Pomegranate Center prepares communities for the future.
We think every neighborhood deserves to be full of life and beauty. And every person should have the chance to feel connected to their neighbors and the place they live.
The future depends on our ability to work together to find the best solutions, to use resources wisely, and to learn to see our differences as gifts.
Our unique style of community-building combines a creative approach with effective community planning, broad public participation, hands-on learning and leadership development.
When we work together to strengthen our communities everyone wins — the economy grows, health improves, resources are better used, crime goes down, and people are happier.
Click here to download a map of 20 projects in the Puget Sound area.
We work with communities to imagine, plan and create shared public places designed to encourage social interaction and to build a local sense of identity.
People are hungry to participate – under the right conditions. Pomegranate Center is expert at creating those conditions.
We train community members and civic leaders to inspire and engage others to build stronger, healthier, more connected communities.
The Fellows Training will change the way you think about, and do, community building with proven tools, techniques, stories and strategies. This seven day training includes:
In April 2013, Tully’s and Pomegranate Center turned Butterfly Park into an art-filled space for community gatherings, in partnership with San Diego Foundation, Rokenbok Education Fund, ARTs and Olivewood Gardens. Check out the timelapse of the four day build!
In September 2013, Waterbury residents, together with employees of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (Tully’s parent company) will create a community gathering place in the coffee company’s hometown
The Gathering Grounds™ Art Contest invited artists to submit an original work of art and brief explanation of what community means to them at Facebook.com/TullysCoffee. The winner will be announced Monday, June 3. Stay tuned!
We’ve won a Smart Communities Award!
Our 2010 Dig Fund project – the Washington Park Gathering Place in Walla Walla, Washington – has won a Smart Communities award from Gov. Chris Gregoire. We’ve been recognized in the Smart Partnership category for effective partnerships and significant public participation.
Thanks to our partners: Walla Walla Parks and Recreation Department, Commitment to Community and Sherwood Trust.
After 25 years as a non-profit specializing in community building, we’ve learned a lot. A compilation of resources such as the Building Better Communities Guide, case studies from Multiple Victories, articles, videos, annual reports and more can be found on our Publications and Resources page. If there additional resources you’d like to see on this page, e-mail hannah@pomegranate.org.
Public Space Rangers (PSRs) are professionals with special powers in the art, design, construction and community development fields. Rangers participate in select Pomegranate Center projects in communities-in-need throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
We match your skills with a Pomegranate Center community project that needs your expertise. In exchange, we offer occasional networking and training programs to keep you up-to-date on our community building philosophies and techniques.
Pomegranate Center and Tully’s Coffee® awarded Kimberly Conway, of Northport, Ala. as the winner of the 2011 Taste of Community contest. Kimberly’s community received $100,000 worth of funds, expertise and supplies to help create a gathering space in tornado damaged Tuscaloosa County.
The foundation of Pomegranate Center’s work is collaboration. Here are napkin notes on the subject, collected from writings to myself over the past twenty-five years:
Collaboration is a fluid, interactive state where the parts have power to influence the whole while the whole influences the parts.
In collaboration, teamwork and individual excellence are equally required: as in jazz, the greater the individual virtuosity, the greater team virtuosity.