Awesome Foundation Grants 2026: $1,000 Microgrants Guide

Updated Nov 10, 20264 official sources

Quick Answer: If you're an individual, informal group or small organization, yes, you can apply for Awesome Foundation grants today, with no IRS tax-exempt status needed.

Full answer and how we checked it

As checked November 10, 2026, the foundation's single online form listed 61 chapters, each giving a $1,000 no-strings microgrant (or the local equivalent), usually one a month, to individuals, informal groups or organizations. Grantsights analysis of the site's public project feed found 482 grants posted from 59 chapters in the 12 months to November 10, 2026, 320 of them from 37 U.S. chapters. Local chapters mostly fund projects in their own area, so pick the chapter where your project will happen.

Who this is for: This guide is for neighborhood groups, artists, makers, small nonprofits, school parent groups, libraries and individuals with a small project that $1,000 could get off the ground. It covers how the Awesome Foundation works, which chapters are actually giving, how trustees pick winners, and where to go next when your project outgrows a microgrant. Grantsights isn't affiliated with the Awesome Foundation or any chapter.

Data note: The Awesome Foundation doesn't file a 990-PF or any network-wide tax return, so this guide's figures come from the foundation's own site. On November 10, 2026, Grantsights paged through the public feed of funded projects at awesomefoundation.org/en/projects (52 projects a page, 155 pages) and counted 8,030 funded projects listed since August 2009. For the last 12 months, Grantsights counted projects with a grant date from November 10, 2025 to November 10, 2026: 482 projects from 59 chapters, the newest dated November 4, 2026. A chapter counts as active here if it posted at least 1 winner in that window. Chapters sometimes post winners late, so recent months may be undercounted. The feed doesn't list amounts; at the standard $1,000 each, 482 grants would come to about $482,000, but chapters outside the U.S. pay in local currency.

Last updated: 2026-11-10.

In this guide

Awesome Foundation grants open now: 6 routes checked
How the $1,000 grant works
How chapters pick winners: 7 chapters compared
Who actually gets Awesome Foundation grants
How to apply for an Awesome Foundation grant, step by step
What the Awesome Foundation's Pages Don't Tell You
Where to go when $1,000 isn't enough
How Grantsights Checked This Guide
Sources

Awesome Foundation grants open now: 6 routes checked

Grantsights checked 6 ways in on November 10, 2026. Five can lead to a grant; the sixth is how people join the giving side.

Route	What it pays for	Who can apply	Amount	Status on November 10, 2026	Source page
Local chapter near you (most chapters)	Any project the chapter's trustees find "awesome," usually in their area	Individuals, groups and organizations	$1,000 or local equivalent	Open. Rolling applications through one form; most chapters pick monthly	Application form (opens in a new tab)
Awesome Disability (worldwide theme chapter)	Projects that benefit disabled people, with priority for projects led by disabled people	Individuals, nonprofits and companies anywhere; English applications	$1,000	Monthly window. Applications accepted the 1st to 10th of each month	Disability chapter page (opens in a new tab)
Conservation and Climate (worldwide theme chapter)	Wildlife, habitat, climate, ecotourism or environmental communication ideas	Individuals and small teams	$1,000	Next deadline November 27, 2026, then January 29, 2027	Conservation and Climate page (opens in a new tab)
On the Water (worldwide theme chapter)	Water-focused projects bringing creativity, culture and inclusion	Anyone	$1,000 monthly	Open. Rolling	On the Water page (opens in a new tab)
Relaunching chapters, such as Boston	Varies	Anyone	$1,000 monthly (planned)	Listed, no recent winner. Boston's last listed grant is from November 2022 and its page says it's restarting for 2026	Boston chapter page (opens in a new tab)
Become a trustee or start a chapter	Not a grant: trustees fund the grants	Anyone willing to chip in, typically $100 a month	Not applicable	Open. Contact a chapter or the start-a-chapter page	About page (opens in a new tab)

No longer active: the Liverpool chapter, which still posted 3 winners in the last year, is labeled "Inactive" in the project feed and isn't on the application form. Of the 72 chapters on the Chapters page, Grantsights found 14 with no winner posted in the 12-month window, including Boston, Key West, Leiden, Rotterdam, Qatar and Dragon Dreaming.

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How the $1,000 grant works

The model is simple: about 10 people pool $100 each and give the whole $1,000 to one project. According to the foundation's FAQ, "Typically, ten 'trustees' each contribute $100 (or the local equivalent) toward a monthly grant," and some chapters have more trustees sharing the cost.

