The Awesome Foundation was definitely an inspiration for ScaleWell. We applied the same mantra of supporting "Awesomeness" to the current entrepreneurial climate in Chicago - lack of recognition, lack of capital, lack of support institutions.
It's amazing what people can do with $1000, and sometimes it is simply needed to inspire and push people in the right direction. I know I personally have a lot of projects that I want to do, but I just don't have the extra money to make them happen today (but they aren't expensive and would just need that extra boost).