The Top 100

The Make It Your Own Awards™ is about people connecting with others in their community, forming solutions, and taking action. After receiving nearly 5,000 grant applications, our diverse team of reviewers has narrowed the pool down to 100 semifinalists. So, who made the cut? Check out all the great ideas below, view videos and photos, read project diaries, offer your input and spread the word! And click here for great tools to start making a difference today! Also, keep in mind that these are real ideas from real people and have not been edited. So ignore the occasional misspelling and look for solutions that will make a difference.

Featured Project

Progress Independence

PI is a citizen's engagement network providing people with information and tools to impact civic, social & political conditions. Public forums are presente based on the belief that an informed and engaged public builds a stronger sense of community and success in acheiving desired results.

Submitted by Eileen Weir
From Independence, MO

	Project	Coordinator	Location
	All Day Buffet (ADB)	Hechinger, Scott	Brooklyn, NY
	Art Out Loud	Alexander, Kathya	Seattle, WA
	Assoc. of Young Americans	Repici, Luke	Philadelphia, PA
	Be the Change	Makhdoom, Amina	North Potomac, MD
	Build Parent Involvement	Weller, Eva	Stamford, CT
	Building for Community	Thompson, Erik	Milan, MN
	Campaign for College Hill	Olson, Gail	St. Louis, MO
	Cascading Leaders 2.0	Laster, Renee	New York, NY
	Child/Youth Friendly City	Gilder, Nancy	Denver, CO
	Children at the Well	Weiss, Paula	Cohoes, NY
	Chollas Creek Project	Franz, Karen	San Diego, CA
	Citizen Participation	Twitchell, Keith	New Orleans, LA
	Community Conversations	McPherson, Kate	Vancouver, WA
	Community Vision Project	Kepes, Imre	Pelham, MA
	Community Wisdom Council	Rough, Jim	Port Townsend, WA
	Conversations for Change	Harper, Lisa	New York, NY
	Core Connections	Moothart, Mary	Dubuque, IA
	Critical Exposure	Levner, Adam	Washington, DC
	Crossing Borders	Kari, Nan	St. Paul, MN
	Culture of Peace -Tucson	Straatemeier, Gerry	Tucson, AZ
	DCCV	Murphy, Bridget	Menomonie, WI
	Deliberative Democracy	Shoul, Mark	Royalston, MA
	Democracy in Facebook	Ferber, Thaddeus	Washington, DC
	EdenArea Youth Commission	Sohcot, Hilary	Hayward, CA
	Engage-Houston	Murray, Cheryl	Houston, TX
	Engaging Hate in Dayton	Awoshakin, Tokunbo	Dayton, OH
	Environmental Change-Mkrs	Poyourow, Joanne	Los Angeles, CA
	Five Two Eight O	Goodwin, Janna	Denver, CO
	Front Porch Forum	Wood-Lewis, Michael	Burlington, VT
	FUSED	Luong-Tran, Caroline	Fairfax, VA
	Generations for Justice	Albrecht, Lisa	Minneapolis, MN
	Giving Voice	Weatherly, Todd	Asheville, NC
	Healthy Neighborhoods	Knoblauch, Lisa	Denver, CO
	Hub2: re-imagining Boston	Koo, Gene	Cambridge, MA
	ID Night Market	Pisnanont, Joyce	Seattle, WA
	In Search of the Commons	Barrett, Jim	Livingston, MT
	Interfaith 'Gandhi' Walk	Tutt, Daniel	Washington, DC
	Is That So?	Nolan, Kathleen	Mount Tremper, NY
	Just For Grins	Konovsky, Mary	Santa Rosa Beach, FL
