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Welcome to The Raines Foundation

Creating a wiser,
more compassionately
connected world

Step inside. Explore ideas, connect with humanity
and help imagine a better future.

Begin exploring

Explore our departments

Open a door.
Discover a world.

Each department is a place to connect,
learn and explore something meaningful.

Conceptual outdoor philosophy space shaped around nature

01 / Department

Love of wisdom

Philosophy

Enter the department

Conceptual outdoor philanthropy space shaped around nature

02 / Department

Love of humanity

Philanthropy

Enter the department

Conceptual outdoor technology space shaped around nature

03 / Department

Love of creating tools

Technology

Enter the department

Conceptual outdoor exploration space shaped around nature

04 / Department

Love of learning

Exploration

Enter the department

Across the foundation

Stories that move us forward.

The latest ideas, discoveries and stories from our departments.

Aerial view of the Desertas Islands near Madeira in March 2025; geographic context, not a photograph of the current expedition.

Exploration

Around Madeira, cameras and careful comparisons are revealing an ocean worth knowing

New October 19 reporting follows an ongoing expedition around Madeira’s islands. An October 16 account from MARE-Madeira describes surveys linking regional knowledge with new observations—but the voyage is still underway and early findings are not final conclusions.

Generic schematic of an all-solid-state battery with a solid electrolyte; an explanatory illustration, not a NASA SPEARS prototype.

Technology

NASA’s cold-tolerant battery tests show why surviving is different from operating

NASA’s October 14 SPEARS update reports promising solid-state prototype tests. Surviving extreme cold is different from operating there, and the cells remain research technology rather than a consumer product.

Sandwich Tern flying with a lesser sand eel at Brownsea Island in 2023; not the current Pagham Harbour breeding colony.

Philanthropy / Healthy Environment

At Pagham Harbour, a tern colony’s return reflects the patient work of conservation

At least 756 pairs of Sandwich Terns bred at the West Sussex reserve in 2026, according to an RSPB account published in September. Renewed coverage today highlights a recovery built around maintained nesting habitat—not proof that disease risk has disappeared.

NIAID scientific illustration of a sandfly, a vector of leishmaniasis; not a photograph or a specimen from the current outbreak.

Philanthropy / Health and Wellness

New medicine supplies offer support for children facing leishmaniasis in Pakistan

UNICEF announced 75,000 medicine vials for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on October 16. The delivery supports a health-service response; it is not a count of patients treated, and the different forms of leishmaniasis require careful diagnosis and care.

Pomona College’s gates with Pearsons Hall beyond, photographed in 2014; an archival campus view.

Philanthropy / Education Access

Pomona’s access campaign raises a useful question: what does participation really cost?

Pomona College launched its $530 million Originals campaign on October 10, with financial aid among several priorities. Its separate Fall 2026 course-materials initiative offers a concrete example of addressing costs beyond tuition—and of why programme boundaries matter.

Archival photograph of people queuing for bread in Gaza in January 2009; not a current aid distribution.

Philanthropy / Food and Nutrition

Gaza’s new food-aid cuts leave less room for families to get through winter

WFP’s October 19 announcement says funding shortages are reducing assistance in Gaza by around one-third, leaving half a million people without its support. Earlier UN warnings show that the cuts come amid continuing obstacles to food access and winter preparations.

Our purpose

A wiser world.
A more compassionate humanity.
A more peaceful future.

We believe a better future begins with the connections we create — with ourselves, with one another and with the world around us.

We bring people together through education, philanthropy, exploration and practical tools to build a wiser, more compassionate and peaceful world.

Meet the foundation

More ways to explore

The conversation
is just beginning.

01 / Read

News & stories

Updates and perspectives from across the foundation.

Read the latest stories

02 / Listen

Original podcasts

Conversations that make space for new ways of thinking.

Coming soon

03 / Learn

Courses

Learning experiences to deepen curiosity and understanding.

Coming soon

One mission. Two funds.

Fund the projects.
Power the people behind them.

Project Fund

100% for partner projects.

Our model directs 100% of public Project Fund gifts to approved partner project delivery in five areas of human well-being. Foundation salaries and operating costs are funded separately.

Explore the Project Fund ↗

Operations Fund

Make the mission possible.

Help fund our team, technology, partner review, reporting and fundraising. Founding Partners provide the operating support that makes the 100% model possible.

Explore the Operations Fund ↗

Our purpose in action

Ideas become initiatives.

A family of initiatives. A shared commitment to learning, compassion and peaceful connection.

People sharing a conversation around a table in a community garden.

Philanthropy

The Human Family

A philanthropic social network connecting people around the essentials of human well-being and support for charitable partner projects.

Visit The Human Family

A person walking along a rugged coastal trail above the ocean.

Exploration · Philosophy

Peacewalking

A social platform vision connecting people globally through walking for peace, reflection and shared discovery.

Visit Peacewalking

Two entrepreneurs planning a creative business together at a workbench.

Technology

Vision Building

Entrepreneurship education, mentorship, community and practical digital skills for people working to build sustainable livelihoods and strengthen local communities.

Visit Vision Building

A charity team collaborating on a website around a laptop.

Technology · Philanthropy

Charity Spaces

Practical digital tools, learning and website support that help charities communicate their missions and serve their communities.

Visit Charity Spaces

A person reflecting beside an open book at a sunlit window.

Philosophy

Contemplation Center

A platform for philosophical discussion through meditation, mindfulness, prayer and respectful inquiry.

Visit Contemplation Center

An interviewer listening to a community member beside brick buildings.

Exploration · Philanthropy

Humanitarian Explorer

A magazine and podcast exploring humanitarian issues and the individuals working altruistically to improve human wellbeing.

Visit Humanitarian Explorer

How our initiatives fit together

A shared future needs all of us

Be part of
what comes next.

Support a wiser, more compassionate and peaceful world.

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