PORT ANGELES –– It’s not too good to be true.
A group in Port Angeles wants to give $600 to someone in town who has an “awesome” idea.
“There are a lot of really creative people in Port Angeles,” said Iris Sutcliffe, who spearheaded the project. “We’ve got $600 to give to someone to make something cool.”
Awesome Port Angeles grant trustees are looking for doable ideas that are novel or experimental, evoke surprise and delight, challenge our perceptions, or inspire us to think beyond the ordinary.
Anyone who has an idea they believe should be funded should submit it to Awesome Port Angeles Workshop by 11:59 p.m. Wednesday.
The application is online at awesomeportangeles.com. Organizers plan to select the best idea by Aug. 15, Sutcliffe said.
“This is really for us, the people who live here and love living here,” she said. “All some people need is a little funding for a project that has been rolling around in their head to make it real.”
The idea for the Awesome Port Angeles grant came after Sutcliffe’s book club finished reading Peter Kageyama’s book Love Where You Live: Creating Emotionally Engaging Places, which tells the story of the original Awesome Foundation in Cambridge, Mass.
The first project that was funded was a 40-person hammock. Other examples include a portable pop-up reading and art space and a bike-powered busking station.
It launched in 2009, and the idea has since spread to citizen groups around the country.
“It’s not really an organized thing, if you want to do it, you just do it,” she said.
Sutcliffe started a GoFundMe page to create the grant, to which 16 people contributed.
Anyone who donated more than $25 became a trustee of Awesome Port Angeles Workshop. Because everyone contributed more than $25, they are all trustees and will help decide who has the most awesome idea.
“There’s no reason ordinary people can’t get together and crowdfund a grant,” Sutcliffe said. “It doesn’t have to be bureaucratic, there’s no red tape.
“We just want to help people to realize their fun idea.”
Because Port Angeles is a small town, the applications will be anonymous, she said.
Trustees will then narrow down the applications until they determine which is the best one.
“My hope is if this gains traction, I’d like to do it every quarter and make this a regular thing,” she said.
“There’s too much negativity in the world, we can use a little awesome.”
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
