Much of our world is oriented around accumulation of financial capital. Even in the non-profit sector, where our service flows from altruistic intentions, the continuous need for fundraising pulls our work back squarely into the exhausting, unceasing capitalist reality.
In truth, there are many forms of wealth. While it is conceptualized in many different ways, a few examples might be cultural capital, spiritual capital, time capital, attention capital, health capital, social capital… I’m sure you may think of others. Some of these forms of capital are inherently depleting, and some are regenerative. The more money you spend, for example, the less you have; in contrast, spiritual wealth only accumulates as it is shared.
I share this because, at The Pollination Project, we often hear from grassroots volunteer changemakers who have a desire to grow in their service. They may want to hire more people, find an office space, or purchase new equipment so that their missions can flourish. Like most of us, when they think of growth, they primarily think about raising more money.
I mentioned earlier that financial capital is a resource that is not regenerative. Focusing on it alone, I see non-profit leaders reflect this depleting tendency in their own spirits. They burn out, develop an isolating and competitive mindset, or think of the world from a lens of scarcity. Sometimes, this leads them to abandon their missions entirely, or go on drained of the inspiration that got them started.
This is why we created Greenhouse.
An outreach of The Pollination Project, Greenhouse is designed to expand the consciousness of participants in ways that promote connection, community, resilience, and collaboration for grassroots changemakers around the world.
Reflecting our belief that social change requires inner transformation, together we will map the nonprofit ecosystem in ways that explore social capital, material capital, cultural capital, experiential capital, spiritual capital, as well as financial capital.
Greenhouse will unfold over a 6-week virtual program. There will be live events twice a week, and each week will cover one training module through a community call, breakout sessions, regional and/or thematic focus group discussion calls. Each event will be not more than 2 hours long. Conversations and breakout sessions will be facilitated by powerful guests who can engage deeply with participants around their hopes, dreams, and challenges.
Our deep hope is that a beloved community will be built through Greenhouse, and that everyone involved will find new ways to seek and offer multiple forms of support to this community. At the close of the six-weeks cohort, those who want to and have a need for financial support can create a video of their project. The community as a whole can vote on the projects they want to support through a $5,000 Sustainability Grant. There will also be opportunities for Greenhouse participants to travel to Banyan Grove Retreat Center in California for intensive inner work as well as project support.
If this effort speaks to you, I invite you to meet us in the Greenhouse. You can learn more at thepollinationproject.org/greenhouse, or email [email protected].
