Welcome to the 2009 archive of Nau's $10,000 Grant for Change, supporting those who instigate lasting, positive change in their communities.
The 2009 G4C highlighted the efforts of those who move in the spirit of the Nau Collective: Athletes, Artists, and Activists challenging assumptions about what it means to move, be moved, and move others. After an exciting three-month process, we awarded Settle-based Benjamin Drummond and Sara Joy Steele $10,000 for their multimedia storytelling project, Facing Climate Change.
If you missed the 2009 grant cycle, here's how it went:
From July 7th to August 31st we opened our doors, inviting the public to nominate individuals or small teams who move in the spirit of the Nau Collective...
ATHLETES who are challenging assumptions about what it means to move through the world.
ARTISTS, designers or other creatives who are moved to design better solutions to the world's greatest problems.
ACTIVISTS who are seeding positive change in their communities, and moving others to do the same.
As the nominations poured in, we asked the public to vote for and rate their favorite nominees.
294 nominees, and thousands of votes later, ten finalists were selected; five by the public and five by Nau.
The public's Top Five Finalists were based on a combination of a minimum of 100 votes, and the rating average.
Criteria for Nau's Top Five Finalists include a demonstration of the Collective spirit of change; the project's apparent need for a fiscal boost; and the breadth of impact the individuals have on community.
We tip our hats to all the nominees of the 2009 Grant for Change. With the help of the voices of thousands of participants, we continue to cheer your tireless efforts toward lasting, positive change.
We encourage you to take a deeper dive into the work of Benjamin and Sara, as well as the 9 finalists and the 284 nominees.
Two individuals rose to the top. All the stories inspired.
(To browse the other 284 stories of positive change, go to All Nominees.)
Through the G4C we want to help launch the next big thing.
So who, or what, did we look up to for inspiration as current big thing?
We looked to Terry Tempest Williams, the Wyoming and Utah based writer, naturalist, and activist, dedicating her proverbial pen to the preservation of wildness in the U.S. and abroad.
We looked to Conrad Anker and Jenny Lowe-Anker, a climber and an artist who established the Khumbu Climbing School, encouraging responsible climbing practices in a supportive community-based program.
We looked to Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS shoes, who, after traveling to Argentina, was inspired to develop a One to One business model through which every pair of TOMS shoes sold yields a second, free pair of shoes for a child in need.
We looked to Jonathan Harris, the artist and designer who melds computer science, anthropology, visual art, and storytelling, designing web-based systems that describe the emotional pulse of the world.
We looked to Ross Evans and Kipchoge Spencer, bike advocates who launched the Xtracycle FreeRadical Kit, which converts regular bikes into "Sport Utility Bicycles," saving tons of CO2, gallons of gas and car miles per month.
These instigators were our inspiration for the 2009 Grant for Change. They are individuals who motivate us to move forward, and who ensure that our choices and voices count.
First we asked the public to instigate, learn and pass it on. Next we rallied for Votes. Then we announced the 2009 Grant for Change recipients, Benjamin Drummond and Sara Joy Steele, for their multimedia storytelling project Facing Climate Change.
The following steps share what we accomplished, and how it all went down...
Step 1: Instigate change.
This step's done. The nominations poured in. We were amazed.
Step 2: Learn + Pass It On.
It was inspiring to see all that's happening across the country, or in your own back yard. We passed these stories to our friends, so they could learn, too.
Step 3: Vote.
From June 7th until August 31st, we rallied the public to vote and rate the 294 nominations. Thousands of people heeded the call.
Step 4: Watch.
While the public voted for their own Top Five, a panel of Nau employees and advisors were deliberating over Nau's own Top Five. Together these two groups comprised the official Ten Finalists for this year's grant.
During the month of September, the Nau panel of employees and advisors interviewed each of the finalists for a deeper understanding of their work in positive change.
Step 5: Hoo ha.
We celebrated. We brought Benjamin and Sara to the Here/Nau/NYC pop-up shop in SoHo and on November 21st threw a Change-maker's party in their honor. Good times.
Step 6: Track.
The G4C Grantees have stuck with us for the past year. We became the soapbox, receiving updates on the effort, which we've been passing on to you via our newsletter, Off the Grid, and our blog, the Thought Kitchen.
Step 7: Restart.
May, 2010, we are doing it again, with a new Grant subject, Design as a Force for Change. The subject may have changed but the steps are the same. With a year of experience under our belt we welcome the nominees and friends of the 2010 Grant for Change.
Why the Grant for Change? Why now? And why Nau?
Positive change is at the core of who we are and what we do. It influences the design of our product, our model for business, and how we interact with each other and the world.
We want to be an effective agent for positive change, to move ourselves, our industry and the economy forward in a smarter, more sustainable way. Those who have inspired us, and who have kept us on this path, are our community, the Nau Collective.
