Revision International was born out of the need for solutions that address the root cause of global climate change, resource depletion, and extreme poverty, not the symptoms.

Co-founders Eric Kornacki and Joseph Teipel met at the University of Denver, and developed not only a friendship, but a shared vision for a sustainable and just world. Traveling through Nicaragua together on a service learning project, they were deeply impacted by the environmental degradation, poverty, and economic exploitation that they witnessed. They were also deeply moved by the hospitality, warmth, and humanity of people that were caught in a systematic cycle of poverty and injustice. Through this shared experience, Eric and Joseph began discussing ideas for changing the world by developing relationships with people, and inspiring them to create a movement. These passionate conversations were the beginning seeds of Revision International.

Upon graduation in 2007, Joseph took a job with Americorps building houses for Habitat for Humanity. Eric was offered a job with Teach for America; however, he felt a strong conviction that the threat of climate change was so severe that he couldn't wait, and he decided to take a chance and start his own organization. Starting an organization was only the beginning though; realizing the enormity of the global problem he was tackling, he believed that the solution would have to be equally bold. He turned to Joseph to share his vision: an 18,000 mile bicycle trip from the top of Alaska to the bottom of Argentina to raise awareness about global warming, and to document how local communities were responding the the threat on their livelihood and way of life. Joseph committed on one condition - he wanted to be involved with the nonprofit organization, not just the bike trip.

In defining the organization, they continually gravitated to the prefix 're' which means both 'do again' and 'anew.' Revision embodied the founding belief that we need to revise the elements of society that are at the root cause of our sustainability problems and replace them with a new vision for a better world. They settled on Revision Network as the first name, returning to their vision for a network of relationships, resources, and initiatives that would usher in a sustainable world. Not long after, however, they rebranded the organization as Revision International.
Carrying all of their gear and supplies by bicycle from Alaska to Argentina, was an ambitious feat that only few had accomplished. A journey of such magnitude was exactly what they had in mind to raise awareness about the urgency to take action and change our society to prevent climate change and the destruction and pollution of the planet's ecosystems before reaching a point of no-return. They launched the program as the Revolution Campaign, and not only did they begin training, planning and fundraising, but they began to recruit a group of supporters, many who would later form the first Board of Directors.

Just a few short months before their departure date of August 1st 2008, they submitted their application to the IRS to become a nonprofit organization, and began their final preparations. They launched a media campaign on their final training stint, a 450 mile bike ride across the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, and a fair-well fundraiser, "Push our Pedals," the First Annual Silent Auction for Sustainable Alternatives. Despite their best attempts, they fell short of their fundraising and sponsorship goals, and with the support of the Board, they made the difficult decision to cancel the trip only 3-weeks before their departure.

Money and sponsorship aside, both Eric and Joseph felt that the trip was premature until Revision had developed a grassroots model of change and awareness that was successful. Turning a huge disappointment into a potentially bigger opportunity, they became even more inspired to begin developing an alternative model for a sustainable society right in their backyard of Denver. Their decision was validated days later as they received their tax exempt status from the IRS. Convening the first official Board of Directors meeting in September 2008, a new direction and a new vision for Revision International was born: to develop a grassroots movement of community-driven sustainability projects, while simultaneously creating large-scale awareness and consciousness about both the problem and the solution to our global problems. This would result in a powerful movement inspired and empowered to take action and create a sustainable society, from both the bottom-up and the top-down.

The Board of Directors drafted it's first strategic and operational plan in January 2009, developing a list of issues that they wanted to tackle (see below). The industrial food system was at the top of the list, and using their creativity, innovation, and passion, Revision International created it's very first on-the-ground project, Re:farm Denver. Addressing numerous social, environmental, and economic problems, this program began with the goal of converting household yards into organic vegetable gardens. With a continual lens of social and economic justice, Revision strategically decided to focus on low-income communities in Denver that do not have physical and financial access to healthy, fresh, locally grown, organic food.

In April 2009, they began working with community members and organizations in the West Denver community of Westwood, one of Denver's poorest and most at-risk neighborhoods. Developing a partnership with a community organization called LiveWell Westwood, they formed relationships with 7 families and began to teach and help them grow food for their family. Through word-of-mouth, a local middle school reached out for help to start a community garden, and Revision International agreed, on the condition that the garden would not have individual plots, but would be collectively farmed and the food would be distributed back to the community through weekly farmers markets.

Revision's work quickly gained recognition within the Denver community. The Denver Post ran several articles about their work in Westwood teaching people how to grow food for themselves, and teaching kids positive life skills while learning to enjoy eating fresh fruits and vegetables. Revision's 8,000 ft.² community farm at Kepner Middle School was chosen by the Colorado Department of Agriculture as the media site for it's annual day to promote Colorado Agriculture.

In 2010, Revision received awards from the National Convergence Partnership to use gardening as a violence prevention strategy, the Colorado Department of Agriculture to pilot farmer's markets in food deserts, and LiveWell Westwood. Revision expanded its reach to nearly 40 backyard gardens, hired 3 members from the community as garden outreach and health promoters, planted a 40 fruit tree orchard at Kepner, becoming Denver's first urban orchard, and expanded its food production and distribution model. Because of this incredible growth and impact, the Denver Office of Economic Development, the Denver Office of Strategic Partnership, and the Anschutz Family Foundation awarded grants to further develop this work. Revision also implemented resource management services through community composting and zero-waste management at special events. A highlight amongst all of this success is when the Guatemalan Nobel Peace Price Laureate Rigoberta Menchu Tum visited Revision's community farm at Kepner Middle School and spoke about the inspiration Revision was providing not only this community, but to others around the world.