More Soup for You in Toledo, and Around the World

Toledo Soup is accepting submissions for its 4th event, scheduled for March 9th.  Toledo Soup is an organization that gives microgrants to individuals and organizations to fund a good, activity or service that enhances the greater Toledo area.  And who makes that determination?  The voters who pay $5 to eat soup and bread and vote on the finalists that Toledo Soup choses.  The voters plunk down the money, eat, listen to the pitches of would-be grant recipients, and vote.  Whoever gets the most votes for their project gets the evening's take of money.  The application is short, but must be sent by the middle of February.   Past winners include Glass City Pedicabs and ArtAround Town.  Applicants can include small businesses, individuals, and nonprofits--as long as they are doing work calculated to enhance the northwest Ohio community.

Toledo Soup is one of dozens of organizations around the world that offer microgrants given by soup-eating voters.  Most of the Soup Network offers microgrants to artists.  Check this list--there may be one near you.

The Second Toledo Soup--a Small Pot of Money to Finance a Project

The area is scheduled to have its second Toledo Soup event, on September 23rd.  We wrote about the first event last spring, in which Maxwell Austin of Glass City Pedicabs was voted the best entry, thus winning over $1,000 to help establish his downtown pedicab service.   

As we discussed the last time, any non OR for-profit enterprise can fill out an entry form for the Toledo event by the September 9th deadline, telling about your project and why it deserves the prize money. The entries are winnowed down to three top entries, and these three will get to present their case to an audience of people who will pay $5 to eat soup and vote on their favorite project.  The project that gets the most votes wins the pot created by the $5 soup charge, so the actual cash grant can vary.

It's one offshoot of the worldwide soup movement to provide community-based startup funds mostly for small and medium-sized art projects.  In fact, it inspired another project, Toledo Salad, which gives grants for small projects that will inprove the health of the community.

Want Money for a Great Toledo Project? Get in the Soup!

Yes, I know there is no free money, unless there is.  I just heard about a new start-up effort to get (small amounts) of money to projects--either for OR non-profit--in the Toledo, Ohio area.  It's called Toledo Soup, and is the joint effort of some local area business folks.  It works like this: you submit a short proposal about why your project would be great for the Toledo area.  They are looking for a diversity of sources--arts, culture, small business, nonprofit, etc.  The submission must be by February 17th. 

Then, judges narrow down the entries, and if your entry is chosen, you come to a dinner hosted by  Toledo Soup on March 4th.  Attendees are charged $5 for admission, and they listen while submitters describe their project, and why it's worthy of funding.  Then the dinner attendees vote on the projects, and the one with the most votes gets the admission money so the amount depends on attendance.  It's not going to rival Donald Trump-type money, but might give you the cash to start--or finish--something that could be great for the Toledo area.  See their website if you want to apply, or if you want to attend an event and contribute to popular-democracy fund raising.