Hyper-local Philanthropy that Creates Trust, Pride, and Results
In every community, there are weavers – people who are quietly working with neighbors, solving problems, and weaving a strong, local social fabric. If we support and inspire more of them, we can heal our communities and ultimately our nation. That’s why we created the Weaver Awards and made it easy to bring them to your community.
The Awards are microgrants, typically $2500-$5000, that support neighbors, teachers, small nonprofits, and others working to create lasting connections and trust where they live as they tackle local issues. The Awards make it easy for foundations, corporations, local officials, and individual donors to invest in communities, show up as true partners, and spur results.
The Awards build on what is going right in a place. And they respect the knowledge and networks of those who live the issues and can engage their neighbors.
How the Awards differ from typical grants
- Community members guide them
- Projects build lasting relationships and trust
- Anyone can apply – not limited to nonprofits
- Applying and reporting are easy and trust-based
The Awards are a proven model of success
- $750,000 granted or in process
- Used in urban and rural settings
- Spurs further grants and media recognition
- Ignites a local peer network of weavers
The Aspen Institute’s Weave: The Social Fabric Project can help you bring the Weaver Awards to your community. We offer an implementation guide, a virtual training course, a web platform for collecting and evaluating applications, an online community for continuing local peer support and learning, and customized support, if needed. If you are interested in bringing the Weaver Awards to your community, contact us using the button below.