	Juveniles 4 Justice (J4J)	Feierman, Jessica	Philadelphia, PA
	Kauai Community Coalition	Hontz, Glenn	Koloa , HI
	Kitsap CoLab	Wilson, Beth	Olalla, WA
	Leaders of the New School	Jafri, Asad	Chicago, IL
	Linking the Generations	Vollbrecht, Marsha	Plymouth, WI
	Madison SOS	Thompson, Natalia	Madison, WI
	Making Health Our Own	Sloan, Susan	Bellingham, WA
	Making Medford Aware	Jacques, Jane	Medford, MA
	Males Advocating Change	Graber, Evan	Holden, MA
	MAU Now: Mobilizing Mamas	Babcock , Paige La Grone	Nashville, TN
	Mind The Gap-Use Dialogue	Read, Sarah	Columbia, MO
	Mosaic Center	Hitch, Jeanne	Cleveland, OH
	Moving Forward Together	Finnegan, Deane	Lincoln, NE
	My School is Your School	Maldonado, Dominick	New Haven, CT
	My Voice Matters	Loome, Nancy	Clinton, MS
	Natrona Revitalization	Kaufman, Janice	Hermitage, PA
	Niche Housing	Sufficool, Mary Jane	Virginia Beach, VA
	No Dealers = No Drugs	Keenan, Patrick	Camden, NJ
	Oly Community in Action	Young, Teresa	Olympia, WA
	Omaha Healthy Youth	Butler, Scott	Omaha, NE
	On The Road to Community	Nothern, Joan	Glasco, KS
	Open Spaces Safe Places	Hollis, Mary Jane	Aurora, IL
	Opportunity Agenda	Brown, Rob	Stockton Springs, ME
	Our River, Our Heart	Dean, Heather	Columbus, OH
	Our Rock, Our Role	Kramer, David	Jamaica Plain, MA
	Owen Co. Farmers' Market	Dieter, Gwen	Spencer, IN
	PALS Connection Social Ne	Stein, Josh	Allentown, PA
	Phinney EcoVillage	Andrews, Cecile	Seattle, WA
	Picture-Perfect Portland	Scrutchfield, Zachary	Portland, ME
	Pollution Solutions	Goldfeld, Anne	Scottsdale, AZ
	Preble Promise	Grubb, Jack	Eaton, OH
	Productive Converstions	Monjure, Joy	Everson, WA
	Progress Independence	Weir, Eileen	Independence, MO
	Project Pocket Park	Long, Lydia	Abilene, TX
	Public School Reform	Braibish, Jim	St. Louis, MO
	Re-Imagining our City	Cheong, Fiona	Pittsburgh, PA
	Refusing to Be Enemies	White, Laurie	Ann Arbor, MI
	S.H.I.N.E	Moore , Krysten	Mahwah, NJ
	Save Our Street	Dublin, Karen	Rome, GA
	Saving Our Schools	Turk, Susan	St. Louis, MO
	Smart Beginnings of M/HC	Agee, Sheryl	Martinsville, VA
	Southdale Area Solutions	Jenkins, Josh	Madison, WI
	Summit for Environmental Action	Irwin, Kate	Sarasota, FL
	The 10,000 Hours Show	Romero, Cecilia	Tucson, AZ
	The Azadi Center	Ahmed, Dilkhwaz	San Diego, CA
	The Connector Project	Kiriyama, Traci	Gardena, CA
	The People's Plan	Jones, Samantha	Los Angeles, CA
	The Writing's on the Wall	Render, Michael	Atlanta, GA
	TLC Neighborhood Repair	Leis, Jennifer	Portland, OR
	UNCommon Council	Herring, Keith	Syracuse, NY
	Up With Playgrounds!	Semmelroth, Laura	Philadelphia, PA
	Victory Gardens	Kusnic, Edith	Seattle, WA
	VOICES	Healy, Bridget	Orlando, FL
	We the People	Cobranchi, Daryl	Fayetteville, NC
	Weaving a New Willimantic	Dahlberg, Steven	Willimantic, CT
	Wilson For The Ages	Criswell, David	Wilson, KS
	You Bet, California	Brown, Montgomery	You Bet, CA
	Youth Action Now!	Hasbini, Leena	Riverview, FL
	Youth Advisory Council	Miner, Gemma	Rancho Cordova, CA
	Youth United Way	Braylock, Jr., Gregory	Toledo, OH
	Youth Volunteering Guide	Bossie, Sheena	Charlotte, NC