no thank YOU

Think of your favourite award acceptance speech. I have a few, and they’re all Olivia Coleman. I can’t tell whether she’s laughing or crying or both. I think it’s both. That’s what makes them so good.  

Getting an award is a big deal. It means somebody thinks you’re doing a good job and wants you to keep it up. For 20 years, the innocent foundation has been receiving an award from the good people of innocent drinks in the form of a grant from their profits, to pass on to non-profits with brave, bold ideas to end hunger. It’s as much fun to give an award as to get one, believe you me.  

Along the way, we’ve been able to award funds to so many dedicated teams and inspiring leaders. They’re really nice, polite humans who always thank us, but really it should be the other way around. As a donor, you get to see how different teams in different places are tackling the same problem with vigour, cleverness and focused determination. It’s a thrill. We’ve been doing this for 20 years now and, you know what? It never gets old. 

We’ve had the good fortune and good timing to build partnerships with some great teams before other, much bigger, donors started taking notice. The Aga Khan agronomy team tested out the Zanatany Rice Intensification System with the help of a grant from the innocent foundation, before receiving an award from the European Commission to scale it across Madagascar’s central plateau. Now they’re taking the idea to India, where its impact could be even bigger. We were so pleased to hear that Semilla Nueva had received an award from USAID to take their nutritious, resilient maize (which already makes up 8% of maize sales in Guatemala) to an even greater scale.  

We’ve also had the privilege of working with some award-winning individuals. Mike Hands is a soil chemist and Cambridge alum and winner of the Organic Farming Innovation Award. He was listed as one of the Guardian’s top 100 ecological campaigners of all time in 2006 for his work to improve soil fertility with the nitrogen-fixing inga tree—an alternative to slash-and-burn agriculture. In 2012, the innocent foundation worked with Mike’s Inga Foundation to support 1,080 people in Honduras. 

Brian Fisher, entomologist and general nice guy, is also pretty smart. He’s a Fulbright Scholar and has awards from the Macarthur Foundation and the National Geographic Society. With support from the foundation, he’s working with a team of Malagasy scientists at the Madagascar Biodiversity Centre, including Harifetra J and Malalatiana A. They’re figuring out how to grow protein-rich crickets more quickly, to be added in powder form to emergency aid food for 12,000 people. Off-putting? We’ve tasted it, and turns out it’s got a delicious, nutty flavour. Great work, Brian and team.  

The difference between an innocent foundation award and other kinds is that there’s only one person holding something like an Oscar. When it comes to ending hunger, it takes a team to get the best work done. We couldn’t have asked for a better one.   

As Olivia Coleman said at the 2019 Oscars (read with feeling), “It’s got my name on it, but we can scratch in some other names.” Thank you to innocent drinks, and to our incomparable partners. Sniff.  

To celebrate the innocent foundation’s 20th birthday, we’re looking back at all the stories—big and small—that add up to our great big dream of a world without hunger.  

From our modest projects to the many, many individuals who will be better off as those projects grow, every one counts. Follow the link for more on our #EveryOneCounts campaign, www.innocentfoundation.org/every-one-counts.