I’ve made it a personal practice, at year-end, to spend time thinking about the gratitude, regard, and appreciation I have for the people and organizations that have had an impact on me personally, and on GrantStation. Over the past two years this time of reflection has become especially meaningful.
We as a country, a people, and a world are exhausted. We continue to struggle to adjust to a reality that has been permanently altered by the coronavirus. The pandemic exacerbated inequality, division, extremism, isolation, economic disaster, and grief—grief for the people, homes, livelihoods, and hope lost to its inexorable march across the globe. And while we appear to be reaching a point of general public health, the changes wrought by this crisis exist under an overarching miasma of continued turmoil.
Our sector—nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, libraries, healthcare organizations, and those who serve them—were among the earliest and most deeply affected groups. Finding new ways to function as an organization, provide services, educate our youth, and meet the needs of our communities while implementing safe and socially distant processes is ever-changing, frustrating, and difficult. Many of us continue to struggle with illness or its aftermath, depression, and financial hardships, while still doing our best to meet the needs of those within our mission focus.
I share this annual reflection on appreciation in a spirit of gratitude, acceptance, and peace. Please join me in pausing to reflect on your own positive interactions over the past twelve months—I promise that you will feel better for having done so.
In Appreciation
GS Members:
There are over 15,000 individual Members of GrantStation. All of these organizations and grant professionals strive, every day, to better our world through their passion for their mission. I am thankful to serve our Members by offering them the opportunity to identify potential funding sources for their programs, as well as resources to mentor them through the grantseeking process. Our Members inspire me.
Our Partners:
I appreciate the high standards and integrity of our partners. These organizations, businesses, and people are all devoted to making the world a better place and are a joy to work with.
Our Premium Licensing Partners represent over 45,000 organizations and individuals active in the nonprofit sector. They provide full access to GrantStation to their members, and we at GrantStation are honored to work with them.
Our 60+ Membership Value Partners represent tens of thousands of organizations active in the nonprofit sector. They offer full access to GrantStation to their members at a greatly reduced price, and we at GrantStation are thrilled to be able to support them in offering this member benefit.
Our myriad expert Online Education presenters are driven to provide the nonprofit sector with access to skills and knowledge that will improve personal development and organizational success.
Our Community Partners, including The Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA), Blue Avocado, Giving Payroll, Gladitood, Good360, The NonProfit Times, TechSoup, and The Grantsmanship Center are all organizations dedicated to the health and development of the nonprofit sector and those organizations and individuals who work within the sector. GrantStation greatly values these relationships, as do I.
GrantStation, Company and Staff:
GrantStation was literally born in a cabin in Alaska with no running water or plumbing and, 22 years later, has grown into an internationally recognized service provider.
The GrantStation mission is “We are dedicated to creating a civil society by assisting the nonprofit sector in its quest to build healthy and effective communities.” I am grateful to have the opportunity to work in a company that actively chooses to be helpful to others. I keep a notation on my calendar, “daily act of kindness”; GrantStation’s corporate culture enables and supports individual actions for the greater good.
This attitude starts at the top with Cynthia Adams, GrantStation’s Founder and CEO. Her life's work has been to level the playing field, creating opportunities for all nonprofit organizations, regardless of size or geographic location, to secure the funds they need to do their good work.
And our staff members—located from Alaska to Spain—are equally dedicated to fulfilling that mission, both personally and professionally. My coworkers are smart, engaged, hardworking, and filled with a “can do” attitude. They have amazing backgrounds—indeed, we are a bunch of “do gooders.” We at GrantStation are active volunteers and board members in our own communities, and around the world—and our grassroots involvement with nonprofit organizations and government entities helps us relate to the needs of our Members.
Technology:
Much of GrantStation’s success comes from embracing technology. GrantStation is an online Membership that gives organizations the resources to 1) win their share of grant funding by identifying new grant opportunities in our databases, 2) build a strong grants strategy with our planning tools, and 3) write powerful proposals with our step-by-step tutorials. Our business model did not exist 25 or 30 years ago. Technology also enables us to be a cloud company, with no physical offices. Our staff is not geographically limited, so we can ensure the best fit for a role within the company.
Personally:
I am grateful for family, friends, and our four dogs. My husband and I have navigated to a different lifestyle as he recovers from serious health issues. We are entering the bittersweet twilight years for two of our four dogs; they are old girls, 15 and 16 years of age. My involvement as a board member emeritus of Music for Everyone continues, as does my support of A Tail to Tell Puppy Mill Rescue. Happily, my work with GrantStation enables me to see the very best in people as they, individually and through their organizations, work to improve lives, communities, the environment, and the world. I will endeavor, as always, to function at home and at work through a lens of kindness, patience, and understanding.
Thank You:
With gratitude, regard, and appreciation, I thank you for being my inspiration, and for your contributions to the nonprofit sector, and wish you a very Happy New Year.