Four rules hold across the network, per the About and FAQ pages:

No strings. Grants aren't loans or investments, the money doesn't get repaid, and chapters claim no ownership of the project.
Each chapter decides alone. Chapters are "fully autonomous." Every chapter interprets "awesome" for itself, sets its own schedule and picks its own winners.
Anyone can apply. "Individuals, groups, and organizations alike," says the FAQ.
Some projects usually lose. The FAQ says chapters generally don't fund projects that are personal with little community impact, or existing efforts that a small grant wouldn't change much.

Money arrives informally. The Santa Cruz chapter pays winners only through PayPal, and the Conservation and Climate chapter asks winners to have a PayPal, Wise or Venmo account. Plan for a person's account to receive it if your group has no bank account of its own.

How chapters pick winners: 7 chapters compared

Every chapter runs its own calendar. Grantsights read 12 chapter pages on November 10, 2026; these 7 show the range.

Chapter	Grants posted, last 12 months	Deadline or cycle	How winners are picked	Notable rules
Gloucester, MA	17	Last day of each month	Finalists pitch at a public night on the last Thursday	Focus on maritime industry, maritime heritage and community togetherness
San Francisco, CA	17	Any time; decided at a monthly meeting on the previous month's ideas	Trustees' "personal reactions"	Prefers individuals and beginners; tells well-established organizations not to apply; no business projects
Chicago, IL	15	Monthly; reviewed on the fourth Tuesday of the following month	Trustee consensus	Ideas for a Chicagoland community
Newburgh, NY	15	First Monday of each month	Scored on impact, public benefit, ability to deliver, collaboration and originality	No travel, salaries, insurance or living expenses
New York City, NY	12	Last day of each month; reviewed the second Tuesday	Trustee review; monthly office hours	Not a small business fund; no marketing, startup or operating costs
Cass Clay (Fargo-Moorhead)	14	Last day of each month; award on the 15th	Trustee review	North Dakota and Minnesota only; applications stay in play up to 6 months
Disability (worldwide)	12	1st to 10th of each month	Decided by month's end	No personal medical, rent, utility or car costs

Two patterns stand out. First, these are the busiest chapters, and they still give roughly 1 grant a month each. Second, the rules that knock out the most applicants are local ones: geography, no salaries, and no help for a business.

Who actually gets Awesome Foundation grants

According to the Awesome Foundation project data, 482 grants were posted in the 12 months to November 10, 2026, between 31 and 51 in each full month. The U.S. accounted for 320 of them (66%), from 37 chapters in 18 states and Washington, D.C.

Where (12 months to November 10, 2026)	Active chapters	Grants posted
United States	37	320
Australia	6	46
Canada	5	42
Worldwide theme chapters	3	30
Armenia	2	16
Singapore	1	9
Malaysia	1	8
United Kingdom	2	8
Netherlands	1	2
Uzbekistan	1	1
Total	59	482

U.S. states with active chapters

Massachusetts led with 6 chapters and 53 grants, almost all on Cape Ann and the North Shore: Gloucester (17), Ipswich (11), Newburyport (9), Hamilton-Wenham (7), Georgetown (5) and Rockport (4). New York followed with 4 chapters and 45 grants (Newburgh, New York City, Poughkeepsie and Peekskill), then California with 4 chapters and 42 grants (San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Los Angeles and San Jose). Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh, State College and Philadelphia) had 27, and Michigan (Ann Arbor and Detroit) had 23.

The rest of the active U.S. map is thin: Chicago, St. Paul, Cass Clay, Cleveland, South Bend, Rhode Island, Oahu, Orlando, Baltimore, Westminster (Maryland), Portland, San Antonio, Austin, Gainesville, Miami, Washington, D.C., Seattle and Durham. Seattle, Durham and Miami each posted just 1 grant in the year. If your state isn't on this list, your realistic options are a theme chapter or a chapter where you have roots, which the FAQ allows.

Busiest chapters

The most active chapters were Gloucester and San Francisco (17 each), then Yerevan in Armenia, Chicago and Newburgh (15 each), and Santa Cruz, Cass Clay, Ann Arbor and St. Paul (14 each). Twenty-four chapters posted 10 or more grants in the year, close to the one-a-month model. Ten posted 3 or fewer.

