Toledo SOUP is now accepting submissions for those interested in presenting their community project and business ideas at the 2nd Quarterly SOUP event!

Toledo SOUP is a new crowd-funding opportunity for those seeking to contribute to or enact small-dollar community projects with a large community impact. The Inaugural Toledo SOUP event was held on Sunday, March 4th, from 5-9 p.m. in the Davis Building Lobby. The event attracted more than 40 submissions (of which 5 finalists are selected), more than 150 attendees, and raised $1047 dollars, which was award to top vote-getter, Maxwell Austin of Glass City Pedicabs.

The next Toledo SOUP meal event will be held on Sunday, June 10, from 5-9 p.m. at  My Brother’s Place (316 Adams St., corner of Summit St., adjacent to Trinity Episcopal Church).

The deadline to receive submissions to be considered for an opportunity to present your project to the public during the 2nd Quarterly Toledo SOUP meal event is no later than 11:59 p.m. on Monday, May 28th, 2012.

For information and details on how to submit, please visit the Submit a Proposal portion of our website.

With questions, comments, media inquiries, to donate, volunteer, or to become a Toledo SOUP sponsor, please email us at ToledoSOUP@gmail.com.

First, a BIG thanks to everyone who made our first SOUP event such a huge success. We well-exceeded our goals in attendance and donations, with more than 150 community members at the event, and $1047 raised!

It was a wonderful event, with great people, delicious food, and five really fantastic proposals. Our top vote-getter was Maxwell Austin of Glass City Pedicabs, a new bicycle taxi service operating in Downtown Toledo, who will use the funds to purchase operating insurance, and new parts for the bikes.

We would also like to thank Tart::Project, the Force Within Community Garden, Glass City Goat Gals, and Toledo’s PetBull’s project for their positivity, community effort, and excellent presentations.

A HUGE thanks goes out to Guest Chef Pam Weirauch of Pam’s Corner for her delicious soup, and for the use of her space, tables, chairs, dishes, and so much else. Be sure to stop into Pam’s soon for lunch or breakfast, www.PamsToledo.com.

Also, big thanks go to Timothy Wright for his tasty, locally-grown squash soup, Amelia Contreras of Egg & Honey for her amazing bread, and Anneliese Grytafey for a delicious salad!

We already can’t wait for our next event. Stay tuned for details.

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Toledo SOUP is a quarterly micro-grant dinner series held in and around Toledo.

Inaugural Toledo SOUP Dinner
Sunday, March 4, 2012
5-9 p.m.
The Davis Building
116 10th Street (between Monroe and Jefferson)
Location of Pam’s Corner, Third Space, Sophie’s Sister and other retailers

Doors at 5:00pm
Proposals presented at 6:00pm
Dinner around 6:30pm

$5 for soup, salad, bread, and a vote!

Toledo SOUP received an astounding 32 submissions for this inaugural event! Out of those, five have been selected to present at the March 4th meal event.

The five finalists are as follows below, in no particular order. After the dinner at the event, those attending will vote, and only one top vote-getter will leave with the funds that evening.

1. tart::projects submitted by Kimberly Adams
   tart::projects is a newly formed organization that is geared towards promoting excellence in the arts. The long term goal of tart::projects is to form a multi-disciplinary artist-in-residency program that would house approximately twenty emerging artists at one time from all over the world with lengths of stays varying. The artist-in-residence program has the potential house more than 250 artists in a year with residencies lasting anywhere from two weeks to six weeks with the average stay being four weeks. Before this can become a reality, tart::projects needs to build in a way so it can sustain. In order to do that, we will be holding a number of events (specifics below) yearly that promote our local artists along with artists in the Midwestern region.

2. Glass City Pedicabs submitted by Maxwell Austin
   Glass City Pedicabs is a bicycle taxi company. The company runs three-wheel bike taxis to transport people. The bikes are non-motorized, fully pedal-powered, and completely “green.” Taxi drivers work for tips only to provide affordable means of transportation to the Downtown, Uptown, and Warehouse District neighborhoods for games, bars, lunch hour, etc.
   

3. Glass City Goat Gals submitted by Elizabeth Harris & Unique Jones
   Glass City Goat Gals vision to start a vegetation management and weed control business. They provide services to public and private landowners. They will be capable of providing services to both small and large properties. The goal is to provide professional, quality, and eco friendly services to the community. The Goat Gals vision is to utilize this business opportunity to as a multi- faceted resource for Toledo.

4. Toledo’s Petbull Project submitted by Cindy Reinsel
   Toledo’s PET Bull Project was founded by a group of dog owners, lovers and trainers in our community with three main goals in mind: to Prevent animal cruelty and dog fighting in our community, to Educate youth on how to treat animals humanely and to stay away from dog fighting, gangs and drugs, and also the advantages of spay and neuter and to Train pets and people on how to become responsible pet owners and good advocates for their breed in our community.

5. Force Within Community Garden submitted by Beth Lewandowski
   The Force Within is a youth group that meets in ONE Village. The youth work to make a better community for themselves and the neighborhood. The group plans to build a community flower garden in a vacant lot at the corner of Lagrange and Bancroft. The youth hope to start the garden and then interest other youth from that area to join them in completing and maintaining the garden. This allows the youth to take pride in their neighborhood.

In addition to the SOUP event, the new music retail and event space in the Davis Building, BeBop Records and Third Space, is offering a special 15% off discount on any purchase. Just mention the Toledo SOUP Special when you check out.