Congratulations to our 2018 SXSW Civic Ignition Grant Winners!  We received 9 submissions and had 28 participants join us to judge the cycle at our meet up and workshop.  It was a great conversation, even though our meet-up was in a lively bar, and the workshop took about 90 minutes to complete.  Congratulations to the winners:

– Galveston Seawall Mural (BWB – Galveston County)
“With the Galveston Seawall Mural Project, Galveston County’s Burners Without Borders chapter hopes to create a lasting impact in the community with an interactive, Paint-by-Numbers style mosaic artwork along one of the largest features of Galveston Island, the Galveston Island Seawall. Our image will incorporate messages of gulf ecology and the 10 Principles of Burning Man. We plan a weekend of direct action on the beach highlighted by an event incorporating elements of participation, entertainment, art and stewardship of the beach. Outreach in the community leading up to the project will help us identify leading community organizations, and during the event we will engage our community volunteers into a dialog around future projects and needs. Our project timeline has already begun, as we are working through the practical matters of applying for a permit to create our vision along the Galveston Seawall.”

–  The Sandcastle Senior Art Program (BWB – Corpus Christi)
“A vibrant Senior community is an investment in our future. I want to change the idea that seniors just play cards and bingo and that they still have so much to contribute . A 8 week program that has 7 classes that culminates in a showing that exhibits the classes acheivements and allows for a silent auction for sale of paintings for the artists and refunds the program. The funding will be for art supplies and the art showing.  It encourages young people to not be afraid of aging because life can be lived to the very end with quality and meaning. There is nothing more satisfying then seeing a first time artist surprise their family and friends with their often unknown talent. Target date is April 21st,2018 , classes from 10a-12p on 7 saturdays and then a show projected for Friday June 15th.”

What is the SXSW Civic Ignition Grant?                                                                                                                      
A program aimed at funding innovative community & civic projects within the Texas-land region.  We are interested in programs that create collaborations, produce direct actions, utilize several of the 10 Burning Man Principles, are reproducible, and creatively tackle local social problems. This grant gives anyone the opportunity to submit a collaborative, creative, and principle-focused project with a chance to win up to a $,1,500 grant.

Timeline:
–  Grant Opportunity is announced on February 9th. 
–  Deadline for grant submissions is March 2nd (Midnight CST)
–  Workshop Partiucipants will review the grant proposals at the 2018 SXSW Burning Man Community Meet-up (March 12th)
–  Winner(s) will be announced Monday evening at SXSW  (March 12th)

Apply here:  http://bit.ly/2EPJhJF

What’s special about the SXSW Civic Ignition Grant?
Submissions to the 2018 SXSW Civic Ignition grant cycle will be workshopped and judged by a group of participants and community leaders that attend this year’s SXSW Burning Man Community Meet-up. This group will be using the submissions as material to review and workshop while learning how to administer their own civic grant programs.

Who is eligible to apply?
Individuals, Groups, and Not-for-Profits are all eligible to apply.  We encourage projects be endorsed by a local Burning Man Regional Contact.  The RC does not need to be a project lead, or heavily involved with the process, rather they are simply endorsing the project and the leaders who are submitting.  We recognize not all regions have local RC’s, if this applies to you consider contacting a neighboring RC.

How much can you ask for?
The maximum grant that maybe awarded is $1,500.  We encourage your project’s viability to not be solely dependent on this grant.  Think about other sources of funding that might be available.  Grants awarded could be less than the full amount.

What types of proposals will likely not get funded by this program?
Programs that are solely based on artistic endeavors and do not have a community or civic aspect will most likely not be considered for funding.  Funds should not be used for direct fundraising, chapter promotion efforts, or for paying people for their work.

What follow-up will be expected by grant recipients?
All recipients will be expected to submit written reports on what they have accomplished and learned in the course of their projects, along with accompanying visual media.  This media will be hosted on the Burners Without Borders website.

Who won the Civic Ignition Grant in 2017?                                                                                      
This will be our first time producing the SXSW Civic Ignition grant.  But you can check out past winners of the Civic Ignition or Walk the Talk grants by searching on our website!

> How to create a Project.