What wins: recent examples

Most winners are individuals with a specific, small project. Recent grants posted on the site include:

Rhode Island, November 2026: Colin Hodgson's sci-fi short film "A Van Called Turtle," set in Providence, a nearly finished project the artists had paid for out of their own savings.
State College, PA, November 2026: "Every Singer Gets the Music," printed scores and rehearsal tracks for student and dues-waived singers in the volunteer Pennsylvania Summer Choral Society.
New York City, October 2026: "Don't Get Stiffed," a free printed zine and workshops on getting paid for young freelance artists.
Disability chapter, October 2026: "Open Caption Finder," a project by Matt Marker.
Santa Cruz, October 2026: a holiday event at the Highlands Park Senior & Community Center.

Groups do win too. One school in South Australia, Rapid Bay Primary School, won from the Fleurieu chapter in September 2026 for a "living kitchen" project. In Ontario, the Newmarket chapter funded a student snack program at Alexander Muir Public School in October 2026, and the Newburgh chapter funded an exhibit by the Historical Society of Newburgh Bay and the Highlands in April 2026. Still, only 14 of the 482 winners were posted under an organization's name; the rest list a person, even when that person applied for a group.

How to apply for an Awesome Foundation grant, step by step

The application takes most people under an hour. These 6 steps follow the foundation's form and FAQ as checked November 10, 2026.

Pick one chapter. Choose the chapter where your project will happen, where you have roots, or a theme chapter that fits. Read that chapter's page first: Cass Clay takes only North Dakota and Minnesota applications, and Chicago asks for ideas that improve a Chicagoland community.
Check the chapter's calendar. Most take applications any time, but Disability only accepts them from the 1st to the 10th, and Conservation and Climate runs on posted deadlines (November 27, 2026 next).
Fill in the form. The application form (opens in a new tab) asks for your name, email, optional phone and website, a project title, up to 2,000 characters about the project, 500 characters on how you'll use the money, 500 about yourself, up to 5 images, and the last date you could use the money. Some chapters add their own questions.
Show exactly what $1,000 buys. Newburgh, Santa Cruz and New York City all ask for specifics, and San Francisco asks applicants not to apply if $1,000 covers only one slice of a bigger project.
Apply to more than one chapter only if it fits. The FAQ allows it but asks you to name the other chapters in each application.
Wait, then follow up locally. Most chapters decide monthly. The FAQ says that no word within a few months probably means no, and most chapters keep earlier applications in consideration, so there's no need to reapply unless your idea changes.

Common mistake: pitching a business. New York City's page says "we are not a small business funding source," San Francisco says business boost projects "will not be considered," and St. Paul won't fund starting or growing a business. Frame the project around what the community gets.

What the Awesome Foundation's Pages Don't Tell You

Grantsights checked the network's About, FAQ and chapter pages against 12 months of posted winners, and 5 things stood out.

The odds can be long. The Disability chapter's page reported 113 projects funded from 13,500+ submissions as of May 2026, roughly 1 grant for every 119 applications. Local chapters don't publish application counts, but a typical chapter gives about 12 grants a year, and the busiest posted 17. Don't underestimate the competition just because the form is short.

The chapter list overstates what's active. Fourteen of the 72 chapters on the Chapters page posted no winner in the last 12 months, and Boston, the founding chapter, says it's only now restarting. Before you write for a chapter, check its page for winners posted in recent months.

It's built for people, not institutions. Only 14 of 482 recent winners were posted under an organization's name. San Francisco tells established organizations not to apply and says it prefers individuals, especially beginners. A nonprofit has the best shot with a small, unusual side project, not its regular programs.

Taxes and paperwork are on you. The FAQ says almost no chapters are registered organizations, so there's no 501(c)(3) grant letter to file. The Santa Cruz chapter says gifts to it, including trustees' monthly contributions, aren't tax deductible. That lines up with federal rules: according to IRS Publication 526 (opens in a new tab), donors can't deduct contributions to specific individuals. If you're unsure how to report $1,000 you receive, ask a tax professional.

There's no next level. A win is a one-time $1,000, and the network has no larger grant to graduate into. That's a red flag only if you're counting on Awesome money for a recurring cost; it's meant to start something, not sustain it.

Where to go when $1,000 isn't enough

The Awesome Foundation fills a gap almost no other funder covers: $1,000, decided in weeks, for anyone. These routes are the next steps up.

For informal groups that want bigger grants: most foundations require a 501(c)(3) or a fiscal sponsor. The IRS page on 501(c)(3) exemption requirements (opens in a new tab) says an exempt organization must be organized and operated exclusively for exempt purposes. The guide on what a fiscal sponsor is explains the faster route, and grants for new nonprofits covers the first grants after you incorporate.

