Barn Raising

There has been a litteral barn raising at my homestead and it reminds me of the Amish community near my hometown. My grandparents would take Jon and I there when we were kids. The Amish gave my grandfather a loan to start his business. They are amazing hard working people that cooperatively support one another and view the whole of the community as providing strength for the individual.

That's exactly what I needed in my life. My home project list was as never ending as the rain that prevented me from painting my house all year. We scraped, sanded, power washed but to no avail there wasn't 14 dry days in a row needed for the paint to take. Until the past two weeks, and with a business trip looming, the Butterfield family, my friends Adam, Brandon, and the  neighborhood kids worked 16 hour days knowing the paint on that house is the one thing keeping my refinance from helping to get my grandmother's title off my property as collateral, so that if necessary she can go to a nursing home. (PS. I love my grandmother as much or more than any human being on this planet.)

The house is painted. The estimator comes today. I depart for my business trip in the morning.

Before and after pictures coming when the trim is complete, until then here is a picture from when we started the painting project in February. We had to sand the whole house and replace rotten wood. I've learned so much, including how to run several types of saws, an angle grinder, belt sander, power washer and paint sprayer. I could go Amish or into the labor field if credit unions don't work out. (wink)

The reason why.

Why are we frustrated with many of our elected officials? (Some say a movement is gaining traction to vote long-term representatives out of office.) Why are so many credit unions struggling to survive? Because they are focused on WHAT they are doing instead of WHY! Loyalty comes when people are inspired by WHY you do what you do. Why creates trust beyond the immediate choice, the immediate law written, the immediate rate or loan product you provide. Why we do it conveys who we are that it is our choice to get up in the morning to be the best we can be. For many of us, the best our legislators can be is not just keeping their job by passing another law or spending more money. The best credit unions can be is not just making another loan. Any bank can do that.


I was contemplating this with Scott about why we get up in the morning excited to go to work everyday, building Credit Union Strategic Planning. Why we do it is because we believe the world is a better place with credit unions creating financial opportunity through the realization of the International Operating Principles. How many credit union's even consider the operating principles in their strategic planning? How can you have a plan that isn't defined by why you exist? 


So it is that we came to the logical conclusion:

"Our goal is not to do business with everyone that needs what we do. Our goal is to do business with credit unions that believe in why we do it." 

And that's why our clients are getting $500,000 grants from Harlem NYC to Hawaii and growing loans by 50 percent in a single year. 

This short, inspiring video provides more insight:

Dylan and Jamo: The Community We Create

I'm a geek for community building. How can we love where we live? Make it the community we love to live in...with action.

Dylan and I love to give to and receive help from friends. We also volunteer a bit. The video (see below) is a PSA that featured our family. While we were not the biggest donors, the idea is that if I can give $100 as a single mom, you can too.




YWCA Pierce County "What Can You Do?" from Jason Ganwich on Vimeo.







The YWCA was the first domestic violence shelter in Washington state. Our community is a better place to live with a safe place for women and children to escape domestic abuse.

Trip to Turkey!

I'm honored to share that the Acacia Foundation invited me on behalf of my firm Credit Union Strategic Planning to participate in a cultural trip to Turkey to develop mutual understanding between Turkish and American people. I am deeply moved to visit my second predominantly muslim, democracy to study their economy, culture, history and of course the presence of cooperatives and credit unions.


I learned much during my 2006 trip to Mali, West Africa. It too is a predominantly Muslim nation with a thriving democracy. The role of cooperatives and credit unions there, inspired much of my community development credit union work during the last three years.


We depart for Turkey next month! My passport is ready. 

Over $1 Million in Blessings and Counting

Have you ever had a week so spectacular that your heart won't stop beating out of your chest? That's what is going on up in these parts! It is a mind blowing, miraculous affirmation that living a life of purpose, service and integrity creates both the community we enjoy and the reality we desire.

Sooo what's so mind blowing?  First, my friend Demaris has been praying for her grandson's spinal tumor to stop growing. And miracles occurred this week. Which really got me to thinking about how grateful I am for my son's health and my own.  Dylan celebrated his 11th Birthday this week, which I must say as a mom brings me more joy than any other event, accomplishment or affirmation. If my one success in life was to raise this fine human being, my life would be well spent. God's using my life for more is just the icing on the cake.


And the $1 million in blessings? That is how God is using my life. We, the Credit Union Strategic Planning we, (Melina, Scott and I) are actively inventing programs for credit unions to reduce poverty.  And it is a ton of work and months waiting on the sidelines to hear if our programs are funded. Today we heard.  The US Treasury granted our client, Hawaii First, $457,000! It is the only credit union in the nation to receive a CDFI NACA  grant. That large sum is the full amount we requested in the application they hired us to write. The money will be used to help low income native Hawaiians to move from debt to asset building. This follows on the heels of our client in NYC being one of only two credit unions in the nation that received a CDFI Supplementary Round funding- and ours was the largest. That award was also for $500,000, to help immigrants, the poorest of the poor for three generations to obtain micro-business loans. These two grants along with the others, places our total of funds secured through the US Treasury to deploy to low income people in distressed communities through credit unions well over $1 million in the last two years alone!

