Introducing Backed by Braid
We're giving away $1,000 a week to new community + creative projects. You should apply!
tl;dr
We’re giving away $1,000 a week with our friend Jack Coyne to help new community projects get started. Here’s a website with details, and here’s the link to apply.
We all have ideas. The hardest part is getting started.
Backed by Braid is a community stimulus, of sorts. Fill out our application form, and we’ll pick a few projects to fund and spotlight. Though starting something feels next to impossible right now, it’s more important than ever.
Let us help. We all have an idea we’ve been kicking around with our friends. The moment when the group puts some money down is the moment the project becomes more real. Everyone is committed, even if it’s just $10. It’s that moment of “we’re doing this.”
What sort of projects are you looking to fund?
We think about projects as the next step after an idea. They’re not quite businesses, but still have some financial aspect to them. We’re looking for projects that benefit an online or offline community, whether it’s a food project like Food With Fam, a community garden, a gaming collective, a project that provides better access to high-speed internet, art, music, podcasts. Pitch us and tell us why your project should get the money.
Jack describes it this way, “...after a year I’d like to look back at a community of 52 different Backed by Braid projects that feel some sort of kinship with each other. 52 projects that each have a chance of turning into a fully functioning small business. 52 projects that inspire countless others to launch their own projects.”
BBB PROJECT #001: Food with Fam
Food with Fam started with a group of friends in New York City, who decided to use their social media networks to raise money, spend it on groceries, and give the groceries away to communities in need. They collected money from four different channels and then transferred the money into their personal bank accounts to spend it on groceries, truck rentals, and more.
They started using Braid to keep track of the expenses, and the $1,000 grant went directly toward buying additional food for one of their events. They started with just an idea, and over the past six months, the project has grown.
How do I apply? Is there a deadline?
We’re giving away one grant of $1,000 per week, on a rolling basis, to spend on your project. This means we’ll read applications as they come in, and let you know within two weeks whether you’ll receive the grant. We tried to make the application dead-simple so that it’s easy to fill out. More information available on our website. Tell us about your project, your crew, and how you’d spend the money.
That’s it. We look forward to seeing your projects!