For community and neighborhood projects: see grants for community projects, grants for grassroots organizations and the community foundation grants guide; many community foundations run small neighborhood grants. The AARP Community Challenge guide covers $2,500 microgrants and larger quick-build grants for nonprofits and local governments working on places for people 50 and older, with the 2027 round expected to open in January. The T-Mobile Hometown Grants guide explains why that small-town program ended in 2026 and lists the closest routes still open.

For small arts groups: according to NEA guidelines, its Challenge America (opens in a new tab) category gives $10,000 awards to organizations with operating budgets under $250,000 for projects reaching underserved communities. It runs through Grants for Arts Projects (opens in a new tab), which requires 5 years of arts programming and a 1:1 cost share; its posted 2026 deadlines (February 12 and July 9) have passed, so watch for the next guidelines. Private options are in grants for arts organizations.

For individuals: the guide on how to apply for grants as an individual covers fellowships, artist grants and the scams to avoid. Grantsights doesn't keep funder lists for personal projects.

For groups and nonprofits ready for larger grants: Grantsights' community funder lists group private foundations by cause and state from the grants on their own 990-PF returns, with a free look at your state before anything else.

How Grantsights Checked This Guide

Grantsights checked 17 Awesome Foundation pages, 4 federal pages and 155 pages of the site's project feed on November 10, 2026.

Source checked	What it shows	What to do with it
About page	Autonomous chapters; $1,000 or local equivalent; usually monthly; no strings	Expect one-off, informal grants
FAQ	10 trustees at $100; anyone can apply; almost no chapters registered; applications stay in consideration	Apply once, name other chapters
Application form	61 chapters to choose from; character limits; up to 5 images	Draft before you open the form
Chapters page	72 chapters listed	Check each chapter for recent winners
12 chapter pages	Deadlines, review days, local rules	Read your chapter's page first
Project feed (155 pages)	8,030 funded projects since 2009; 482 in the last 12 months from 59 chapters	Gauge how active your chapter is

Grantsights counted a chapter as active when the feed showed at least 1 grant dated November 10, 2025 or later. Grants were assigned to countries and states using the chapter named in the feed, and Cass Clay (Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota) was counted under North Dakota. Organization winners were counted when the feed's applicant name was an organization's name, so the true share of groups is likely somewhat higher.

Sources

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Awesome Foundation accepting applications right now?

Yes. As checked November 10, 2026, the application form on awesomefoundation.org listed 61 chapters to choose from. Most chapters take applications any time and pick one winner a month. A few use windows: the Disability chapter takes applications from the 1st to the 10th of each month, and the Conservation and Climate chapter's next posted deadline is November 27, 2026.

How much is an Awesome Foundation grant?

Usually $1,000, or the local equivalent outside the U.S. The foundation's FAQ says that typically 10 trustees each put in $100 toward a monthly grant. There's no larger tier, and chapters ask for projects that $1,000 can actually finish or move forward.

Can individuals apply for an Awesome Foundation grant?

Yes. The FAQ says anyone is eligible: individuals, groups and organizations. You don't need a 501(c)(3). Some chapters prefer individuals and small groups; the San Francisco chapter tells well-established organizations not to apply, and the New York City chapter says it won't fund business marketing, startups or operating costs.

How do I apply for an Awesome Foundation grant?

Use the single form at awesomefoundation.org/en/submissions/new and pick one chapter. You give your name, email, a project title, up to 2,000 characters on the project, 500 on how you'll use the money and 500 about yourself, plus up to 5 images and the last date you could use the money. You can apply to more than one chapter, but the FAQ asks you to say which others you've applied to.

When does the Awesome Foundation announce winners?

Each chapter sets its own schedule. Most review applications monthly. The FAQ says that if you haven't heard within a few months you probably weren't picked, and that most chapters keep earlier applications in consideration. The Cass Clay chapter, for example, keeps an application for up to 6 months.

Is the Awesome Foundation a registered nonprofit?

Mostly not. The FAQ says chapters operate independently and almost none are formally registered as organizations. Trustees pay for grants out of their own pockets. The Santa Cruz chapter says gifts to it aren't tax deductible, while the Disability chapter's page invites 501(c)(3) tax-deductible donations toward its administrative costs.

Last updated November 10, 2026. Published by Grantsights from public sources. See our editorial policy, how we build and check guides, corrections and how we make money.

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