Awesome Miami has some great guidelines on how they determine grants. We loved them so much we’re cross posting them here; we just replaced the word Miami with Newy. Thanks for the tips, guys!

Here’s some rough guidelines:
Joy and surprise: Does it make people smile? Will it make us laugh?
Innovation: Is it a totally new idea?
Staying power: Will it stick around after the money is gone?
Environmental impact: Needless waste is not awesome.
Impact: Does it help people? Does it increase happiness in Newcastle?
Bigness: Is there potential to reach a lot of people?
Value: Will the Foundation get good bang for its buck?
Local: How will this help the city of Newcastle?

We don’t typically fund:
Personal use: We think you’re really awesome, but we’re probably not going to just give you $1000 for a car/vacation/rent payment/home repair/pony… unless it’s the crucial component of a bigger project that also benefits others!
Charities and foundations: We’re primarily interested in funding projects or new ventures and not the continuation of an existing organization. If your organization still wants to apply, think of a specific, creative $1000 project that our money could go directly towards!
Vague causes: That is to say, the more specific you are in your application about what you’ll use the money for and why, the more likely we are to fund it! Good luck!