No-strings-attached grant money unites businesses, creative groups and individuals in Newcastle such as Renewy Living Podcast, OneWave, Feedback Organic, Surfing the Spectrum, Soul Cafe, Splash of Colour, Frontline Yoga, Kid Biz Academy, Hunter Homeless Connect and Urban Botanica.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
They've all won $1000, collectively funded by a group of passionate business people who believe you don't need a long and arduous grant application and acquittal process to make good things happen.
Awesome Newcastle is a local chapter of the global grantmaking organisation Awesome Foundation. The board recently announced it had surpassed $85,000 in no-obligation cash grants awarded to grassroots ventures in Newcastle.
Established in the Hunter in 2015, Awesome Newcastle hosts a monthly pitch night where three applicants have three minutes to present their idea. The board then deliberates and votes with the ultimate winner taking home the cash on the night.
Foundation board member Andy Howard said Awesome Newcastle's mission was to support grassroots initiatives that had a positive impact on the community.
"We're super proud of reaching this funding milestone and the awesome initiatives we've supported over the past nine years," he says.
"We know $1000 isn't a huge amount of money, but it often starts the momentum finalists are looking for. We've been told by past winners that it's the belief in their idea that has meant the most. That's a really awesome outcome."
We know $1000 isn't a huge amount of money, but it often starts the momentum finalists are looking for. We've been told by past winners that it's the belief in their idea that has meant the most.
- Awesome Newcastle board member Andy Howard
"Awesome Newcastle changed my life" says Ennia Jones, 2022 Awesome Newcastle winner representing Splash of Colour Swimming, a holistic learn-to-swim program created for people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
Last year, Splash of Colour Swimming helped 65 women learn to swim, and this term they have 75. Next term they're looking at 110. They're branching out to the Central Coast as well. They've trialled their first men's swim program in March, too. All their students are from multicultural backgrounds up to nine countries represented on average.
"Winning the $1000 cash spurred me on," Jones says. " I could see that the board members really believed in me. I said to the gentleman who passed me the money, 'I won't let you down', and I meant it. It's people's hard-earned money they're handing you. It's completely changed my outlook on people's generosity."
Since Monty Sharma started Urban Botanica Co in 2018 he's gone from having 30 to 40 workshop participants in the first year to having more than 315 attend. Sharma won in November 2021 and his environmental education business does everything from leading mushroom hunts in the forest to building moss walls for local businesses.
"Since we won Awesome Newcastle, we also have run mycology courses for kids growing mushrooms in jars," Sharma says.
"I think Awesome Newcastle was really good from the perspective of the board, who are all entrepreneurial and community-based. That pitch was my second pitch, the first time I pitched and didn't win.
"When I came back the second time, I had more clarity around what I wanted to do and what I wanted to create.
"The money helped, but the greatest value I found from Awesome Newcastle was sitting down with my journal and asking myself 'what are the things I need to do?' It's a shark tank, you gotta know your stuff and you only have a limited amount of time."
Awesome Newcastle operates with six to eight permanent board members and two to four guest board members. Ten members in total bring $100 cash each in order to get to the $1000.
Last month, the organisation welcomed two new permanent board members, Sharife Rahmani of Coal LSL and virtual assistant Adrienne Donnelly of Organised by Adrienne.
Donnelly has been involved with Awesome Newcastle for years before becoming a permanent member.
"I have been aware of Awesome Newcastle since the start of 2019 when I met Andy Howard," she says.
"I have had the chance to be a guest board member a few times over the past 12 months and loved it. So when the opportunity came up to join the board permanently, I jumped at it.
"Each month we have the chance to get to know three local Novocastrians who are working on epic ideas, most of these we would likely never come across if it wasn't for Awesome Newcastle
"Whether you have an idea that needs a boost to get started, or to grow an existing awesome initiative, I would definitely recommend checking out Awesome Newcastle," Donnelly says.
The July deadline is coming up fast. Learn more by visiting awesomenewcastle.org
