Theresa Winters, the 420th person I’ve met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, has found a simple yet profound way to make a difference.

Theresa is the Dean of the Sydney chapter of The Awesome Foundation, which gives $1,000 no-strings-attached grants to people or groups pursuing impactful projects. Theresa and the other 10 Trustees award one grant per month and fund the grants themselves (by each contributing $100 per month).

Most recently, The Awesome Foundation granted $1,000 to the Old Fitz Theatre to buy photography equipment, hire a photographer and host affordable headshot sessions for creatives. It’s hard to succeed as a creative without high-quality headshots – but the price can be out of reach for emerging actors, artists and musicians. As Theresa said, this grant may contribute to the emergence of the next Cate Blanchett or Nicole Kidman.

Theresa loves the powerful compounding effect that can occur when you give even a modest amount of money to the right recipient at the right time.

For her day job, Theresa works in the Alumni team at University of Technology Sydney, which nurtures a community of over 200,000 former UTS students, through a mix of social events and professional development opportunities.

Theresa is someone whose lived experience has taught her the importance of relationships. She grew up on a farm outside Chicago, spent time studying in the UK, and has lived in New Zealand, Melbourne and, since 2016, Sydney. Wherever she’s gone, she’s had to keep making new friends. This is relatively easy as a child but can be very hard as an adult, when people already have largely fixed social circles.

One way Theresa nurtures her existing relationships is by hosting an annual colour-themed picnic, where guests wear clothing and bring food and drink of a particular colour. The last event had a yellow theme; the next one will be green. What an awesome idea.