Celebrating One Year of Let’s Choose Love Mini Grants
I started the Let’s Choose Love movement in the beginning of the pandemic. One of the goals was to bring encouragement and new ideas to others in hopes of inspiring positive action. The invitation was for people to leverage their gifts and talents and bring solutions that addressed challenges they were passionate about. We left the invitation open enough so that people could apply for grants in any area that really mattered to them, whether the topic was children, poverty, the environment, animal welfare etc. What project could they do that would make a positive impact in their communities and the world around them?
Working with individuals and organizations over the past 25 years as a consultant has taught me that there are a lot of wonderful people, who have great ideas, but do not always know how to translate their ideas to action. The barriers were often: having someone who listened, believe, and championed their ideas; understanding how to put structure to their ideas so they can bring them to fruition; and of course, money. To bust through those barriers, we decided to initiate the Let’s Choose Love Mini Grant program designed to fund Your Give Back Dreams. People could apply for up to $1,000 grant. The funds also came with a coach from Continuum Consulting Services, who would work with the recipient to ensure that the project was successful.
On Thursday, May 19, 2022, at the Outdoor Collective in Black Mountain, we celebrated our one-year anniversary. The event featured the release of our new LCL theme song by grant recipient, Dan Miller. During intermission, we hosted a mini-grant pitch fest and are in the process of awarding 8 new grants. The winner that night were three moms who have a dream of creating an afterschool explorers program open to all children in Black Mountain.
Over the past year, Continuum has sponsored 8 Mini Grant projects. What has surprised me is the diversity of the ideas that have been presented and the huge impact it has made on both the recipient and the communities their project impacted.
Congratulations to our Year One LCL Recipients!
The Great Watauga River Clean Up - Ted Swartzbaugh – Boone, NC.
Ali’s Cart – Neighborhood activities for kids - Alison Brush – Raleigh, NC
Rachel’s Classroom – Immigrant Health Student Interest Group – Rachel Shore – Portland, Oregon
Power of Community Hands – Detroit Horse-Power – Hakeem Weatherspoon – Detroit, MI
Jennifer Moreau - Upcycled Headbands – Anti-Human Trafficking –Casselberry, FL.
Lauren Silver – The Dignity Project – Holiday gifts for the homeless - Atlanta, GA.
Bridgit Wald – Bridging Unicorns – Equine Rescue, Youth Development – Boulder CO.
Dan Miller – Let’s Choose Love, the Musical – Spreading love through music - Asheville, NC.
What is YOUR Give Back Dream? Click here to apply.
