Supporting Good Work

There is a famous charity that gives annual "Genius Grants."  The grants are large sums of money given to people doing good work.  I learned about the grants years ago when my artist-friends all hoped to receive one.

The best part about the grants is they contain no strings.  The money can be used for any purpose and is intended to allow recipients freedom to spend more time on the activities they are being honored for.  Being committed to their projects, that's always the case.  Most recipients regret having to struggle to make ends meet while trying to write novels, compose music or perform social work.

You can't apply for these grants and nominations are made secretly.  There's no influence or lobbying that will get you the money; you just have to do good things and hope someone notices.

I like this idea.  I like encouraging people to do good work.  Our society needs more of that and, too often, we don't reward such efforts.

It's easy to talk big but action is where it happens.  I've decided to step up to the plate.

This year, during the holidays, I'm going to give three $500 awards to bloggers who are doing their best to improve our online community.  The cash awards are recognition for past efforts and encouragement for future contributions.  The blogging achievement I plan to recognize is not frequency of posting or number of followers but, rather, quality and sincerity of content.  I want to support those who open their hearts to us.  That's a rare and precious gift.

I'm not taking requests or nominations for these awards; they will be based on who I see improving our blogging world.  The recipients can decide whether they want to be mentioned publicly; they can remain anonymous if that's their preference.

Oh, and did I mention there are trophies involved?!  Everyone loves a bigass trophy.  :-)

Like last year, I'm calling these prizes the Bloggy Awards.  You'll hear more about the Bloggies when they are bestowed to deserving recipients in December.