The idea behind the Awesome fund is simple. First, get 30 "trustees" (business owners, civic boosters, anyone with a bit of extra cash in hand) to pledge $400 a year. Then, create a monthly $1000 grant. Open applications to anyone who has an awesome idea. Trustees decide who get the cash. The city benefits from a small boost of creativity. And on it goes.

The idea started in Boston and has spread to cities all over the world. This week, a chapter was launched in Halifax.

They don't have a website yet, but their Twitter feed is active with information for anyone interested in funding or applying for one of the grants. The grants are intentionally vague: "awesome" is the only requirement. You can see some examples of what Awesome chapters in other cities have funded on the foundation's blog.

(as one example: the winner of the first Toronto grant turned the city into a giant connect-the-dots puzzle)

The Halifax group was founded by Colette O’Hara and Mike Kennedy, who spoke to the Herald in this article. "It could be a do-good, feel-good project or something completely quirky and foolish,” O'Hara said about possible grant winners.

They'll start funding projects as of Feb. 29. To get on the email list to hear about grant applications, email colette@redballoonrelations.com

Disclosure

This is not the reason why we did the story:

(Photo by Flickr user nogwater.)