Around the world, soup dinners fund microgrants for artists
Here's an idea just begging to be copied, as reported on GOOD.is by Alissa Walker:
"Every first Sunday of the month, a group of people prepares a simple [soup] meal served family-style at a local bakery. People pay $5 to attend, where they'll hear pitches from local creative people about projects they're working on to benefit the city. At the end of the meal, the diners vote for which creative project should win the kitty of five-dollar bills (usually between $600 and $900). They even have handmade voting booths where people can cast their ballots privately."
Simple. Elegant. Immediate and effective. No cumbersome grant application process.
To learn more, go to Detroit Soup.
There's a network of organizations around the world doing exactly the same thing. Check out Sunday Soup: The Soup Network to learn more about how soup is changing the world, one creative project at a time. Maybe there's a Sunday Soup near you.
[Photo by Vanessa Williams from Detroit Soup.]
thanks for the soup inspiration - I've been having a ball making soups this winter - and thanks for the Detroit soup link --
Love this idea. Sometimes...no...oftentimes, grassroots movements---people supporting each other (their art, ideas, and politics) organically---are the best examples of democracy in action.
Satonahat, isn't Detroit Soup something we should have done in Boston years ago? I wish I'd thought of it.
Sandie, I agree. And I love how this eliminates the paperwork and blah-blah that often keep artists from being able to move their projects forward.