Announcing 7 Philly Tech Week 2013 micro-grant recipients

In an effort to help groups in the community host great events they might not otherwise be able to during this year’s Philly Tech Week 2013 presented by AT&T, Technically Philly posted a call for submissions for modest micro-grants in late February.

We received a great response with many wonderful entries, and in the spirit of being inclusive, we attempted to award as many micro-grants as possible. (We sell sponsorships across the week, which helps fund our year-round reporting and community organizing, but we’ve always wanted to be supportive whenever possible.)

There were three simple criteria to apply. The event (a) is able do the most good with the least money, (b) fits in the community and impact spirit of Tech Week and (c) will help fill a gap in showing the wide reach of this technology community.

The 2013 micro-grants (all under $300) will be awarded to the following groups/events:

• Meta Meetup of Meetups: Ahead of bringing a host of technology user groups in the region together so meetup leaders and attendees can know each other and what other meetups are happening. This micro-grant is coming in partnership with our friends at Monetate.
• Hive76 – Ultimate Open House and Expo: demonstrations, DIY instruments, fighting robots, 3d printing, vintage gaming, crafting, jewelry making, impromptu classes & instruction, plus food and libations. This micro-grant is coming in partnership with our friends VisitPhilly.com and their new Philly Homegrown neighborhoods effort. If you didn’t think you had a reason to visit Callowhill above Spring Garden Street, Hive 76 is one.
• Hacks/Hackers Philly, The Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science, and The Hacktory – Balloon Mapping Workshop: work together to build a rig, launch a balloon that will capture images; in the afternoon, the images will be stitched together to make a map.
• Philly Give & Get – Charity Auction: a new event series to connect Philadelphia-area professionals with the community through fun experiences. Charity “date” auctions combine networking with community engagement.
• nvigor – Student Startup Summit: a one-day conference to introduce the Philadelphia startup community to students from the area, featuring speakers Josh Kopelman, Karen Griffith Gryga and the Philly DormRoom Fund investment team.
• The Ruby Workshop – Testing Like a Boss: a test-driven development workshop.
• Signature Red – Building iOS Mobile Apps 101: a how-to workshop where attendees will learn the basics of how to create a mobile app.

Winners have already been alerted and will be able to receive their checks at next week’s Philly Tech Week preview event.

We’re also proudly supporting the Women in Tech Summit, the Robotics Expo and a handful of smaller neighborhood-focused technology events (more on that later).