Coming soon! Be Green Micro-Grant Program

Okay, at KEA we have always been about respecting our environment- regardless of what that environment is- urban/rural, natural and pristine or man made. So as the summer unfolded and the BP oil well kept spilling our frustration and anger kept growing- like I am sure many of yours did.

Our frustration was/is because it seemed like there was nothing we could do, a sense of helplessness. Probably a lot of you experienced the same emotions but really there is a lot that we can do. Maybe not to actually stop the oil spilling or physically clean up the beaches but we can change how we approach our daily lives and make small commitments to actively create local environments that are respectful to all that share it- human, animal, and plant.

Now KEA is a small family business, and like a lot of people these days we are just barely scraping by, so we don't have the huge economic power to force or promote societal behaviors the way large corporations, with their huge marketing and PR budgets, do. No, instead, what we do have is a desire to do something- anything- and some minor skill in communicating and connecting people through digital media.

So, over the next few weeks we will be setting up a micro-grant program where people can send in proposals for small- community, school, classroom, family, individual- scaled project ideas that improve the living environments for all in the their area. Each proposal entry will have a small fee. We'll create a scoring rubric to judge the project proposals and then using that scoring guide we will all vote on which projects should be funded. Funding will come from the proposal entry fees so the amount will vary depending on how many projects are submitted. A true grassroots effort!

We are still working out the details. Please contact us with input!! At the moment we are thinking that we will have monthly (or more regular) themes and project categories. Perhaps structured so that only after “X” number of proposals are submitted will we vote, etc... Again, please contact us with your ideas on how to do this!

We are also thinking that we will create a fairly specific proposal format. All proposals will be publicly viewable so that even ideas that aren't funded will be up on the web for others to see and use if they want. In that way, every idea can be taken up and implemented by any who want. The types of projects we will promote are the kind that can be done by individuals, small groups, a class, a school, etc... even without outside funding. Our grants will just be a little bonus to get things going- a kick in the butt to get us motivated!

Our hope is that as we travel around on our bikes this August we can collect a series of examples to use as idea starters. But again, we are still working out the details and want any and all input we can get!