cite web|url=http://awesomefoundation.org/blog/faq/ |title=FAQ – The Awesome Foundation |publisher=Awesomefoundation.org |date= |access-date=January 25, 2012}}

The Awesome Foundation is an autonomous collection of chapters, but is loosely shepherded by the Institute on Higher Awesome Studies. The institute has applied for non-profit 501(c)3 status, and seeks to provide infrastructure (such as the Awesome Foundation website) and spread Awesome as widely as possible.{{cite web |url=http://blog.awesomestudies.org/about |title=Institute on Higher Awesome Studies - About the Institute |website=blog.awesomestudies.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110803071446/http://blog.awesomestudies.org/about |archive-date=2011-08-03}}

Awesome Foundation trustees and board members include

• Dan Barber, chef, Awesome Food trustee{{cite web |url=http://awesomefood.net/trustees |title=Trustees |publisher=Awesome Food |access-date=January 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111013010058/http://www.awesomefood.net/trustees/ |archive-date=October 13, 2011 |url-status=dead }}
• Amanda Hesser, journalist and entrepreneur, Awesome Food trustee
• Jennifer 8. Lee, journalist, Awesome Food trustee and board member of The Institute on Higher Awesome Studies.{{cite web|url=http://blog.awesomestudies.org/about |title=Institute on Higher Awesome Studies - About the Institute |publisher=awesomestudies.org |date= |access-date=January 25, 2012}}
• S.I. Newhouse IV, media executive, board member of The Institute on Higher Awesome Studies.
• Alexis Ohanian, entrepreneur and Reddit co-founder, treasurer of The Institute on Higher Awesome Studies.
• Ethan Zuckerman, MIT researcher, board member of The Institute on Higher Awesome Studies.

{{Reflist|2}}

• {{Official website|https://www.awesomefoundation.org/}}

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Category:Philanthropic organizations based in the United States

Category:Grants (money)