$1,000
Per Grant
Monthly
Selection Cycle
0
Strings Attached
Open
To Anyone With an Idea
About the Programme
Small grants.
Big awesome.
Awesome Aruba is the island's chapter of the global Awesome Foundation, a worldwide community that funds small, creative, often experimental projects through monthly micro-grants. Each month we give away $1,000 to a project that surprises and delights.
The money is a gift: no repayment, no ownership claim, no reporting requirements. We back the people most grant-makers overlook: the tiny, the experimental, the wonderfully weird ideas that make Aruba a more awesome place to live.
The grant is funded by a group of local trustees who each contribute out of their own pocket and pick the winner together, by consensus, every month.
$1,000, No Strings
A genuine gift, handed over up front: no loan, no equity, no strings. Spend it on making your idea real.
Funded by Trustees
Around ten local trustees each chip in about $100 a month, pooled into one grant. Grassroots, near-zero overhead.
Decided Monthly
Trustees meet every month and choose a winner by consensus. Applications are short; decisions are fast.
Open to Anyone
Individuals, groups, and organisations are all eligible. If you can fill out the form, you can apply.
The Process
How a Grant Works
Apply
AnytimeSubmit your idea through the short online application. Tell us what you want to do and how the $1,000 would help. No lengthy proposals required.
Into the Pool
RollingYour submission joins the pool that the Awesome Aruba trustees review. There's no deadline to chase; applications carry over month to month.
Monthly Selection
Each MonthThe trustees meet and, by consensus, pick the project that most surprises and delights them. Some months we'll invite applicants for a short chat first.
Award
Up FrontThe $1,000 grant is handed to the winner up front, with no conditions attached: a true fellowship to get started immediately.
Encouragement & Mentorship
OngoingTrustees often act as informal mentors, help winners complete their projects, and connect them with past grantees and collaborators across the island.
Catalytic Effect
BeyondThe grant funds a first prototype and brings attention that helps awesome projects attract larger funding and partners down the line.
Take the Stage
ShowcaseWinners step on stage at our showcase to share their idea with the community, and the stage stays yours. Come back anytime to show how far it's grown; updates and progress are always welcome. The only thing that waits is a second cheque: to keep the love spreading across a small island, past grantees are welcome to apply for another $1,000 grant six months on.
A Focused Track
Awesome Circular Aruba
A specialised stream within Awesome Aruba: the same no-strings $1,000 micro-grant, dedicated to projects that advance Aruba's circular economy: reuse, repair, waste-to-resource, regenerative design, and beyond.
Explore Awesome Circular Aruba →What Counts as Awesome?
Who Should Apply?
There are no fixed categories: arts, technology, community, science, social causes, and the gloriously hard-to-classify are all welcome. If it makes Aruba more awesome, we want to hear about it.
Individuals, groups, and organisations are all eligible
Projects that surprise, delight, or do good
Early-stage and experimental ideas especially welcome
A clear sense of how $1,000 would move it forward
Based in or benefiting the Aruba community
No prior funding or formal status required