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Powerful Question Institute Seed Grant Program
The Powerful Question Institute Seed Grant Program is an innovative opportunity investing in individuals by offering initial grants ($500-$2,000) to encourage the most promising ideas connected to a person’s Powerful Question. Seed grants aim to:
- Develop, test and spread great ideas: PQI encourages the development and testing of ideas that derive from a person’s Powerful Question to solve problems and/or to create opportunity for the betterment of others.
- Inspire, equip and connect people: Great ideas spread through people. PQI seed grants invest in efforts to inspire, equip and connect with others to more effectively evoke change and positively impact society.
Eligibility
Powerful Question Institute grants are awarded to individuals who desire to follow their Powerful Question and seek ways to live it in a transformative way at the service of others.
- Grants must be used to advance a specific purpose located within the United States.
- Coaching and support will be offered to help successfully follow through with one’s proposed idea.
- A final assessment report will be required to evaluate the impact of one’s efforts.
How to Apply
Interested individuals should complete and submit the Pre-Application by clicking on the link below. Once received, the initial idea will be vetted by the Committee. There is no application deadline for our grants—applications are accepted year-round.
Grant amounts are intended to be “seed money” to get an idea going. They range from $500 to $2,000. Please indicate in your summary the amount needed to launch your idea/program and explain how you will seek additional funding if needed.
The initial PQI grant request is brief and intended to help us understand your idea and gauge your passion for living your Most Powerful Question. Once you submit your initial idea, we will connect with you to learn more.
We understand this may present a barrier to some applicants, and we will make reasonable efforts to accommodate needs on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us to discuss your specific circumstances.
Selection Process
The stages of the MPQ grant selection process:
- PQI Committee members will evaluate submitted initial proposals and contact individuals if additional information is needed. Potential projects vetted will be invited to submit a formal application for a seed grant that must include a timeline.
- Committee will communicate their funding decision via email approximately six to eight weeks from the date an application is submitted. Applicants who are not given a seed grant will have an opportunity to receive feedback, if desired.
- Seed grant funding will be sent to the approved applicant with instructions to report progress of the project.
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EXAMPLE of PQI Grant Idea—Steering Troubled Youths in the Right Direction
John has always loved biking and shared that he had dreamed of starting a program to see what impact mountain biking could have for youth who were getting in trouble. He believed it would change their lives for the better.
His friend Curt agreed that it sounded like a good idea. John told him that while he had thought about organizing such an effort, he would not take it on alone.
Without blinking an eye, Curt said, “I’ll do it with you.” That program, now called “Start the Cycle,” was born in that moment from the Powerful Question, “Could mountain biking turn around troubled young lives?”
The first year was a bit disorganized, but it took off with help from Juvenile Court, Marquette County, dedicated volunteer mentors, and a few donated bikes. In that first year, sixteen young boys and girls prepared for and finished the twenty-eight-mile Ore-to-Shore mountain bike race.
The participants’ reward for finishing the race was two-fold. The first reward was their feeling of accomplishment for completing the race, and the second reward was keeping the bikes and equipment. The reward was
seeing their ear-to-ear grins as they crossed the finish line of the twenty-eight-mile race, knowing they had achieved something big, something
that might change the rest of their lives.
Powerful Question: “Could mountain biking turn around troubled young lives?”
Purpose: Work with troubled youths (ages 13-16) to prepare for the Ore-to-Shore bike race by training young people to compete and complete a 28-mile race.
Plan: Work with officials from Juvenile Court in Marquette County to identify youth and then connect them with dedicated volunteer mentors to learn how to ride a mountain bike as they train for an upcoming race.
Process: Assemble a fleet of used mountain bikes and other equipment for the youth participants to use as they train on a weekly basis for the
Ore-to-Shore bike race that takes place in August.
Potential Seed Request: $1,000 to obtain used bikes and equipment. Additional $5,000 of needing funding will be solicited from individuals, businesses and
charitable organizations.
Proposed Timeline: Begin in April for identify participants; obtain bikes/equipment by May, intense training May-August; Ore-to-Shore race in August; evaluate effort and submit final report to PQI by end of September.