innoFaith is excited to share that as part of Soularize 2021, we will be offering up to $5K in awards for start-ups that are engaging people across lines of faith to address social challenges in their communities.

Meet Sadaf Taimur, mother, PhD student, Dalai Lama Fellow, and passionate advocate, educator, and innovator. Sadaf previously developed a project to address gender discrimination in education in her native Pakistan. Now, she is engaged in action-oriented research on transformative sustainability education, which recently won her a Green Talents Award from Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

As faith communities, we engage in so many essential social service efforts in our communities. It is sacred work to be present to people marginalized by the systems of our societies. It is also sacred work to change those systems. As we serve, we have the opportunity to learn, collect data, spot patterns that can help point to systemic solutions.

Meet Yasmine Arrington, social entrepreneur and so much more. Yasmine started her organization ScholarCHIPS as a junior in high school, turning her own experience into a way to support many other young people. She has won tons of awards and been featured in TeenVogue, Essence, Forbes, the Washington Post, and more. Through university and divinity school, she continued to grow her organization and now runs it full-time. And if that weren’t enough, she also models and hosts a podcast, Millennial Minds.

In April, we hosted a conversation with Henry De Sio, Stephen Lewis, and Rabbi Elan Babchuck about how people and communities of faith can lead in a world of explosive change. One thread that emerged in the conversation was the question of how faith institutions think about success in a changing world. As Elan explained, “The old way has an old set of KPIs [Key Performance Indicators]: budgets, butts [in seats], and and buildings. This puts us in the entertainment industry, not the transformation industry.” So let’s start imagining a different framework, one that helps us position our leadership to bring transformation to an increasingly complex world. What would that look like?

Even before the pandemic abruptly disrupted the entire planet all at once, our world had become a place of constant change and accompanying uncertainty. It’s a new game, different than the one many of us have been taught to play - the one that plotted a linear, generally secure path from education to job to career. And to power, for those with the ambition and privilege to land in positions of leadership. The game has changed, and how we equip ourselves for it is the question at the heart of a new book by Henry De Sio, Changemaker Playbook: The New Physics of Leadership in a World of Explosive Change. Hint: everyone leads.

Meet Rev. Chris Davies, one of our favorite “intrapreneurs,” using her innovation mindset and talents to help renew a faith institution from within. She also created Queer Clergy Trading Cards to celebrate the gifts of queer clergy and support queer and trans youth organizations.

Meet Reem Rahman, passionate mom and systems change expert, one of the folks behind the beautiful changemaking.net resource from Ashoka in our resource library. Reem brings her deep faith, curiosity, and commitment to everything she does, which now includes creating the most compelling homeschool we’ve ever heard of and writing a children’s book.

A new report by the Bridgespan Group, Elevating the Role of Faith-Inspired Impact in the Social Sector, makes a case for bridging secular philanthropy and faith-inspired social impact organizations. The report addresses three myths: 1) that secularism is dominant, 2) that faith-inspired organizations represent only a minor part of the sector, and 3) that faith-inspired organizations are not innovative.

Meet Ian Schiffer, Community Weaver for the Nefesh community, a Dalai Lama Fellow, community organizer, connector, spiritual wrestler, and committed seeker of justice for all people.

As predictable as the events of January 6 should have been, they have forced us to make a choice. And we should all take a deep breath and a hard look at ourselves, as a society and as individuals, before proceeding. …Our institutions remain strong. But what about us? Depending on how we direct it, that fury we feel can drive us either to real change or to civil war. Stepping out of the emotions of the last week (or years) and into a creativity or innovation mindset can help us choose the former. Specifically, if we activate our empathy, loosen our grip on our ideologies, and leverage our assets, we have a real chance at forging new horizons for our democracy in changing times.

In October, Pope Francis published his third encyclical, Fratelli Tutti (Brothers and Sisters All). For those not versed in papal encyclicals, they're significant communications from the Pope on particular aspects of Catholic doctrine, though they may speak to a broader audience than just Catholics. This Pope’s previous encyclical, Laudato si’, is a widely-read, profound, and pioneering statement on the ravages of climate change and our need to act, which has inspired numerous new initiatives and collaborations.

But an encyclical about brotherhood honestly sounded a little mundane to me. I sat back and started skimming, expecting a prophetic but predictable exhortation to love and neighborliness. By the end, I was quite literally at the edge of my seat, reading and re-reading portions. This wasn't prophetic, it was something better: real, relevant and actionable.

Meet Mark Basnage, educator, innovator, and founder of MakeKnowledge. Mark is perpetually pushing the boundaries of what education can and should be. He inspires us to imagine education that is more inclusive and relevant, and where learning means being engaged in positive change.

In September, the Fetzer Institute published What Does Spirituality Mean to Us? A Study of Spirituality in the United States, a fascinating snapshot of spirituality across the country and its relationship to community and civic action. One of the most interesting takeaways from the study is that while it shows a strong correlation between spirituality and pro-social action, fewer people explicitly make a connection between the two in their own lives.

Meet Vipin Thekk, Senior Director at Ashoka and amazingly curious, spiritual, reflective, and energetic human. From Krishna to Integral Theory to evolution to the Bodhisattva vow, buckle up for this one, folks. We can always count on Vipin to take us on a stimulating ride through head, heart, and spirit.

Meet Evan Taylor, incoming divinity student at Wesley Theological Seminary, lay leader in youth and young adult ministry, designer, and perpetual creator and change-maker. Evan is always up to something, usually many things, to actively live out her faith in the community. We were lucky to collaborate with her as co-creator, facilitator, and design thinking teacher for our Interfaith Youth Innovators Summit earlier this year.

Over the past week, the world has bid farewell to civil rights icon U.S. Congressman John Lewis, with all the grandeur his life and legacy deserve. A final journey across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. A procession through DC’s Black Lives Matter Plaza. The first Black lawmaker to lie in state in the Capitol. And a whole lot of talk of “good trouble,” Lewis’s own mantra and his parting advice to a new generation of activists. John Lewis will forever be remembered for his awe-inspiring life of service and leadership in pursuit of justice and equality. But let’s also remember him as “the boy from Troy.”

Meet Bela Shah, former director of the Dalai Lama Fellows program, social impact professional, and coach. Bela’s mindfulness-rooted journey has recently led her to find passion and purpose in coaching. Changing the world is difficult work, and we could all use a guide. We’re glad Bela is bringing her experience and compassion to supporting other leaders along their own inner and outer journeys.

George Floyd’s agonizing death at the knee of a Minneapolis police officer has galvanized a diverse coalition of people, organizations, companies across the country who are saying “enough is enough.” But let’s be honest, enough was enough a long time ago for our Black sisters and brothers and should have been for all of us. … We definitely have deep inner spiritual work to do. Likewise, we must name injustice and proclaim a different way. And as a systemic problem, racism also requires us to problem-solve.

They say a crisis reveals who you really are. And sometimes, we don’t like what we see. This might be the case for faith institutions in the current crisis. We should hope that it is.