On the heels of the 3rd Annual Invoking the Pause Grant Partner Gathering, we wish everyone at Bioneers a very Happy 25th Anniversary!!

Maggie Kaplan, Founder/Executive Director ITP & Nina Simons, Co-Founder Bioneers, 2010	ITP 3rd Annual ITP Grant Partner Gathering 10/15/2014
ITP 3rd Annual ITP Grant Partner Gathering 10/15/2014	Joshua Fouts, Executive Director Bioneers at ITP Grant Partner Gathering 10/15/14
Maggie Kaplan; Lisa Micheli, Executive Director, Pepperwood Preserve and Anne Fitzgerald, ITP Advisory Committee 10/15/2014	As You Sow storyboard, ITP Grant Partner Gathering 10/15/2014

is thrilled to announce our Grant Partners for the 2014 grant cycle. We received a record number of applications this year, and definitely had our work cut out for us deciding how to allocate funds among a highly qualified pool of applicants. After a lively discussion and some tough decisions, our Advisory Committee selected five partners to receive Invoking the Pause grants:

•    A New Story to Heal the Earth: Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
•    Breaking Up with Fossil Fuels: As You Sow
•    Raising Our Voices: Convening for Key Environmental Messengers: Environmental Entrepreneurs
•    An Investigation of Fracking in California: Mark Hertsgaard and Holly Kernan 
•    Game for the Caribbean Climate: University of Miami   » Read More

2014 has barely begun, and already it’s full of excitement for Invoking the Pause and our community of partners! We received 36 applications for grants—32 for Invoking the Pause grants from first-time applicants, and four from previous grant partners taking their collaborations in new directions via the Seeding Possibilities program.

This year’s pool brings a diverse blend of people from a multitude of backgrounds: academics, artists, scientists, journalists, students, photographers and healthcare workers are all in the mix. » Read More

It's now been a few months since our October 2013 Grant Partner ("GP") Gathering and I've had a chance to reflect further on some of the themes that emerged from our day together.

These should not be surprising to anyone who has worked with nonprofit organizations, especially grass-root efforts.  The challenges and the tensions are somewhat universal for early stages of organizational growth and development for many activists, artists and other nonprofits as they struggle to "professionalize" their approaches and articulate their relevance to audiences more comfortable with hard data. » Read More

Invoking the Pause is now accepting Grant Applications for 2014.  Please see the Application Process page for details.

Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) is an international alliance that works both against incinerators and for safe, sustainable and just alternatives.  Ananda Tan is GAIA's U.S. and Canada Regional Coordinator and he was recently interviewed by ITP.

ITP: You’ve been an activist on several different issues throughout your career, including forestry, anti-war, agriculture, climate, energy, trade and labor justice. How did your path lead you to become involved with GAIA?

"I first became involved in these issues back in my student days organizing around anti-war activism. » Read More

In reflecting back on our ITP Grant Partner Gathering of a few weeks ago, I am struck by the dynamism of bringing such creative people together for an entire day to learn from each other, to share, and to brainstorm together.  One of the Grant Partners, Joshua Fouts, Executive Director of Science House Foundation, was most inspired by:  "… the collaborative energy and synergy created between the people and ideas that Maggie has curated, invested in and convened in this community that we are building."  He was struck with a sense of wonder at being part of an art project - the sculpture and scaffolding of creative ideas built around my vision. See a short video clip from the day here. » Read More

Heidi Quante of HighWaterLine expresses the merits of 'the pause' at the 2013 ITP Grant Partner Gathering. Watch the video here.

To find humor in tough times is a gift and serves as a potent tool to help cope with stress and unpleasantness, diffuse anger, and provide emotional relief. Our intrinsic desire to laugh motivates us to share humor with others and makes for an easy conduit to start a dialogue, which is why public speakers often use laughter as an icebreaker for a crowd.

We at ITP found our funny bones during our recent Grant Partner Gathering in San Francisco at the TPWWest offices.  Prompted by meeting facilitator Rich Cox, ITP Grant Partners (GPs) participated in an energetic brainstorming session that provided a little comic relief in the face of promoting the alarming message of the effects of our changing climate. » Read More