Every great movement begins with a voice. Given our driving vision for positive change, and our ongoing conversation with a radical and inspiring collection of individuals, we can't help but want to crank up the voices that are calling for positive change, so they can call for that change with a little more boom.
As a national brand with a nationwide reach, we take iniative to act as both a community organizer and a platform. In 2009 we brought together our extended Collective family: the athletes, artists, and activists who work tirelessly to bring lasting, positive change to their communities.
294 Nominees were represented in the 2009 Grant for Change. In the end, the $10,000 grant was awarded to Benjamin and Sara (LINK), to help move their efforts forward. In the process leading up to the gift of the grant, hundreds of voices were heard, and continue to be shared and strengthened by the power of thousands.
We first set the scene, but the rest was up to you. Ten Finalists rose to the top. From this, the grantees were chosen. The 2009 Grant for Change has left us inspired and ready for more stories of change.
The 2009 Grant for Change presented 294 nominees. Hundreds of voices were heard, and they continue to be shared and strengthened by the power of thousands.
We are in awe of the variety of causes represented. We are moved by the fervent dedication to each cause. We give you, the nominees, and the communities you represent, a big high five, and our gratitude.
Thank you for sharing your stories.
And thank you for your work toward lasting, positive change.
2009 Nau Grant for Change Nominee Candidates
Adams, Heather
Adams, Larry
Adkisson, Emma; Gray, Nathan
Ahmed, Tahmina
Ahrens, Heidi
Andolino, Frank
Angelino, Elizabeth
Appleton, Chris
Aramburu, Jason
Arnette, Alan
Asherman, Julia
Banner-Baine, Micah
Barry, Julia
Bartlett, Bill
Bebee, L. Wayne
Benedicto, Juanita
Benton, Montetré
Beraza, Suzan
Bergmann, Sarah
Bielenberg, John
Bradel, Katie
Braun, Timothy
Briggs, Genesis
Brown, Adrienne Maree
Brown, Michael
Brown, Sue
Burdick, David
Burns, Ryan
Burns, Tammi
Byrne, Deirdre M.
Campos-Pons, Maria Magdalena; Leonard, Neil
Carrillo, Monica
Carroll, Collette
Carroll, Seana
Carter, Travis
Caruso, Nancy
Cecka, Tyson
Chedal, Sebastian
Chiang, Jimmy
Childs, Donna
Childs, Rosalind
Chippendale, James; Peters, Mike
Choi, Catalina
Christensen, Natalie; Laroche, Kris; McTague, Nathan
Coffman, Sarah; Beaumont, Julie
Collier, Margie S.
Connell, Samuel; Gifford, Chad
Cooper, Candi Cane
Cothran, Aaron
Coutermarsh, Rachel
Crandell, Steven
Curry, Peggy
Daria
Davis, Naomi
Davis, Orbert
de Leña, Devon
DeChristopher, Tim
Del Ponte, Mike
Deller, Jenny
DeLuca, Mark. M.
Densmore, Dave; Wiley, Alexa
Dessources, Michel Jr.
Diaz-Kramer, Elizabeth
Donahue, Topher
Donohue, Bob; Romano, Patti
Donovan, Tim
Doolittle, Joshua
Duncan, Aisha
Durant, Reginald
Durbin, Andrea
Eastep, Nan
Eichstaedt, Rick
Eiger, Leonard
Ellis, Nanice
Eriksen, Dr. Marcus; Cummins, Anna
Espy, Lynn
Evans, Chandler; Cunningham, Sachi
Fajgenbaum, David
Feinberg, NikiAnne; Slutzky, Alexis
Ferdinand, Christine
Fineberg, Roberta
Fitton, Mary Lynn
Fix, Ryan
Flierl, Peter J.; M.S.W.
Fonfa, Ann E.
Fox, Daniel
Franklin, Larry
Fulton, Drew
Gallas, Troy; Kloecker, Colin
Gibbs, Catherine
Gillett, Alexander and Arthur
Gowda, Daksha
Graney, Pat
Greenamyer, Bob
Guidos, Lori
Gullette, Margaret M.
Gustafson, Aaron
Hamilton, Hayden
Hancock, Dawn; Medic, Shannon
Hartmeyer, Timothy J.
Hartwell-Herrero, Pam
Hass-Holcombe, Aleita
Heckman, Trathen
Herzfeld, Amy
Hicks, Najlah Feanny
Highfill, Martha
Himot, Julie Yurth
Homes, Mike
Houck, Mike
Howze, Robert
Hrizic, Daniella; Weedon, Jason
Huttenbach, Laura Lee P.
