Weaver Awards
Northwest Arkansas 2026
$5000 grants for folks connecting Northwest Arkansas
Some people weave us together. They are the folks most people know and trust, those we count on to get neighbors together when we need to tackle a shared problem or get something done. They welcome everyone and connect us. They are weavers.
You probably are one of them or know a weaver. Let’s recognize and help them get $5,000 and other resources to continue doing their important work. It’s quick and easy.
Applications open April 1, 2026
Who is Eligible?
A local advisory group from Northwest Arkansas will choose twenty weavers to receive $5,000 each. For someone to be considered for an Award they need to:
- Be 18 or older
- Live and serve in Washington or Benton County
- Have a project that helps connect neighbors and fosters relationships between them
- If the project is part of an organization, the organization must have an annual budget below $250,000
- Welcome any neighbor who wants to participate in their initiative
What Makes a Good Nomination for a Weaver Award?
We are looking for folks that get neighbors together to tackle a shared issue in their community. It can be anything from a youth mentorship program to park cleanups to a music program. The project must also welcome anyone who wants to join it and foster relationships between participants.
The folks who received a 2025 NWA Weaver Awards have initiatives that bring neighbors together around food, art, entrepreneurship, storytelling, and mental health, among many others. You can meet all twenty 2025 NWA Weaver Awardees here.
In a small town, tradition helps young people find belonging
Abby Hollis, a 2025 NWA Weaver Awardee, shares how she is bringing her community together around Old-Time Square Dancing.
The Advisors
A local advisory group, made up mainly of Northwest Arkansas community advocates, chooses the Awardees. These are people who know the spirit of the community and its neighborhoods. They care about weaving a strong, inclusive social fabric and they know what it takes.
Kyle Alexander
Community Advocate
Dorothy Cardiel
Community and Veterans Advocate
Deven Daehn
Chief Impact Officer, Granted
Kelly Dundon
Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Community Advocate
Yolanda Fields
Community Advocate
Kristyn Feldman
Weaving NWA, Manager, Local Community Partnerships
Karen Leibowitz
Backroom/Community activist
Sarah Saragusa
Licensed Social Worker; Community Advocate
Giovanni Sarmiento
Sr. Advisor, Office of the Mayor, Rogers
Orson Weems
Nonprofit Executive, Community Advocate
Lisa Bell-Henson
Founder,Whole Health Collective; Holistic Nurse Coach
Meredith Chapuis
CEO, For the Love
Shaden Dowiatt
Weaving NWA, Sr. Associate, Community Engagement
Rhonda Ellis
Certified Workplace Wellbeing Coach
Will Hansen
Founder, The Carpenter Project
April Kennedy
Weaving NWA Associate, Community Engagement
Jason Maxwell
Founder, Flames2Fire
Beatriz Segura
Founder, B Magic Craft Hands & Community Advocate
FAQs
The Weaver Awards recognize 20 people from Benton and Washington counties who are leading efforts in their community to address local needs with $5,000 grants.
The awards are for individuals and small groups doing a project that brings people together, foster relationships with one another, and addresses a shared need in the community. The Awards are not intended for large organizations, though people who work for an organization can apply as long as their organization has an annual budget under $250,000. To get an award, you have to live and work in Washington or Benton County and be 18 or older. You don’t have to be part of a nonprofit organization.
To receive a grant from Weave: The Social Fabric Project, applicants must be able to provide the tax identification number and corresponding physical address of the individual or organization that is applying for the grant
You can recommend a neighbor or community member in less than 10 minutes on this page, starting April 1st, 2026. To nominate someone, you must be 18 and older and live in Benton or Washington County. Once you submit the nomination, the person you are recommending will be notified via email and has to fill out some additional information for their application to be completed. Please let them know that you’ve nominated them for a Weaver Award so they are expecting an email from us.
The application has two parts, the nomination by a neighbor and the application by the aspiring Awardee. Each part can be completed in as little as 30 minutes and you can even submit a video instead of a written application. And when you get an award, you don’t have reports to file. You check in every month with a local NWA community liaison who helps you remove obstacles and complete your project.
No. Anyone can get the award. You don’t have to have a formal organization. Weaver Awards are meant for those who don’t have the time, experience, or resources to apply for traditional grants.
Completed applications with nominations have to be submitted by May 16th, 2026 through the Weaver Awards application website. You can apply or recommend someone at: https://apply.awards.weavers.org.
Send an email to weaverawards@aspeninstitute.org and we’ll respond as soon as possible.
A group of Northwest Arkansas local advisors will review and select the Weaver Awardees. In the meantime, keep in touch with us at https://weavers.org/weaving-nwa/ to stay connected, join a Coffee & Conversations group, attend a weaver skills session, and meet weavers like you from across NWA.
Spread the word by sharing the Awards home page at awards.weavers.org/nwa/ to folks you know and through your social accounts. We make that easy by providing an image and suggested language in this social toolkit linked here.
Contact us at weaverawards@aspeninstitute.org and we’ll be happy to answer them!
Contact Us
If you have questions about the Awards, want to partner, or have issues using this website, let us know. If you want to learn more about weavers across the US, visit weavers.org