Our Blog
The stories behind the grants
Ayla Schlosser, Resonate, Albion, CA and Rwanda
Resonate’s project could never have been possible without the early support of individuals and groups like the Pollination Project. The initial funding provided by TPP jumpstarted our fundraising and program efforts, and has made it possible for us to be where we are...
Sharon Lipinski, Change Gangs: Virtual Giving Circle, Loveland, Colorado
Just as important as the money is the vote of confidence that I’m doing something other people think is worthwhile. That means a lot to me, and I promise to go out there and inspire others to be the generous person they want to be and have the impact on the world the...
Megan Lipsett, COPIA Health, Oakland, California
$1,000 is NOT all it takes to start a movement, but it can change the game for someone with enough commitment and heart to tend to it until it flourishes into something much greater.
Laura Lavigne, Happiness Sprinkling Project, Anacortes, Washington
I want to deeply thank The Pollination Project for granting us the funds to do this. To me, this means "forward motion" and the ability to say "yes" to more and more events, to let the movement of the Happiness Sprinkling Project grow without getting in its way, so...
Carrie LeBlanc & Adam Sugalski, Compassion Works International, Henderson, Nevada
In early 2013, The Pollination Project funded a project which enabled us to hold one of the largest circus protests ever conducted in Jacksonville, Florida, and it attracted a lot of attention! We have since created protest groups and have facilitated community-based...
Mary Ann Plummer, The Consoling Place, South Carolina
When a friend shared your link with me last year, I found it difficult to believe that there was such an altruistic organization; it seemed too good to believe. When I finally had enough information to submit for a grant, I found the application steps to be simple,...
Atitwa Vincent, Fortified Staple Flours, Mumias, Kenya
I do appreciate all that you have done to my community that I can’t forget to mention and applaud you for -The people and projects that I have directed towards you almost all are funded and if not are still waiting for positive results from TPP team. That shows much...
Kristina Hulvershorn, Be the Change Workshop, Indianapolis, Indiana
The Pollination Project was the first entity to really believe in this project. It really helped me, too, trust in the promise of this idea. That confidence allowed me to promote the concept, bring in new supporters, and really help it grow. Essentially, receiving...
Monica Brown, Lavender & Neroli, New York, New York
First let me just say how much this grant from The Pollination Project has meant for my business. I’ve gotten so much positive feedback and new interest between the Pollination Project’s Facebook and Twitter, and now with that recent Huffpost article. I am well on my...
Leah Wolf, the Seed House, Conneaut, Ohio
Building the Seed House gave me the opportunity to see how labor intensive projects build more than a building. They build community and social connections. As I worked on this project, I made new friends who wanted to see the experimental building in process and most...
Seed Money Sprouts Change for Tiny NonProfits: CBS Sunday Morning
CBS Sunday Morning- March 23, 2014 The 40-year-old Nessel created a foundation he calls the Pollination Project. Instead of writing a big check to an established charity, he chooses someone just getting started to receive his daily thousand-dollar donation. "One of...
Drive the District, Pollination Project Seed Funds Good Causes
Check out this great article about our work in Drive the District. The Pollination Project, a nonprofit founded by a Dallas-based businessman, is enabling activists to be the change they want to see. “We really want to get behind people and be their cheerleaders,”...
Ari Nessel & The Pollination Project on CBS Dallas A Thousand Dollars A Day
DALLAS (KRLD) – How much of a difference can $1,000 make? For almost 400 organizations around the world, a thousand dollars has been the start of something big. Dallas-based developer and philanthropist Ari Nessel gave away $365,000 in 2013, a thousand dollars at a...
Ari Nessel interviewed by Animal Rights Zone
Ari Nessel was interviewed on AR-Zone, a series of podcasts about animal rights and animal liberation. Listen Now.
The Daily Practice That Changed My Life, Huffington Post
Ari authored this inspiring Huffington Post piece about daily giving. About a year and a half ago I did something that some would say was outrageous. I made a pledge to give away $1K a day to an individual social change-maker, every day, for the rest of my life. This...
Pollinate Good, Janine Francolini, Huffington Post
On the morning after Thanksgiving, I woke up to one email that erased all of the “Black Friday” messages that were bombarding my inbox. The profound words of truth and light from Ari Nessel, the founder of The Pollination Project embodied the authentic essence of our...
Ari Nessel in Green Source DFW
Ari Nessel, Pollination Project founder and President, makes his living as a real estate redeveloper. Check out this article in Green Source DFW about his eco-friendly and mindful approach to his "day job." As a devoted yoga practitioner, Ariel Nessel understands the...
The 21-Day Kindness Challenge
The 21-Day Kindness Challenge launched on September 11th. 98 countries. 6000 people. And a collective tidal wave of good that inspired many — including young rapper-activist “Nimo” Patel at the Gandhi Ashram in India. Nimo wasted no time channeling that inspiration into an infectious music video.
Borgen Magazine: Small Grants Combine to Make Real Change
Borgen Magazine posted an article about our approach to making micro grants. Also profiled in the article is grantee, Ayla Schlosser. "We’ve heard of the big dogs in global philanthropy, those monster pocketbooks that shell out millions and billions of dollars to...
Philanthropy Journal- Permission to Dream
Permission To Dream: Taking the First Steps Towards Social Change Foundations often identify themselves as “grant-makers.” But by being grant-makers, we are also “grant-rejectors.” We love to focus on who and what we fund, often forgetting about all the groups and...
Soul Secret Service: These People are Good!
Thank you Soul Secret Service for this plug about our work! Thank you everybody at The Pollination Project for being so good and helping spread Compassion and just plain ol good vibes throughout the world. You Rock!
Project Backlash: YAY!
Imagine driving down a busy street in a bad mood and seeing a lighthearted happy flash mob holding signs that say, "It's going to be okay." The Happiness Sprinkling Project, one of our most recent grantees, has taken place pop-up style in 20 cities all over the US....
Report from the Plains: A Keystone XL Pilgrimage
This Spring, we funded Shodo Spring, a Zen monk, and a team of people walking from Hardisty, Alberta, Canada to Steele City, Nebraska (the route of the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline/Great Plains section). The Compassionate Earth Walk is in its 16th day and Shodo is...
Pollination Philanthropy: More is More
"Pollination philanthropy focuses on seeding nascent social change projects and passionate and creative leadership. By dividing a large chunk of money into targeted micro-grants, more good work gets funded, and thus has a chance to grow and ultimately blossom in the...
Alissa Hauser on Broad Topics with Laura Nickerson
Alissa Hauser was a guest on LA Talk Radio's Broad Topics show with Laura Nickerson. Click on the June 18, 2013 show to hear the interview.
What it Means to Give Birth to a Dream
Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. -Goethe Laura Weiss was awarded a Pollination Project grant his past winter to build a community garden for refugee populations in Omaha, Nebraska. On her blog, Laura admits...