Our Blog
The stories behind the grants
The Best Advice You’ll Ever Get About TPP Grants (From TPP Grantees Themselves)
Whether you’re a TPP grantee or hope to be one in the future, it’s always helpful to get a little perspective from those that have “been there and done that.”
Positive Perception
How do you identify your individual greatness? Although this can be discovered on one’s own, at TPP, we believe inner transformation is best discovered through communal experience with others. Recognizing the beauty and power in someone else mirrors the power that...
The Pollination Project Partners with Tipping Point Foundation to Further Compassion for All Beings
This month, The Pollination Project (TPP) celebrates its wonderful partnership with Tipping Point Foundation (TPF)!
Environmental Champions
The way TPP grantees engage with our planet is astounding and ever evolving. From organic farming, gardening, rain water harvesting and clean water initiatives, there are infinite ways to heal and develop a community. Although each project below is passionately...
“Change from Within”: 5 Questions for Paul Kronenberg, Co-Founder of kanthari in Kerala, South of India
Paul Kronenberg is the co-founder and co-director of kanthari, an immersive training program that equips participants who have overcome adversity with the techniques, methods, and ideas needed to start up and run effective, relevant social projects all over the world.
Shoshana Akabas Welcomes Refugees in New York through Her Family-Match Program, New Neighbors Clothing Partnership
I want to make sure New York remains a haven for refugees,” says Akabas. “So many people in New York want to help their new neighbors but don’t know how. My initiative forges connections between New Yorkers that might not have otherwise met…
Spreading Magnificence
There are moments in life when our problems feel bigger than our wins. TPP grantees understand that the answer is not hoping the situation disappears, but to hold less faith in the problem and more appreciation in the communities that make life worth living for. This...
Seeing What Others Choose Not To See: Jim Rivett’s Legacy through The Canary Fund
This sentiment of seeing what others overlook—or choose to ignore—is important to Angilello. Last year, Angilello lost his husband, Jim Rivett. In a eulogy written for Rivett by a dear friend…
Existing Magnetism
TPP grantees generate change by utilizing the resources, knowledge and cultural traditions that already exist in communities around the world. They see the beauty in the land and talent within people that can be used to propel communities to new heights. Through...
Renewable Leadership
TPP grantees continuously demonstrate that life struggles can transform into ongoing progression when we utilize the healing powers of our planet, provide people with sustainable hygienic resources, and bring communities back to nature. From community gardens to...
Desire Johnson-Forte Brings the Spirit of Travel to Young Black Men in Oakland through #Passport2Freedom
For Desire Johnson-Forte, travel is the ultimate expression of self-liberation. Especially since, growing up in Oakland, CA, travel of any kind seemed like an unrealistic luxury.
Knowledge Is Power
Education can be taught and received through infinite mediums. TPP grantees unite and educate their communities through art, curated trainings and basic necessities that allow others to fully follow their goals. Whether it is through literature, documentaries or...
“This Project Is for Us All”: How The Pride Candles Project Is Changing the Lives of Sex Workers and LGBTQ Youth in Uganda
Five years ago, Fatumah found out she was HIV positive. She also found out she was again pregnant. Though she had little hope of ever having the opportunity to see her child grow, she continued to attend her prenatal check-ins at the hospital. She also continued her sex work, as she had no other means of supporting herself or her growing family.
Debbie Goncalves Dreams Big for Her Special Needs Actors in TA-DA Productions
“It brought chills to my body and tears to my eyes to know that this program worked for them then and worked for them now,” said Goncalves.
Boundless Opportunity
Having a solid community is one of the most vital assets to our livelihood and forward progression. Being surrounded by people who affirm our strengths, potential and advocate for our human rights can change the outcome of our life experiences. As a child, receiving...
Kansiime Honest Nurtures the Leaders of Tomorrow with Girls to Lead Africa Program
For Kansiime Honest, her life-changing moment was when the Ugandan government passed a policy for universal education.
1,000 Grant Applications and Counting: TPP’s Rock-Star Grant Advisor, Jennie Kay
Jennie Kay isn’t the type of person to give herself props. Here at The Pollination Project, however, we know she deserves them–big time.
The Smithsonian and the Statue: How Sophia Hanson’s “Amazing Women’s Edition Contest” Catapulted Five Young Authors to Success
When Sophia Hanson co-founded the Pennsylvania-based National Youth Foundation, which hosts the only national book contest for kids writing and illustrating books, she could have never imagined…
“My Strength Comes from the Women”: Jenny Nuccio Changes the Lives of Women in Kenya through the Imani Collective
For my women to go from being illiterate to drawing a straight line to creating a finished tote–I remembered their faces. They were so proud of themselves for finishing something…My strength comes from the women…
Individual Ideas Influence Widespread Aspirations
All of our individual life experiences bring special insight and perspectives for how we see the world, and how we add towards collective expansion. The solutions and ideas that TPP grantees bring to their communities are endless and their unique experiences allow for...
“Sport has the power to transform lives”: David Mulo changes the lives of Kenya’s youth through sports and leadership training
“They were my role models, I wanted to become like them, they were the gateway to my life path of sport for social impact. Sport kept me from becoming involved with drugs, alcohol and crime, it gave me a vision towards a better future…” These words from David Mulo...
TPP News Update: Greg Acuna of Planet Earthlings Delivers Tedx Talk in Panaji
One age-old idea that Acuna challenges is that the teaching of kindness must be serious and sacred, and therefore cannot be taught through the use of games. What Acuna has found, though, is that this is absolutely not the case.
“Bridging the Gap”: Eric Chiaga’s Quest to Address Poverty in Cameroon through Sustainable Farming
As a result of his difficult childhood experience, Eric Chiaga had to help take care of his home and siblings and put himself through school. This inspired in him a deep calling to help others in his community escape his family’s fate.
Getting to “Yes”: Top 5 Tips to Increase Your Chances of Receiving Funding from The Pollination Project
Here are Tara Matthews’ Top 5 tips to increase your chances of receiving funding—and getting to that all-important “yes”
Back to Basics
Finding solutions that impact the world, local communities, and us as individuals can initially seem crushingly overwhelming. However, TPP grantees prove that change begins with simply going back to the basics. They use the Earth’s natural resources to allow people to...
“Seeds Are the Foundation of Life”: Five Questions with Soledad Saburido Álvarez, founder of Somos Semilla Seed Library in Mexico
The first time we received the TPP grant in 2015, we carried out programming based as a Mobile Seed Library, and we were able to reach rural communities … especially among groups of women who are running small community gardens. This was our most important jump to be recognized by our community, and we started to believe in our dream.