Living in the interim: an interview with Peg Birk
Birk has unique insights about why change is hard for us and how we can get better at facing it.
Pollen
Pollen is a community comprised of civic-minded connectors who share ideas, career and civic engagement opportunities and peer-to-peer recognition to create positive impact and personal and professional growth for its members.
Pollen is a community comprised of civic-minded connectors who share ideas, career and civic engagement opportunities and peer-to-peer recognition to create positive impact and personal and professional growth for its members.
Facing Failure: Juxtaposition Arts propels forward
DeAnna Cummings, the executive director of Juxtaposition Arts, used a setback as an opportunity to examine her organization’s communications and her leadership style.
Small art: An interview with Minneapolis choreographer Laura Holway
Holway’s story speaks to benefits of taking a pause and scaling down a notch.
How Anu Family Services learned their biggest lesson from a shocking setback
Sometimes innovators succeed, but they also have to be prepared for the possibility of failure.
A new era for executive search with Lars Leafblad and Marcia Ballinger
The civic sector needs a new approach, and these two see a path to reimagining the search process for placing leaders within organizations that do good.
Facing failure: R.T. Rybak and the risks in government innovation
An interview with the former Minneapolis mayor about the role of failure in the process of attempting innovative initiatives.
Dot.Org Awards showcase Minnesota nonprofits at the forefront of technology
The awards promote the cutting-edge work of nonprofit organizations, especially those that use technology in new and different ways to share the stories behind their work.
Rock Star Supply’s rebrand process through the lens of Joseph Campbell’s monomyth
The hero’s journey is universal, and even companies and organizations experience its various stages as they grow and develop.
Jennifer Davis and Tricia Khutoretsky: After artists get the grant
Pollen asked Jennifer and Tricia to describe their relationship to travel, grant funding, and Minnesota’s art.
OTA-Pollen 2014 kick-off tour
Pollen and OTA explored more than 2,200 miles across the Upper Midwest to visit the people who make the region a vibrant and creative place to live, work, and dream.
African Immigrant Services: a culture of community innovation and inclusion
How AIS plans to change the roles of African immigrants and other underrepresented groups in the northwest suburbs of Hennepin County.
Learning to step away: an interview with Eat for Equity’s Emily Torgrimson
Local social innovator Torgrimson shares the experience of loosening her leadership grip at Eat for Equity so the organization could evolve.
An illustrated guide to Art Buddies
For the past 20 years, Art Buddies has been empowering children from low-income families through the joy of art and meaningful one-on-one relationships.
Facing failure: Stories of two candidates who wanted to make a difference
This is the story of two candidates, who in 2012 both ran for their respective city councils. One ended in success and their other ended in failure.
The new philanthropy: Exploring the way society allocates charitable resources
This new philanthropy is characterized by impatience, empiricism, and calculated risk — contradictory yet persistent aspects displayed by this new breed of donors.
Hive mind: Bees inspire community activism
Bridget Mendel rides along with the “Bee Squad,” the Twin Cities’ foremost resource for new beekeepers.
Personal infographics from Give Together Get Together
Pollen brought four talented illustrators to Give to the Max Day’s Give Together Get Together to interview attendees and illustrate a personal infographic.
Facing failure: Shutting down the nonprofit you founded
Kari Kehr on starting, then shuttering, a nonprofit to help single people who were fighting cancer by assisting them with the payment of distracting medical bills.
Member survey results: What Pollen wants
A summary of the intelligent, direct and optimistic ideas from survey results by Pollen members.
Mistakes vs. failures
Facing Failure is a new monthly column at Pollen designed to remove the negative stigma.
