Our Blog
The stories behind the grants
“It’s time to stop limiting women’s potential”: Selassie Tay takes on training women to be independent in Ghana
For Selassie, the sight of Grace’s dilapidated house and weary expression was not unfamiliar—as the son of a single mother and brother to two sisters, Selassie knew the heartbreak of this situation well. From his experience with his mother, he also sensed that, despite the bleakness of Grace’s situation, that she wanted—and was capable of—more.
Collective Rising
TPP grantees always connect youth to the programs, projects and visions they hold for a better world. In order for change to last, we must provide alternative perspectives and resources to youth who will grow up believing in themselves, their communities and their...
“Sharing Common Problems”: Uplifting Women Through Economic Empowerment and Education in East Africa
A part of the East Africa Leadership Program Series This year, TPP entered a new stage of its East Africa programming. Focusing specifically on grantmaking to burgeoning community leaders in Kenya and Uganda who have the potential to make real, lasting change,...
Funding Dreams and Empowering the Impoverished in Kenya’s Capital City
A part of the East Africa Leadership Program Series This year, TPP entered a new stage of its East Africa programming. Focusing specifically on grantmaking to burgeoning community leaders in Kenya and Uganda who have the potential to make real, lasting change, TPP and...
“Ensuring That No Woman Is Computer Illiterate”: The Story of Kenyan Women Accomplishing More Than They Ever Thought Possible
A part of the East Africa Leadership Program Series This year, TPP entered a new stage of its East Africa programming. Focusing specifically on grantmaking to burgeoning community leaders in Kenya and Uganda who have the potential to make real, lasting change, TPP and...
Finding Connection in Kikuji: How One Woman Helped Struggling Women Become Business Owners
A part of the East Africa Leadership Program Series This year, TPP entered a new stage of its East Africa programming. Focusing specifically on grantmaking to burgeoning community leaders in Kenya and Uganda who have the potential to make real, lasting change, TPP and...
Five Questions with Peter J. Harris, TPP Grantee & Founder of the Black Man of Happiness Project
I wanted to inspire viewers to see the humanity and vitality of the men. I wanted viewers to join me on my exploration of African American life and history from a refreshing, life-affirming new angle: through the lens of happiness of the men whose survival, let alone joy, has never been a national priority.
Building “Humanity and Brotherhood”: Strengthening Economic Empowerment in East Africa
A part of the East Africa Leadership Program Series This year, TPP entered a new stage of its East Africa programming. Focusing specifically on grantmaking to burgeoning community leaders in Kenya and Uganda who have the potential to make real, lasting change, TPP and...
Grantee News Update: “I don’t want to wait until I’m older”: Ananya Singh Keeps “Greening Forward” Moving
Recently appointed the new CEO of Greening Forward—a NY-based youth environmental sustainability training program—Ananya Singh, 16, represents the socially conscious, modern-day teen: accomplished, ambitious, and ready to change the world.
Celebrating Change
Breakthroughs and transformation can occur independently, but with a united community these transformations are firmly rooted for infinite progression. People need help and guidance throughout the world, and TPP grantees not only provide assistance, but also celebrate...
First Steps: Securing a More Environmentally Sustainable Future for East Africa
A part of the East Africa Leadership Program Series This year, TPP entered a new stage of its East Africa programming. Focusing specifically on grantmaking to burgeoning community leaders in Kenya and Uganda who have the potential to make real, lasting change, TPP and...
News Update: Jo-Anne McArthur’s New “We Animals Media” Website Takes a Journalistic Approach to Telling the Stories of Animals
Today, after years of documenting the plight of animals on all seven continents and authoring two books, McArthur continues to ask the tough questions about how we, as humans, relate to animals through her new venture, We Animals Media.
Elizabeth Agnello and Her “Brave Little Fighters” Know What a Heaven’s For
Elizabeth Agnello couldn’t help but get emotional. She had just received an unexpected check for $2,500 from a local who, despite not having an ill child of his own, believed in the mission of her Buffalo, NY-based non-profit, Brave Little Fighters (BLF).
Believing in People
Believing in people is foundational for us at The Pollination Project. We believe everyone is extraordinary and equipped to build a world of greater compassion, goodness and kindness, in their own unique way.
Shared Confidence
The desire to generate change can not be completed without the boundless trust in others and most importantly, the trust within yourself. TPP grantees hold confidence in their vision and travel through the process of discovery one step at a time. In a world where...
Two TPP Grantees “Go Upstream” to Clean Up Cameroon
Ada Acobta and Linus Ayangwoh Embe both had the goal to clean the ocean of plastic waste. Both of them developed stunningly inventive projects to achieve that goal. Both of them submitted an application for a TPP grant. Both of them live in Cameroon—Ada a mere 26 miles upstream from Linus. Yet, neither of them knew the other existed.
Protecting Our Future Through Present Action
These projects, organizations and intimate communities are radical acts towards redefining old stagnant beliefs, supplying fresh perspectives and spreading uplifting ideas with actionable ways to make a difference.
Ayama Godlove Yuh, Restoring Hope And Creating Sustainable Livelihood Opportunity, Cameroon
The TPP seed grant award for our prison outreach project gave me and my team of volunteers greater motivation for our work and the much needed encouragement for more commitment and dedication toward sharing love and improving the lives of prisoners in Cameroon.Through...
Movies, Personality Tests, and Discovering Our “Why”: A TPP Team Retreat
I want to know what everyone’s favorite movie is,” James West, our Director of Programs, said during lunch on the first day of our recent three-day retreat to Banyan Grove, a Service Space-managed center dedicated to cultivating inner transformation and compassion in Forest Knolls, CA.
Miracles in Motion
TPP works alongside organizations and leaders across the globe. The latest grantees introduced below show that regardless of where we are on the map, world causes trickle or flood into all of our lives. Gender based discrimination that occurs in Malawi is also...
Perfection Is Not the Goal, It’s Action
The greatest lesson I got from this experience is the realization that, while empathy is a beautiful quality, only empathizing with somebody’s pain will drain me, consume me and render me incapable of doing something to help lessen that pain. It’s only when compassion follows that I’m helpful, when I use that empathy as fuel to act.
Finding Zen in Banyan Grove—and Learning How to De-Clutter My “House”
I knew that for about six days, I would be physically quiet (the most physically quiet I had ever been in my life!). I knew that I would sit down and try to focus on my breath for many minutes every day, and that I would probably experience withdrawal symptoms from mindlessly clicking around on my phone.
Creation Comes Full Circle
Serving others can take the form of money, emotional support, counseling, friendship, and education. The forms and methods are nearly infinite, and the resulting impact increases when people create solutions together. TPP supplies grants, belief, and other...
What We Say to Ourselves, We Say to the World
Creating a sense of belonging in our communities and helping others is a purpose and impact we all aspire to achieve, but it is not until we decide to jump in fully, with unshakable tenacity that lives are transformed. The latest TPP Grantees have found the sweet spot...
Collective Change Begins With One
TPP grantees know that every person is a part of the larger whole and it is our individual acts of helping, educating, communicating, welcoming and sharing joy with others that collectively lifts human kind and restores the planet.
Atukunda Eva, Legit Housekeeping And Maintenance Services, Uganda
I appreciate the amazing work you are doing. Your grant has helped make a difference in people's lives. It has helped hopeless women find hope for their future, it has taken children back to school, and it created employment in a country where finding a job is the...