From the desk of the ceo - spring edition

A SEASON OF GROWTH
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“Spring is the time of plans and projects.”  - Leo Tolstoy
As we joyfully welcome the start of spring, we see a season of rebirth.  The trees begin to bud, the daffodils bloom, and the birds migrate back – the air even carries a fresh scent.  It is a time for new growth.
At the Don Wood Foundation, the Board and Staff are also experiencing the season of spring.  Our Board of Trustees passed our FY2023-2025 Strategic Plan at the March meeting, setting the organization’s direction for the next few years.  Many of these initiatives are just launching, and just like in spring, we will be planting the seeds of future efforts and program development of the Foundation.  We expect these seeds to take root and sprout in the coming months!  Some of these measures include strategies for enhancing awareness-building around advanced manufacturing, scholarships, and entrepreneurism.
Also new to the organization this season is our Grant Workshops program, an endeavor our staff deployed to build relationships with community organizations and enhance our grantmaking program for current and prospective grantees.  We have had a resounding response to the workshops, with the first few sessions in March and April sold out.
These workshops also replicate business practices important to Don Wood during his professional career.  Don believed in building relationships face-to-face and valued human interaction.  We call this the Don-ism “STP³” – this meant “See the People, Show the Product, Sell the Product.”  Don knew that even if the initial meeting did not bring an immediate sale, the rapport built with potential customers, vendors, and suppliers could lead to future business growth.  While the Foundation does not have a “product to sell,” we see our relationship-building with the greater community weaving STP³ into how we conduct business as part of our organizational core values.  The emergence of the Grant Workshops program is one way the Foundation is refreshing business practices in a way that also honors our founder.
“Nothing ever seems impossible in the spring, you know.”  - Lucy Maud Montgomery
            
Laura M. Macknick
President & CEO