Hello everyone,
So this morning, after not hearing anything from the grant organization we’d applied to well past the proposed award date, I contacted the Grant Coordinator and asked if a decision had been made. I was both saddened and disheartened to read the following:
Thank you for applying for a grant from (name removed for privacy).
We received an overwhelming response to our call for applications and had a limited amount of funds to disperse. Unfortunately, we are not able to grant your request.
This grant cycle we received over 380 applications with financial requests approximating $3.7 million dollars. We had $150,000 to award.
Though we understand that it is no consolation for the disappointment you must feel at receiving this news, please know that we are actively working to increase the amount of funds we can grant in the future. Our commitment to helping families grow through adoption only becomes stronger with each letter like this that we must send.
We sincerely wish you all the best as you continue your adoption journey.”
For one sad second, I let a wave of disappointment wash over me. For a brief minute, I wanted to cry. Our family was really looking forward to some great news after putting in so much time and effort. I wondered why we had not been chosen. Was our file not compelling enough? Were we not representative of the ideal family. Then, almost as quickly as the thoughts began, other thoughts immediately punched through my psyche. “Grab your Word” came and then “What does the Bible say” came next.
I went to Google and pulled up bible scriptures for the broken hearted and bible scriptures for the disappointed. What bought peace so rapidly was Isaiah 40:28-31
“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
I felt courage and strength course through my veins as I remembered that in all things I am more than a conqueror. I’d contacted several businesses on last Friday asking their help or information on prospective fundraising. I’d waited patiently for responses and hadn’t heard from them. I decided to contact them again.
I started with Sweet Frog. It was an amazing and awesome conversation. The marketing representative had literally pressed send in an answer to my email from last week as I was ringing her phone! We talked and she was so on board with helping. She discussed their traditional method of 25% of a customer’s bill being donated to a given charity, in our case our daughter’s adoption account. How wonderful and exciting! My husband and I need only to choose a date, get the flyers, and disseminate information. Sweet Frog will even post on their website the day of the event. With the size of our church, the social and physical network of friends, family, colleagues, service providers, etc., we should definitely be able to have some impact. Again, ecstatic!
The second business has similar results. This one is a local skating rink which offers two proven methods of fundraising. One included a skate lock-in, the other included ticket sales. I think we will probably do the ticket sales, but I am very encouraged for the suggestions.
We have a long way to go, but I think we will be just fine. God is working things out for us on a grand scale and I am so looking forward to seeing how He works it all out for us.
Stay tuned for dates, pictures, media, etc. I think this is going to be something FANTASTIC!
-WinterMommy
#TeamGiGi
