This February, Centretown-based activism centre HUB Ottawa launched its Wave Makers campaign, challenging Ottawans to bring projects that raise awareness about ocean health.
Working with wildlife protection advocate WWF Canada, HUB plans to distribute $28,000 in $1,000 to $5,000 microgrants this spring. Organizers hope to get Ottawans involved in thinking about sustainability, says Vinod Rajasekaran, HUB’s lead strategist.
He says if it’s successful here, he thinks the initiative could become a push for ocean sustainability nationwide.
“This is not geographically located, this is a global issue,” he says, “(Ottawa) is the nation’s capital. Why not kick it off here?” Rajasekaran says even people in inland Ottawa should thing about ocean health as wasteful behaviour and pollutants here can eventually cause major problems out at sea.
And he’s not the first in Centretown to push the issue.
Joshua Bishop, owner of The Whalesbone sustainable seafood company, spoke about sustainability at the Wave Makers’ launch. He says oceans are crucial to his business and many others, but more than that, ecological responsibility should be a main issue on everyone’s plate. “It’d be nice if we didn’t need grants to initiate this interest,” he says, but adds “It would be great if people walked away from this realizing their decisions at fish counters make a difference.”
The microgrant model is one way Rajasekaran hopes to spark that realization. He says when WWF approached HUB for a partnership, the plan to spread the organizations’ joint funding into micro grants was the logical way to reach the widest audience. Rather than spend all the money on one project, they can fund many smaller ones in what Rajasekaran “collaborative social innovation.” He says it will get more people directly involved and test out ideas that might otherwise flounder. “Why not let 1,000 flowers bloom? This is a way to demonstrate what’s possible.”
Wave Makers is the latest in a rising tide of microgrant activism in Ottawa, including organizations such as JustChange, Awesome Ottawa and SOUP Ottawa. According to SOUP organizer Jared Klassen, the popularity of micro funding shows an upsurge in people’s desire to get involved.
SOUP is a community dinner every three months where participants vote to send collected donations to one of the evening’s competing projects. Klassen says it’s like an in-person kichstarter – a way for people to directly fund change.
“There’s a niche you’re seeing with the explosion of all these different initiatives” he says, “Sometimes to see if an idea works, you’ve just got to try it. And with government grants or city grants, the application process can be rigorous.”
He says the advantage of microgrants is that they’re easier to access and less risk if they fail. But they’re not without their downside.
“You’re just handing cash over to these initiatives. Who’s to say that these people aren’t just running away with the cash and buying an iPhone or whatever?” That hasn’t happened yet, but the model trades accountability for accessibility, he says.
Unlike SOUP, Wave Makers’ money comes from HUB and WWF’s joint coffers, not just the donations of the evening. And Rajasekaran says HUB’s judging committee will find people who will stick to their goals.
Aside from making sure the winners won’t run off with their money, judges are looking for collaborative, creative and inspiring projects. But the criteria are purposefully vague to avoid ruling anything out. Anything from a video game to a research paper might win, says Rajasekaran, as long as it gets people thinking about the oceans.
Applications remain open through April 30, with the winners to be announced on World Ocean Day, June 8.
For the final announcement, Rajasekaran says he’d love to set up a Wave Makers’ showcase downtown, lining a street with projects drawing attention to the sea. And though the plan is still fuzzy in the long term, he says Wave Makers could soon sweep across the nation.