WeWork Announces 2018 Creator Awards To Be Hosted In San Francisco

Regional Semi-final event to award more than $1 million in funding to creators in the region;  applications now open for Western United States and British Columbia

San Francisco – February 12, 2018 – WeWork – the community company committed to helping people create their life’s work – announced today that applications are now open for the first San Francisco Creator Awards serving the Western United States and British Columbia. Launched last year, the Creator Awards is a global initiative recognizing and rewarding the creators of the world, and includes more than $1 million of available awards per city for individuals and organizations.

Since launching the program in March 2017, WeWork has given away more than $15 million in Creator Awards funding and has received more than 7,000 applications from creators in cities all over the world. To date, there have been 167 winners with more than 170 jobs created at the businesses funded.

The Creator Awards is open to both WeWork members and companies outside of the WeWork network. Applicants are invited to submit for an award in one of four categories:

• The Performing Arts Award: for entertainers and groups with a unique point of view ($18k – $72k awarded)
• The Nonprofit Award: for charitable organizations big and small ($130k – $360k awarded)
• The Business Venture Award: for entrepreneurs and companies with fresh ideas ($130k – $360k awarded)
• Community Giver Award: for those making a difference in their local community ($36k – $130k awarded)

Following a review process, finalists from the region (qualifying states below) will be chosen to present live in front of a panel of judges at the Regional Semi-final event taking place in San Francisco on May 10th. Apply now through April 10th at we.co/creatorawards_sf.

The Creator Awards is intended to acknowledge and empower those who exemplify the WeWork mantra: “Create Your Life’s Work.” A creator is anyone who brings a new idea into the world, pursues a passion, and believes in something greater than oneself. From artists, performers, and educators to entrepreneurs, startups, and nonprofits, creators are making the world a better place every day.

The event will be a celebration of entrepreneurship, innovation, and creativity, with attendees having the opportunity to learn new skills at master classes, shop member products at the pop-up market, and make connections at the job fair. In addition to the pitching, the second half of the evening will feature the announcement of the winners and live musical performances, followed by a celebration into the night.

Since March 2017, WeWork has hosted more than 20,000 attendees across eight Regional Semi-final Creator Awards events around the globe, plus one Global Finals event in New York City in early January 2018. In addition to Mexico City and San Francisco, other Creator Awards events are planned this year in Shanghai, São Paulo, Seoul, London, Berlin, Nashville, and Jerusalem. The winners of the Regional Semi-final events will then be eligible to potentially present at the Global Finals for the chance to win additional funds in January 2019.

The Regional Semi-final application for the San Francisco event is open to entries from the following areas: Alaska, Arizona, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. The application closes April 10th. For a full list of rules and qualifications, visit we.co/creatorawards_sf.

 About WeWork

WeWork’s mission is to give members the space, connections and services they need to create their life’s work, while helping them collaborate with like-minded people who can help their businesses grow and succeed. Founded in 2010 by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey in New York, the company now employs more than 3,800 staff globally. WeWork currently has more than 200 physical locations in 65 cities around the world. WeWork seeks ‘creators’ from all industries and companies big and small to become members, with a suite of WeWork-specific membership benefits in each country and a local staff in each city. More than 20,000 companies and over 175,000 members are now based at a WeWork, with member companies ranging from startups to household names including Delta, IBM, GE, Dropbox, and Samsung. More than 70% of WeWork’s members collaborate with each other and its international locations serve as convenient bases for business travel, enabling a great degree of work flexibility for both multinationals and small-to-medium-sized businesses alike, as well as options for easy expansion into new markets. For more information, visit: www.wework.com.