Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1125082
NORTHSHOREMAG.COM 40 JULY 2019 PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF AWESOME GLOUCESTER, BY SHARON LOWE (BOTTOM RIGHT) Kestrel Educational Adventures needed more binoculars. Kestrel is an outdoor education nonprofit that takes students into the field for hands-on lessons in nature and science. But in spring 2017, the organization found itself low on equipment, and kids had to share binoculars. As a result, half the group was constantly missing out. So founder Jessica Kagle turned to Awesome Gloucester, a community group that funds ideas it thinks will make the city more, well, awesome. With the $1,000 mini-grant it received, Kestrel was able to outfit itself with a full complement of binoculars. "It's made a world of difference to be able to have every kid going out have their own pair," Kagle says. "With high-quality binoculars around their necks, they feel like real scientists." Awesome Gloucester is a group dedicated to finding and nurturing local thinkers, innovators, students, artists, and all-around do-gooders who have ideas for making Gloucester a better place. Each month, the group's 25 trustees pool their money and make a grant of $1,000 for one project, chosen from three finalists who present their ideas at a monthly pitch night. "The money helps people who have ideas that they want to make a reality," says the group's founder, Sal Zerilli. "And when people come to pitch night, there's a feeling like there's people in the community who genuinely care about what they're up to." Since its founding in 2013, Awesome Gloucester has helped fund more than 75 projects. It has given money to a group that helps high school seniors with disabilities prepare for life after graduation, to gardeners who wanted to beautify the area around a senior housing development, and to a program that teaches yoga to people in recovery from substance abuse, along with dozens more. AWESOME IDEA Small grants promote arts and creativity in Gloucester. BY SARAH SHEMKUS Awesome Gloucester and its sister group, Awesome Rockport, are chapters of the international Awesome Foundation. The parent organization began in 2009 with the goal of finding a way to fund passion projects without the bureaucracy involved in conventional grants. Today, there are chapters across the United States and in 12 additional countries from Australia to Armenia. The group came to Cape Ann when Zerilli, a Gloucester native, moved back to his hometown after a stint in Toronto. There he had worked for a man who was a trustee of Awesome Toronto, and Zerilli couldn't help but notice that after every meeting of the group, his boss was energized and optimistic the next day. When he returned to Gloucester and started talking to people in the community, he realized the city could use something to help bring together and encourage the many disparate people and groups trying to do good. Awesome Gloucester was born. The chapter in Rockport, where Zerilli now lives, followed a couple of years later. All told, the two Cape Ann chapters have awarded $90,000 since 2013. Notes Zerilli, "We're pulling in people who are oriented to civics, who want to contribute to the culture." Here's how it works: Every month, Awesome Gloucester puts out a call for pitches; Awesome Rockport accepts pitches once per quarter. Anyone—from organized nonprofits to passionate individuals—is welcome to pitch. From the ideas they receive, the trustees invite three proposals to present in person at pitch night, where the contenders explain their concept and field questions from the trustees. A winner is chosen and is immediately handed $1,000 in cash in a plastic sandwich bag. The immediate and transparent delivery of the money is an important element, Zerilli notes. The pitching process is invaluable, according to Kestrel's Kagle. Most grant programs have narrow qualifications and burdensome paperwork. She says, "Awesome Gloucester allows anyone doing valuable work to apply for a grant." Beyond the money, trustees agree that Awesome Gloucester helps connect disparate parts of the community and spread the word about the challenges—and solutions— ongoing in different parts of the city. "It makes people think outside the box about what else they can do to help Gloucester be more awesome," says Ann Molloy, an Awesome Gloucester trustee and co-owner of Gloucester's Neptune's Harvest. "Every time you leave there, you just feel so good." Awesome presents winners with a plastic bag filled with $1,000 to represent no strings attached. CONTACT awesomefoundation.org/en/chapters/gloucester L I V E + P L AY