We are thrilled to announce that TPP has received funding to provide $1,000 seed grants, plus trainings and networking opportunities, to groups who are working on behalf of animals.
Are you or someone you know working in animal advocacy? Apply today!
We are especially interested in funding groups who are directly working to reduce the consumption of conventionally farmed meat or groups who are focused on farmed animal advocacy.
To give you an idea of some of the projects we’ve funded in the past, here are stories and project descriptions from six incredible grantees who are working on behalf of animals in India, Mexico, and Brazil.
Yeshi Kalsang ~ Vegan Community & Animal Rights Learning Center, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
Yeshi Kalsang became vegan in 2014 when he became aware that the cruelty in the dairy industry is far more horrifying and prolonged than in the meat and poultry industries. He learned this after being a vegetarian for 15 years. Noticing that the vegan community in Dehradun, India, was almost non-existent (with only a handful of people having converted to ethical veganism from a vegetarian diet), he realized that the very active animal activism scene of rescuing cats and dogs in Dehradun needed to be taken to the next level by introducing animal lovers and vegetarians to an alternative lifestyle: ethical veganism. The project comprises building a vegan community center/hub for vegans to watch documentaries and read books related to veganism; participate in gatherings to learn about vegan advocacy; enjoy delicious vegan food at potlucks; attend vegan cooking workshops; and more. The Vegan Community & Animal Rights Learning Center is aimed at bringing the city vegans together on one platform to solidarity among the local vegan community.
Arvind Kannan ~ Tamil Vegan Infotainment, Tamil Nadu, India
Arvind is a dedicated vegan who is making infotainment videos in his mother tongue in order to reach out to his fellow Tamilians to help them choose a cruelty-free lifestyle. His videos are open-sourced and can be viewed and used by anyone who wishes to see them. After saving enough money to fuel his activism for two years, Arvind quit his job and began giving talks about veganism in schools and colleges, and he now also creates and produces these infotainment videos, of which some have already gotten thousands of likes, views, shares, and comments.
Aarón Yanes Franco ~ Jaulas vacías (Empty cages), Sonora, Mexico
Empty cages is an entrepreneurial project in a key area of northern Mexico, initiating activities to raise awareness about the exploitation of animals in one of the places where this action is prevalent. At the same time, this project seeks to educate about veganism.
Paulina Bermúdez Landa ~ Biblioteca Animal (Animal Library), Mexico City, Mexico
La Biblioteca Animal (Animal Library) is an educational project developed by Proyecto Gran Simio México (The Great Ape Project Mexico). Its goal is to become an educational space open to the general public in order to offer them ample and quality knowledge about animals. La Biblioteca Animal’s vision is to cultivate reading habits in people while promoting respect for animals. La Biblioteca Animal contains more than 200 digital and physical books about different subjects. There is also a section containing children’s books. This library provides free information and optimal documentation to learn more about animal issues through books.
Laércio Almeida ~ UAI Tofu, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Laércio Almeida is a vegan activist who is also the son of cattle breeders from a long family tradition of raising animals for food. The self-called “socio-environmental animalistic entrepreneur initiative” UAI Tofu, in its very beginnings, was the tool he created to help make the world a better place for animals by “manufacturing peace and love in the shape of tofu products”, as he likes to say. Based in the traditionally-cheesy state of Minas Gerais (MG), Laércio hopes to challenge the idea that a tofu-based product cannot taste amazing, using the very techniques of cheese seasoning he learned at his family’s farm as a kid.
Sheila Donato ~ Veganismo para Todos, São Paulo, Brazil
For many people living in the massive suburbs of São Paulo – the largest city in the southern hemisphere – veganism still seems like an extraterrestrial thing, not important, very difficult to achieve, expensive, and boring. By holding free workshops focused on cooking, nutrition, and awareness-raising, the grassroots group Mulheres Veganas (Vegan Women) hopes to plant a few seeds in these huge communities, talking from women to women, challenging such preconceived notions and showing that vegan living can be easy and pleasurable, in addition to being healthy and compassionate.