Celebrating: One Year of Let's Choose Love Mini-Grants
May 31, 2022 by Wendy B White
The Beginnings of Let’s Choose Love
I started the Let’s Choose Love [LCL] movement at 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 to bring solutions that addressed challenges they were passionate about.
Continuum Consulting Services, the firm I co-founded with Lisa Marie Main more than twenty-five years ago, has supplied the funding to get started. Continuum has always had a commitment to giving back to our communities, and the idea of Let’s Choose Love fits our criteria for giving.
Working with individuals and organizations over the years as a consultant has taught me that there are lots of wonderful people who have great ideas but don’t always know how to translate their ideas into action. Common barriers are often things like not having someone who listens, believes, and champions their ideas; needing to understand how to put structure to their ideas so they can bring them to fruition; and of course, finding money. To ‘bust’ through those barriers, we decided to initiate the Let’s Choose Love Mini-Grant Program to Fund Your Give-Back Dreams. People can apply for up to $1,000. The funds also come with a coach from Continuum Consulting Services, who work with the recipient to ensure the project’s success.
We left the invitation open enough to allow people to apply for grants in any area that really matters to them, whether the topic be children, poverty, the environment, animal welfare or anything else important to them. We wanted applicants to have the freedom to create a project that could make a positive impact in their communities and the world around them.
One-Year Anniversary
On Thursday, May 19, 2022, at the Outdoor Collective in Black Mountain, NC, we celebrated our one-year anniversary. The event featured the release of our new LCL theme song, created by grant recipient Dan Miller. During intermission, we hosted a mini-grant pitch fest and are in the process of awarding eight (8) new grants. The winner that night was a team of three moms with a dream of creating an after-school ‘explorers’ program open to all children in Black Mountain.
Over the past year, Continuum has sponsored eight other Mini-Grant projects. What has surprised me most is the diversity of the ideas presented and the huge impact the grants have made on both the recipients and the communities their project targeted.
Congratulations to our Year One LCL Grant 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, OR
Power of Community Hands – Detroit Horse-Power – Hakeem Weatherspoon – Detroit, MI
Upcycled Headbands – Anti-Human Trafficking – Jennifer Moreau--Casselberry, FL
The Dignity Project – Holiday gifts for the Homeless-- Lauren Silver - Atlanta, GA
Bridging Unicorns – Equine Rescue, Youth Development – Bridgit Wald – Boulder, CO
Let’s Choose Love, the Musical – Spreading love through Music-- Dan Miller, Asheville, NC
What’s YOUR Give Back Dream?
What does this story make you think about? What ideas does it give you for using a small grant where it’s needed? Click here to apply.