A Message From Dawn

23 May Lemonade: That Cool Refreshing Drink

I sent this text to my friend Jennifer earlier this week that said, “Two words: High Drate.”  Ok, I was being a bit dramatic. But in my defense, we had just watched the penultimate episode of This is Us. And after a 6-season emotional roller coaster ride, saying our final farewells to the Pearson family (a family that somehow feels like our own family) has not been easy on our hearts, our hydration, or our mascara. Now, don’t worry, no spoilers here. But if you watch and need someone to talk it out with, let’s go to lunch! However, there is one common thread that has been sewn into the show’s tapestry since season one and that one is all about lemonade. Lemonade, that cool refreshing drink. Dr. K delivered the Pearson triplets on the show and he was credited with a quote that he passed on to the Pearson family that always resonated with me, but especially this week. It goes like this:  “Sometimes you have to take the sourest lemon life has to offer and turn it into something resembling lemonade.” That really hit home this week as a huge group of amazing, dedicated, passionate, and capable community leaders attended an...

20 May Board & Committee Member Application

Serving as a board member is one of the most challenging and rewarding of volunteer assignments; especially with a community foundation—we are amazingly complex. So, our team thanks you for considering a position with one of the best non-profit organizations in all of Grant County! While appointment to a board is an honor, board members also have important legal and fiduciary responsibilities. There are three things you'll need to know before you consider serving as a Board Member or Committee Member of the Community Foundation—like a TRIDENT!   [vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="center" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" el_class="center"][vc_column width="1/3"][vc_column_text] 1. Annual Giving: Time, Talent, & Treasure [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/3" el_class="center"][vc_column_text] 2. Legal Responsibilities: Duty of Care, Duty of Loyalty, Duty of Obedience [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/3"][vc_column_text] 3. Business Model: Asset Development, Grantmaking, Community Leadership [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="center" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" el_class="center"][vc_column width="1/3"][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/3" el_class="center"][vc_empty_space height="64px"][button size="medium" target="_self" hover_type="default" text_align="center" text="2022-23 BOARD/COMMITTEE MEMBER APPLICATION" link="https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TNV6QRY"][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/3"][/vc_column][/vc_row]...

12 Jul People Like Us Do Things Like This

The year was 1983. It was the beginning of big things to come, even though I didn’t know it yet.  That was the year that my now-husband, Jerry, and I went to prom together.  Well, technically, not together-together. We double-dated. He went with my friend Janet. I went with his friend Jimmy. And, although it was a memorable night, it wasn’t a great one. Jimmy got pulled over for speeding… and got a ticket—so it sort of ruined the mood. But that evening was just a precursor to 1984—when Jerry and I officially started dating and then later when we had our prom encore (promcore 😂) and went to prom together-together <insert all the heart eyes here>. Several hand-written letters, zip codes, and phone calls stood between that summer and July of 1993, when we finally got married. How did those years seem to move slower than dial-up internet; but somehow the last 28 years flew by quicker than a Jeff Bezos rocket to space?  We’ve traded those long-distance letters for text messages, long road trips to see each other to planting roots and making a home and family. And from selling our plasma to pay the long-distance phone bills for...

15 Jun Hotdurger

Christmas in July happens on the Hallmark Channel, but Christmas in June happens when this mama has both of her boys home and gets to say, “Brown, Party of Four” once again.  As many of you reading this know, once they leave the nest, the times when everyone is all under the same roof again are few and far between.  Our dog, Rocket, is plumb tuckered out.  He has played until he was so exhausted that he fell asleep on the hardwood floor.  We enjoyed several campfires, a few s’mores, and a big family cookout.  God bless my husband for cooking over a hot grill on one of the hottest days we’ve had yet this summer.  By the surprised look on the ‘face’ of the grill, even it was stunned that someone would be standing over a fiery Char-Broil in 90+ degree weather.  But that’s what a man who loves his family does and I love him for it. I had to laugh when I realized that the grill face resembles my own face when I ponder why, in 2021, they still sell packages of 8 hot dog buns yet packages of 10 hot dogs.  Seriously, folks, what kind of conspiracy...

