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

The next in the series of experiential audio pieces from Winters Past: Iceboxes and Endless Chains....

It was my absolute pleasure recently to get a sneak peak showing of ITP Grant Partner and documentary filmmaker Casey Beck's enchanting film, The Organic Life.  The film chronicles a year in the life of a hopeful organic farmer and his skeptical girlfriend and reveals that a changing climate, financial insecurity, demanding physical labor, and corporate agriculture threaten the sustainability of one of the world's most traditional livelihoods in modern-day America. » 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

ITP Grant Partner Casey Beck's documentary film "The Organic Life" will be shown at the 2014 Sonoma International Film Festival followed by national distribution on iTunes, Amazon and GooglePlay.  Read the Sonoma Sun newspaper article here.

An ice yacht is a sailboat on skates that travels 80 miles per hour. They were once the fastest vehicles on the planet.  Winters Past is a project that collects stories of the way that winters used to be, and brings these stories to life with audio soundwalks—meaning they should be heard outside, while walking. Read the full article here.

ITP Grant Partner and film-maker Casey Beck recently shared her journey in the making of her documentary film, The Organic Life:

How was your 1st ITP ‘pause’ grant instrumental in completing your documentary film, The Organic Life, and what transpired during your second "Seeding Possibilities" grant?  
The Pause helped me and the The Organic Life (TOL) team formulate and decide upon the story.  When I started this project, the idea was just to film my boyfriend Austin, an organic farmer, for a year; and then, the story went through a couple of iterations. » Read More

Invoking the Pause is so proud that one of our recent Grant Partners, Joshua S. Fouts, has been selected as the new Executive Director of Bioneers, an organization with whom we share great kinship.

Due to his Invoking the Pause grants, Joshua met with the Ashaninka people, a tribe of indigenous people in the Brazilian Amazon, conducting research to build an app about the impact of climate disruption.  This project helped cement his relationship with Bioneers. » Read More

We are often told to lead with the positive and focus our messages on the positive side of our vision for a better world. We’re in a movement that has a dual purpose of ending the dirty practice of burning waste and building zero waste systems. Systems with positive, transformative benefits for local economies and jobs, resulting in clean air and healthy communities. I’m frequently advised to focus my messages on the positive side of this vision like these sunflowers instead of waste incinerator smokestacks. » Read More