What’s the history of Awesome Liverpool?

We were the Liverpool chapter of the international Awesome Foundation.

In 2014, a group of friends in the Liverpool tech sector realised there wasn’t a functioning Awesome chapter in the UK yet, so they set one up. For over a decade after that, we were joined by a stunning roster of volunteer trustees, from all sorts of backgrounds, each donating their time, expertise, and usually £50 a month, to help make awesome projects happen in and around Liverpool.

Anyone in the Liverpool City Region could apply for a £500 gift, and we particularly welcomed applications from people who wouldn’t normally apply to the big funding bodies. There was no limit to the number of times you could apply (or the number of times you could win) and we judged each application on its own merits.

We generally liked to see projects that:

1. Solved a problem
2. Had a clear budget
3. Benefitted Liverpool
4. Brought joy to the world

Our £500 gifts were no strings attached – there was no reporting or checking up. We trusted our winners to spend the £500 wisely, furthering Awesome in the universe.

And boy did they do just that. You can see all of our winners on the Awesome Foundation website.

Our trustees, 2014–2025

1. Ross Jones
2. Wayne Malcolm
3. Bridget Waters
4. Leon Rossiter
5. Lee Omar
6. Kate Stewart
7. Graham Haywood
8. Charles Oddy
9. David Worral
10. Nicola Wass
11. David Parrish
12. David Williams & Oliver Press
13. Nathan Pearson
14. Jim Noakes
15. Mark Hodgson
16. Lynne Robertson
17. Robyn Dooley
18. Lucy Chesters
19. Alex Kelly
20. Laura Marie-Brown
21. Ian Parry
22. Alison Lockett-Burke
23. Mark Russell
24. Mark Sabino
25. Laura David
26. Louisa Burman
27. the Baltic Creative team
28. Nick Graham
29. Julian Moss
30. Andrea Ku
31. Jubeda Khatun
32. Sally-Anne Watkiss
33. Amber Jones-Eddy
34. Roz Dean
35. Ruth Hartnoll
36. John Maguire
37. Charlotte Ray
38. Mark Swift
39. Sally Brajkovich
40. Lucy Gardner
41. Rebecca Taylor
42. Laura Prior
43. Jonathan Deamer & Miranda Melcher

And a very special thanks to founding trustees:

• Francis Irving Who started us all on this crazy journey after seeing Tim Hwang speak at a conference in the USA, and acted as the chapter’s first ‘Dean’ (organiser) from 2014–2018.
• Simon Holgate Who calmed our finalists’ nerves and kept everything running smoothly as compère at our gift nights in the beautiful Leaf on Bold Street (RIP).
• Andrew Beattie Who was always the most wonderful friend, advisor, and confidant to the other trustees, and the man with the best contacts in the city.
• Zarino Zappia Who made this website, and served as the chapter’s new organiser from 2018 until its closure in 2025.