21 Apr Generosity is MARVELous

I love a good rom-com.  Heck, I even love a moderately adequate rom-com—like you’d find on the Hallmark channel any given day of the week.  Sure, Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks are a quality go-to when you need a tried-and-true pick-me-up.  But you can only watch Sleepless in Seattle so many times—the actual number varies from person to person; I might be holding on at about +/-200.  LOL, please don’t judge me. And that’s why Hallmark comes in so handy.  In the winter months, it always snows at the end of a Hallmark movie…just as they kiss. The lighting is just right and it’s so romantic. Of course, it’s the big, white, fluffy snowflakes, too.  None of those snowdrifts are covered in the gray sludge that you might find on an Indiana street in December, February, or even a random April! Quick sidebar:  What the even heck is going on out there anyway?!  I wonder what April snow showers will bring?  Snow flowers? [vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text]   Anyway, the entire 120 minutes of self-care is the classic boy meets girl formula—it’s their hallmark, you might say. The leading lady is always missing something from her life and she’s...

17 Aug Two Letters

Have you ever seen that movie where the slacker boyfriend arrives to pick up the beautiful daughter for a date with his credo tattoo, ‘NO RAGRETS’, emblazoned boldly across his chest like a Happy Birthday banner? The dad takes one look at his daughter’s poor decision-making and says, “No regrets, huh? Not even a single letter?” It’s funny—if it’s not your daughter. Ironically, I thought of this movie scene recently as I read about a more serious concept—the difference between victors and victims. Two letters. In the book, Victors & Victims, author Ken Harrison posits that those who find success and joy in life are those who know who they are and give it versus those who know what they want and take it. Wow. Let that knowledge nugget sink in for a minute. That’s a powerful thought—made even more powerful by a jovial discussion that happened in the CoFo office this past week. You see, there are a couple of teammates in the office who have actually said OUT LOUD, in front of people—as in not secretly—that they’re beginning to like 2020. <<insert GASP here>> For now, these two colleagues shall remain nameless, although I don’t think they’d even mind if I...

29 Apr Mooooove

I’ve always said if someone made a movie about my life that Jimmy Fallon would play my husband and Queen Latifa would play me. Why Queen Latifa? I don’t know really. She just always strikes me as a strong, independent woman, and I love her movies. Why Jimmy Fallon? Because I think he’s hilarious. And Jerry is one of the funniest people I know! If you haven’t watched any of Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show tapings from the comfort of his own home, with his wife representing the entire camera crew and his daughters, Winnie and Franny, stealing the whole show, you’re really missing out. When Winnie and Franny ‘Boo’ during his Tonight Show monologue, your ears could not hear more joyous little giggles. And for some reason, those tiny soprano ‘Boos’ reminded me of another Fallon skit that he did on SNL…back when SNL was still funny. Remember the “Move” skit? This skit took place in an office environment where they were having a bit of technology trouble—we’ve all been there, right? Instead of helping his officemates figure out how to fix their computers, he simply barks out a demanding “Mooooove!”  I’m sure we’ve all met this tech guy before....

27 Jun GIFT VII Community Leadership Planning Grant

The Community Foundation of Grant County received a $75,000 Community Leadership Planning Grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. This grant will deepen the Foundations understanding of the challenges facing Grant County due to our high rate of child poverty, the opportunity to convene key local solution-oriented stakeholders, and both the time and funding to further explore how we can effectively play a leadership role in implementing initiatives—all strategies that enhance the quality of life in Grant County. Lilly Endowment Inc. challenged 94 community foundations across the State of Indiana to become stronger community leaders. This grant will better position Indiana foundations to serve their communities and lead the charge to prioritize the issues they are best positioned to address. This grant is part of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s seventh phase of its Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT) initiative.   The GIFT initiative is part of Lilly Endowment’s grantmaking to strengthen Indiana communities and has been a priority of the Endowment since the first phase of GIFT in 1990.  The initiative’s primary aim is to help Indiana community foundations develop the philanthropic capacity to identify, prioritize, and address local opportunities and challenges. The Planning Grant will give the Community Foundation both the time and money to...