As you probably know, we recently received our notification from the IRS that we are officially a 501c3 non-profit organization! This changes our "business" significantly, because now we can apply for grants. Early in the year, I felt very optimistic and applied for our first official grant.
The Cancer League of Colorado is an amazing organization. They are 100% volunteer and have been giving grants and supporting cancer research since 1969! I can't even imagine what the cancer landscape looked like back then. Thank goodness that organizations have been around for that long, without them, we wouldn't be as close to a cure that I hope we are.
I have always heard how hard it is to write a grant, but I never had done one before. All that you have heard is 100% correct - it is super hard to write a grant! I couldn't have done it without an amazing grant-writer-friend of mine. She spent a lot of time with me and she explained a lot of parts that I didn't understand. She helped me to learn how to do it, which made me feel more confident about future grants.
And, I am thrilled to report that we received our grant! We will use this money to get BraveHoods to 2 different summer camps - Camp Wapi Yapi and the Ronald McDonald House's Sky High Hope Camp. These are our biggest "orders" so far and we are getting ready to print this week. I will be so excited to deliver these to the camp staff to distribute to their kids.
So, a great big thank you to the Cancer League of Colorado and we can't wait to win our next grant!