SOUP COVID UPDATE
Unfortunately, there is no safe way for us to physically bring people together at a SOUP event in 2020.
SOUP is more than a micro-granting dinner celebrating and supporting creative projects in and around Bentonville. We exist to promote community-based development through crowdfunding, creativity, collaboration, democracy, trust, and fun. We plan to use this time when we can’t get together to promote and publicize other groups providing services and resources to the community.
In this socially distant election year, we have also decided to improve voter education and participation throughout Benton County. SOUP microgrants create a community impact that far outpaces your individual contribution. Likewise, participating in local elections, either as a candidate or a voter, intimately impacts the health and wellbeing of your family, friends, and our community-at-large.
In the weeks and months leading up to the November election, we will produce a voter guide for Benton County. It will include the names, photos when we can get them, and position statements for all city, county, state, and national candidates as well as easily understandable descriptions for state ballot initiatives.
Watch our social media channels in the coming months for community news and info related to the voter guide. We’ll publish it on the SOUP web site when it’s ready.
With an abundance of social distancing, mask-wearing, and hopefully a vaccine in early 2021, we will see you next year when we can meet up again to share some SOUP.
HOW IT WORKS
(When we're not in a pandemic.)
$10 gets you food, a drink, and a vote.
Each presenter has 4 minutes to share their idea.
Audience members can ask each presenter up to 4 questions after their presentation.
After discussing over dinner, audience members then vote on what project they think benefits the city/their neighborhood the most.
Whichever presenter gets the most votes wins all the money collected at the door!