So many great projects have been funded by the Awesome Foundation at chapters around the world. Here is one of my recent favorites: Jeffrey Waldman installed 50 swings all over L.A. The project is simple, fun, and moving, but what I really like is how Waldman used the money to try an experiment and “accidentally stumbled” into something bigger, something that he thinks could become a more widespread endeavor to bring a bit of pure joy to people in other areas of the world. He has now started a Kickstarter campaign to bring swings to Bolivia and hopes the idea will be contagious, prompting others to install swings in their own cities all over the world.

This is the kind of approach Awesome Pittsburgh is shooting for: granting $1000 to people with awesome ideas requiring that injection of seed funding that can transform the idea into action. Maybe it’s Step 1 of a bigger project. Maybe it’s an experiment to see if the idea has legs. Once it’s in motion, we want to help you take it to the next level, just like Jeffrey Waldman is doing with his swings.  That’s why we’re building up a team of Trustees from different realms and walks of life who are plugged into the many dynamic networks in the Pittsburgh region. When your project is done, we want to celebrate it and help take it further, so that these seedlings can eventually grow into a garden of awesomeness for the city. (Was that last bit too much?)