That, AND the US Congress is recognizing our separate project The American Debt Relief Challenge on the official House Record for saving consumers over $20 million to date. We've really saved consumers over $20 million. I think of that impact and I'm humbled about the days my insecurity gets the best of me. We all have those days when we are down or tired. What purpose or service is there for us to share and be in integrity with using our life as a gift?

If you ever want to talk about finding your purpose, email me.  I love that conversation. Then lets put action behind it. You can be any you, you want to be.

Such Great Heights

This spring has been beautiful with mist and sunshine producing a rainbow over Tacoma at least once a week, and there is a pot of gold under it, I swear.  Einstein blessed us all with his philosophy, "in adversity there is opportunity." The adversity is nearly a vague memory, even my attachment to it. Now the opportunities that continue to unfold are taking my life to such great heights!

Such Great Heights Top Ten List:

10. Inventing a new exercise regime resulting in my trainer guiding me to beat all of the men at the gym to gain the most lean muscle mass during the Fitness Challenge. My weightlifting and yoga with SkyAnn has become an incredible spiritual practice with affirmations between weight sets like, “I am one with God,” and “I am strong, powerful and focused,” held in warrior two position with an archer movement. This focus has direct application to getting results with my home and work.

9. Amsterdam in August. I am actively pursuing affordable ways to broaden my experience of the world. The planning is paying off. Another consultant offered to do a brief home exchange. Details to come…

8. The guest cabin is finished and officially a revenue stream that produces financial stability with a renter that also enhances my quality of life. My long-time friend, Sam Dollar, friend of both Graef kids and all around good guy is great fun and help to have around. The cabin is there if Grandma ever wants to come live with me. It could also be a future office as Credit Union Strategic Planning continues to grow.

7. Quality family time at Camp Seymour with Dylan, one of the best weeks every with my son. We canoed, climbed a giant rock wall, and made new friends. My co-cabin leader Kelly, ended up becoming one of my dearest friends. She’s from New Zealand and a real kiwi.

 (My camp uniform)

(Dylan smiling on a big canoe.)

 

(My cabin pranksters: We stole the boys' shoes, including Dylan's.)

6. Credit Union Strategic Planning is rocking. The Congressman’s Office called us to offer official Congressional Recognition for the American Debt Relief Challenge. And after adding Scott as our CEO the quality of work continued to exceed expectations. The reward is in the referrals. We will be speaking at the national Community Credit Union Conference as experts on The US Treasury CDFI grants in Boston in October. Landing the largest individual credit union grant from the Obama Administration’s Recovery Act Funds had a little something to do that.

5. Recovered pictures from Africa. After the 2006 World Trade Center Tacoma  Goodwill Mission to Africa debrief at the University of Washington with Congressman Adam Smith, my hard drive deleted my photos. I was bummed. Most of the trip was spent studying poverty reduction and visiting credit unions and cooperatives. A conversation this week with my brother and viola, he had backups the whole time!

4. Paying off debt. It feels good to be complete with my word. Money is just a means to exchange value. I value my word and am being100% complete with my word, beyond legal obligation. (Even paying cheating ex-boyfriend who I don't legally owe money. I did care deeply about him and have the respect to bring closure for myself.)

3. Being a role model for friends who see I made it through a hard time to show them they will get through it too. Two friends have called me on the brink of taking their lives during the last year. Both have thanked me for being there at the critical time, being unwavering in my demand that they deal with it head on, and being so honest about my own challenge last year that they weren’t embarrassed to talk to me. Several other friends have sought assistance with starting their own businesses. It feels good to be a reliable friend.

2. My brother desires to plant another garden this year. Scott and his boys want to help build the fence. Whitney is committed to lead the old concrete removal and I will have a new back yard when we paint the back house to get ready for a refinance. The goal, thank my grandmother for believing in me by getting her name off the loan.

1. I feel like myself again and life is rocking. And with that comes the realization that I am best when I am fully being me. And with that comes the knowledge as a parent to support Dylan fully being himself. 

(Dylan during a recent trip to Washington DC visiting Cousin Simon.)

 

I am motivated to action by my awareness that what holds us in the same place is only what we do not do. And wow I am not in the same place now I was at this time last year. I got rid of all of the negative influences. Took action on every opportunity and am making life the reality I desire to live…

Help Me Be Great

I've been thinking about happiness coming from our way of being- not from what we get from anyone else, not money, or affection or even praise.

My friend Sam Dollar, a phenomenal  graphic designer, volunteered to design these billboards for the Boys and Girls Clubs. I love to take photos and we previously collaborated- so he asked me to volunteer.

In the hour Dylan and I spent with these children asking them what they enjoyed about the Boys & Girls Clubs, snapping the camera to catch that glimmer of excitement in their eye, i really got it. My happiness was in my way of being in that moment. It was spending time with Dylan, contributing to community, listening to the kids talk about their lives. It was helping my friend Sam.