Our Blog
The stories behind the grants
How 9VT\5 is Opening Doors for Unpublished Writers and Poets in America
Growing up in a family of musicians, Marlon Paine was an artist before he even knew it. Some of his earliest childhood memories are learning how to play the guitar and listening to his father’s friends play music together during the holidays. “I was in my first band...
Time-hive Arena: Can a Card Game Change the Future of Our Climate Crisis?
Giacomo Losio loves the environment. Growing up in a big family in Italy, he credits it with playing an important role in keeping his family close. “Mountains, open grounds, and woods played a pivotal role in helping me develop a strong relationship with my five...
Animal Lover Turned Social Enterprise Founder Improves the Lives of Dogs
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Priyanka Chaudhary moved to Kathmandu, Nepal. Growing up, she cared for several pets in her house and had always wanted to do something for animals but did not know where to start. However, she soon found a reason. While leaving for the...
When Pigs Escape
Animal welfare, rights, protections—which term is best, and how does one define it? The lines get convoluted, and the topic is controversial. Matilda, a postpartum pig, sparked much debate when she made international headlines last year as a commercial farm fugitive....
Greenhouse: Spiritual Capital
The final session of Greenhouse, the community & capacity-building experiment we’ve been embarking on for the last six weeks, was led on Tuesday by Ariel Nessel, co-founder of The Pollination Project. Through guided group meditation, breakout room discussions,...
How Cobblers, Recycled Tires and One, Incredible Idea are Changing Lives
Do cobblers still exist? As R. Senthamarai discovered during the COVID-19 pandemic when she met with an impoverished community of cobblers in the village of Vilvarani of Kalasapakkam Taluk, Tiruvannamalai District, Tamil Nadu, India who had been out of work, the...
Emmanuel Nuvalga: Uplifting Education for All
Emmanuel Nuvalga knew from an early age not to take education for granted. Throughout his school years he faced challenges – from starting primary school later than his peers to difficulty accessing books and materials. He soon realized that he was not the only member...
Experiential Capital: The Value of Experience
This week in Greenhouse, our community came together to explore the idea of Experiential Capital; in other words, the perspectives and knowledge gained from firsthand experiences. In this form of capital, our cohort of grassroots volunteer leaders is undeniably...
Financial Capital: Let’s Keep the Light On
Financial Capital. This one topic has the potential to stir fear in the hearts of changemakers. However, Carolyn Ashworth invited Greenhouse participants to explore this topic through the lens of knowing oneself, knowing others - specifically funders - and knowing how...
Art on Blast: The Little Book With a Big Message
I always know I am conversing with an artist when the word “intention” comes up often. The creation process is the unfoldment of intention, a process Rachel Werner—an artist of various mediums and arts educator & activist—knows well. In 2019, she planted a seed as...
Reflections from the Greenhouse
“Nothing for us without us.” This basic but powerful idea was the underlying foundation behind this week’s Greenhouse sessions, which explored the value of cultural capital along the path of service. Participants talked about the beliefs, assumptions, expectations,...
Using Yoga and Mindfulness to Fight Against Teen Pregnancy in Rwanda
After attending a training about sexual and reproductive health in Nairobi, Emmanuel Dushimimana was inspired to bring change home to Karongi, Rwanda. “In my community, cases of teen pregnancy were surging, and I wondered - how can I contribute to bring about change?”...
Greenhouse: Material Capital & the Art of Giving and Receiving
This week in Greenhouse, our friend Birju Pandya shared his experiences in experimenting with gift culture, seeing the world through a lens of abundance, and designing an intentional life. He joined us in our second week of Greenhouse to talk about “material capital.”...
A Kid to a Ball: Solving Uganda’s Education Crisis
Far removed while deep in a rural village in Central Uganda, Kenneth Oroma—a then Teach for Uganda fellow—passed the time in the evenings by breaking out his ball for the few children that came to school that day. By the end of 2019, just three months into his...
Social Capital: The Beginning of the Greenhouse Experience
“We are a tall tree in a desert allowing everyone to take shade.” - Greenhouse Participants What happens when you bring together an amazing group of heart-centered changemakers to explore the idea of capital and its many forms through powerful conversations...
Butterfly Academy: Art for All
“I want to say thank you for opening my eyes to new things and now, thanks to you, I love writing, drawing, and most of all, I love art. I love all the projects you bring every Wednesday, even though I face some challenges. Love, Kynnedi” (6th grade)One might suppose...
Spotlight on the Arts
“Art is unquestionably one of the purest and highest elements in human happiness. It trains the mind through the eye, and the eye through the mind. As the sun colors flowers, so does art color life.” - John Lubbock, author When I joined TPP in January of 2020, I...
In Her Own Words: An Essay by Greta McClain, Founder of Silent No Longer TN
Every 73 seconds a woman in the United States is raped - that’s more than 400,000 women a year - and less than 1/3 of those assaults are reported. The secret that those survivors carry is wrapped in such fear and shame, it holds the power to destroy lives. As a...
Focus On Health & Wholeness
At The Pollination Project, we think about the word “health” holistically, encompassing physical health, mental health, and inner transformative practice, as well as considering critical elements within the social determinants of what makes someone “healthy.” Over...
Elly Fatehi: Growing a Healthy Environment for Students
Mill Hill Elementary School’s outdoor classroom began as a response to coronavirus guidelines, but it has – quite literally – grown into something much more significant for the community of Fairfield, Connecticut. For Elly Fatehi, the leader of the PTA's Green Team at...
Focus on Human Rights & Dignity
This week, we continue looking in-depth at stories and projects within each of our focus areas. Through our Human Rights & Dignity panel, over the last ten years the community has supported 486 grassroots projects in 84 countries. These projects vary widely, but...
Robin Valenzuela: Assistance to Immigrants in Detention
Robin Valenzuela had spent years researching the intersection of child welfare and immigration enforcement in the U.S. when, in 2016, the election prompted her to take action. “I wanted to do something more than just write about these issues,” she recalls. She started...
Focus on Education
“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.”– SocratesOver the last ten years, The Pollination Project community has funded 1,193 education-focused projects in 97 countries. This remains the area in which we regularly receive the most...
The Leaders Readers Network: supporting equitable education for all
“When teachers and students work authentically together to promote early literacy in communities that are underserved and under-resourced, they can help equalize education for all children.” Chris McGilvery is an educator, connector, and kindness crusader. He...
One Women’s Dedication to Creating an Understanding and Peaceful World
As a widow and mother of three children living in Kenya, Mary Oyier works hard in every area of her life - from family to community - to create a world where people not only understand one another, they care for each other in meaningful ways. After losing an...
Spotlight on Women and Girls
Over the last ten years, The Pollination Project has funded 2,208 woman-led projects, and 848 projects expressly focused on empowerment of women and girls. This work is diverse, unfolding across 77 countries, yet many commonalities emerge in reviewing the stories...