Hyppolite, Roosevelt
In, Jin
Ingle, Abraham
Ippel, Sarah Elizabeth
Ismail, Yusef
Jackson, Emily
Jacobi, Joe
Jariabka, Dan
Jenkins, Mary
Johnson, Happy
Johnson, Megan Clare
Jolluck, Stephanie
Jones, Laura
Jones, Syd
Joyell, Chris
Juntunen, Craig and Kathi
Kabugu, Njoroge
Kantar, Rebecca
Kelly, Kathy
Kelly, Kim
Kendall, William
Kettavong, Pepsy
Kim, Bonnie
Kim, YeSeul; Mok, Amanda
Klein, Courtney
Klewicki, Stephanie Bendiske
Knutzen, Erik
Kodama, Boku
Kornacki, Eric
Kousky, Rebecca
Krieger, Bernice
LaJoice,Mike
Lara, Javier A.
Larco, Nico; Brode, Juli; Churchill, Erik
Larsen, Eric
Latiker, Diane
Layne, Alesia
LeBuhn, Gretchen
Lee Falkenstrom, Karen
Lee, Jamie Ann
Lennon, Amy
Lilly, Mark
Little, Lee
Loeper, Rachel
Long, Michelle and Derek
Loves, Rosa; Fretto, Mike
Lowe, Elyse
Ludden, Brad
Luthe, Tobias
Ma, Steve
Mansylla, Manuel; Roesch, Jimena Leiva
Marianetti, Christopher; Thal, Jeremy
Marr, Eric Patrick
Matheiken, Sheena; Starbuck, Eliza
Mather, Tim
Matsui, Tim
Matt, Steven
McCadden, Estelle H.
McClennen, Abel; Crites, Brian
McCulloch, Michael F.
McEachern, Joel B.
McKinney, Martin J.
McLellan, Liz
McQueen, Suzi
Mellon, Nancy
Mendoza, Beatriz; Fishlyn, Zeph
Metz, Deronda
Mietchen, Daniel
Mitchell, Michelle
Rockamann, Molly
Montgomery, Elliott
Moore, Ruth Marie
Mort, Beth
Moya, Patrick; Raymond, Eric; Ryan, Kushner
Mozee, Galadriel
Mulholland, Shannon
Murray, Chrisanne
Nichols, Dr. Wallace "J"
Nickel, Jeremy
Olson, Kari
Oritz, Cindy
Paolucci, Anne Marie
Parker, Paul
Parziale, Mike
Pashayan, Angela R.
Paterson, Amy; Moore, Melissa; Smith, Stephanie
Paul, Jared David
Petersen, Chris
Pikhart, Karina
Pilloton, Emily
Plec, Emily
Potts, Ben
Poyourow, Joanne
Quinton, Sylvia
Quirk, Linda
Redmond, Kira
Reid, Oraia
Reyes, Ana
Riche, Slajanna Pradel
Robinson, Glenn
Robinson, James
Rock, Sue
Rogers, Shane; Lichte, Rachel; Finfrock, Jesse
Roscoe, Erica
Rose, Ammathyst
Ruffolo, Eugene
Russell, James Michael
Rutgers, Christopher
Santistevan, Ken
Scarpellini, Michael
Schilling, Lorenz
Schmidt, Daniel
Scott, Carolyn
Seigel-Boettner, Jacob
Setterberg, Linda
Sikowitz, Joe
Silverio, Nick E.
Skolnik, Patty
Smallwood, Sally
Smith, Daniel Ryan
Soto, Hector
Sourelis, Dian
Souter, Lisa
Stanley, Brandi
Strewler, Trudy
Stull, Danny
Summerill, Kaitlyn
Sutphin, Suzie; Dotson, Kathy
Suwol, Robina
Taffera, Mark
Tamburo, Mari
Tecco, Halle
Teddlie, Jessie
Theon, Kelly
Thomas, Dr. Oswald R.
Threadgould,Tiffany
Tinucci, Mary
Tobin, Rich
Torres, Lars Hasselblad
Tremayne, Wendy
Tunesi, David
Umberger, Rene
Van Schelven, Wilma
Vandenhengel, Christina
Vasquez, Guillermo
Veillet, Jean Pierre
Villacorta, Violeta
Villwock, Spenser
Vinecki, Winter
Walawender, Valerie
Ward, Maureen
Warren, Henry
Weaver, Tanya
Weiler,Adam
Weissman, Lavina
West, Alex
Whalen, Laurel; Blackwell, Curtis; Richey, Tim
White, Randy
Wilder, Heather
Williams, Wyntergrace
Wilson, Quynn Elizabeth
Winkleman, David
Winters,Julie
Wolf, Bennett
Wolf, Micah
Wood, Julie
Wood, Shadia Fayne
Wyman, Rhonda and Elijah
Yang, Jamie
Youngs, Krishna
Zimmerman, Bill
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