Don’t just talk about it, be about it.
That’s the message behind a new Sprout Fund initiative, 100 Days of US, which will provide $100,000 for projects in the Pittsburgh region that will begin in the first hundred days of the next Presidential administration.
The initiative, stylized on social media as #100days, is a riff on the President’s first 100 days, the symbolic period of time during which the incoming President lays out priorities for the nation and sets the tone for the remainder of their time in office.
Ryan Coon, program officer at the Sprout Fund, says 100 Days is a non-partisan initiative aimed at “developing a mechanism to help people support what is most important to them in the first 100 days.”
Coon says he envisions proposals to be similar to typical Sprout grant recipients—small-scale, grassroots, community-based—but with an emphasis on civic engagement.
The funding for the initiative comes from the Sprout Fund’s own financial reserves and it is the first time the organization has ever committed their own funds in such a manner. (Typically Sprout funding comes from specific grants or fundraising campaigns.)
Mayor Bill Peduto highlighted 100 Days last week during his welcoming remarks at the National League of Cities’ City Summit and urged other cities to implement the program in their communities.
Coon says that since Peduto’s appeal the Sprout Fund has heard from other cities in the Western US interested in beginning a 100 Days initiative of their own. Sprout has also reached out to cities in the Midwest and South to gauge interest.
Since its announcement, local individuals have already been expressing an interest in the project on Twitter:
I plan to give voice, to a vision for a #betterway to serve Native, Black, Latino, Asian, White, all ethnic groups… #Love #100days
— ????-CRLjr (@Ideamogul) November 16, 2016
MORE WOMEN IN OFFICE @100daysofUS. PA ranks 40th in female representation in government. #100days @Emerge_PA @PCWP_Chatham @wgfp
Sara Innamorato (@Innamo) November 17, 2016
@cathylewislong @100DaysofUS @sproutfund 100 days, that’s 100 cartoons. Exercising free speech and keeping Trump in check.
— Joe Wos (@WosisMe) November 17, 2016
Producing global music events with a focus on programming that welcomes ALL to counteract threats from our POTUSelect #100days @sproutfund pic.twitter.com/OyvAG53DYU
— Pandemic Pete (@pandemicpgh) November 13, 2016
People interested in submitting a proposal for funding may do so in the coming weeks online. Otherwise, interested individuals can join the 100 Days of US Meetup Group, make a donation through Crowdrise or volunteer their own time to a given project.