This week, Jim Rivett would have turned 62. Although I never met him, I continue to be inspired by...
We believe in you
Perhaps you have dreamed of a project that would make the world a better place, but worried you...
Theory of Change #5: Shifting the Field
Supporting the microgrant model. We chose to invest in grassroots work and now we know that a small grant placed in the right hands can have tremendous impact.
Theory of Change #4: Inspiring Action
The stories of our changemakers from across the globe are a core part of our theory of change. They inspire action and act as an antidote to apathy.
Theory of Change #3: Inner Transformation
As grassroots service and individual action bloom in the world, we believe it is important that each changemaker cultivates a lush and verdant inner garden, too. This is why we advance the ideas of #heartivism, which is the intersection of heart and activism.
The New Normal
Life before COVID was hurried; overcrowded with overwork, overeating, overscheduling, overthinking… “over” just about everything for a great many people. Perhaps in this great collective pause, we have a moment without those distractions to think about what it would mean to build the kind of “normal” that was worth returning to.
Divorce Your Ego: The Heartivist Response to Racism
What would it mean if we could express our hearts for service in the most authentic way possible? If we could hear truths about our world and heritage without it undermining our self-efficacy? If when we looked at others, we saw a reflection of ourselves?
Theory of Change #2: Capacity, Relationship & Collaboration
It is difficult to stand alone and blaze a trail, the destination to which seems only immediately clear to you. It is far easier to stand in community, toward a shared dream of acting with courage toward a kinder, more compassionate world.
Theory of Change #1: The Power of the Individual
The Pollination Project exists out of this belief in the power and beauty of individuals. Every day, our community chooses an individual whose passion project we collectively uplift with seed funding, capacity-building support, and connectivity.
Heartivism: How to Care Without Being Angry
Heartivism is the intersection of activism and heart, where inner transformation creates the causes and conditions for societal change.
Foundation Giving, or “The Human Anthill”
Ants can assemble themselves into living bridges or rafts to escape a flood. Although they are small, they accomplish a lot by focusing on different things and dividing jobs within the colony. But who decides what job each ant does? Who organizes foraging, or mobilizes defense against predators? Who is in charge? In short, nobody.
Flowing it Forward
To understand flow funding, it first helps to know who makes our funding decisions. Each application we receive is reviewed by at least three “advisors,” which is our term for members of our participatory grantmaking team. The majority of these 100+ volunteers are changemakers whose own work was funded by The Pollination Project in the past.
Animal Welfare in the time of COVID-19
This time of global crisis has led us all to recognize our interconnectedness. However, many are still failing to realize our deep connection to animals.
On being essential, and being “other”
What does it mean to be “essential”? Two weeks before he was assassinated, Dr. Martin Luther King...
Transformational Trust
It was a Monday in early March when I met with Lauren, James, and Carolyn on our executive team. We were starting to see the writing on the wall: COVID-19 was going to fundamentally change the world, to a greater extent than we could have ever imagined. It didn’t make sense to continue “business as usual.” In that meeting, we made a decision: we would pivot all of our focus to supporting frontline grassroots volunteers fighting COVID-19. We never looked back.
First Responders in the Pollination Nation
When you think of first responders, who comes to mind? I would wager that you are picturing lights, sirens, and official vehicles. In the case of disaster relief, you might think of FEMA or the national guard.
I bet you didn’t think about the Cajun Navy.
In the time of COVID-19, who gets to change the world?
In the time of COVID-19, who gets to change the world? In the last two weeks, my team has fielded...