Polak Fund Stirs the Pot

Want to know what’s percolating with the Paul Polak Innovation Fund? The fund provides grants to test and implement our locally-led solutions, including two grants already awarded this year.

The first reflects an evolution of an existing partnership between iDE and Denver, Colorado’s Queen City Collective Coffee. Together, they’re creating a more equitable supply chain that respects coffee farmers, enabling them to build a sustainable and profitable future for their farms and families. This expansion, Blockchain Coffee Beans, lets consumers follow the journey of where their coffee is picked and by who, tracing its path as it transforms from cherries to beans.

The second grant funds Fecal Sludge Management solutions in Nepal. With this grant, research is underway to determine the use and status of toilets in rural Nepal households, the conditions of pits and pit-emptying processes, as well as options to maintain them going forward. This grant aligns with the United Nations’ goal to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

With your help, funding available through the Paul Polak Innovation Fund results in products and ideas that directly benefit children and families around the world who live in poverty.