![](\"https:\/\/gophilanthropic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GoPhil_Emblem2016-300x300.png\" "\\"GoPhil_Emblem2016\\"")
<\/span><\/div>We need to pinch ourselves as we recognize that we hosted the first GoPhilanthropic Foundation fundraising event in a loft apartment on a cold night in downtown Rochester, NY, ten years ago. At the end of that evening, we carefully counted generous donations that had been offered to our fledgling project and toasted to having raised our first $5,000 – much more than we had imagined! We couldn\u2019t wait to share the news and grant funds to grassroots partners, whom we could count on one hand at the time.<\/span><\/h3>\nNow with over 40 partner programs and a vibrant community that has raised well over $3Million since that first event, we have made IMAGINING a central part of GoPhil’s DNA.<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\nAs with anything that grows, change is inherent and brings challenges and opportunities to stretch in new ways. GoPhil\u2019s evolution has forced us to be open and flexible and to sway in the wind, yet it has also tested our resolve – to stay strong in the storm.<\/strong> Unbeknownst to us, the past fiscal year would demand just that as the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic took hold both at home and within communities that were already facing difficult odds.<\/span><\/p>\nThis Annual Report documents how we reacted to our most challenging crisis to date, one we hope not to face again, but where strength and resilience were most evident within ourselves and partner programs. Having already shifted from a Co-Founder and volunteer-led organization to a staff-driven model, we were prepared; we could listen, understand and respond to the critical needs of programs in crisis; our community of donors showed overwhelming dedication by extending their support more than ever during a global time of need<\/strong>, and the Board of Directors committed to hiring a Development Director giving GoPhil even further wingspan to fortify our work. All of these collective actions reveal the depth of GoPhil’s commitment to the vision we held in our hearts and minds during our very first days ten years ago – to create a network of partnerships fostering a shared responsibility in solving global issues.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\u2022<\/span> Lydia Dean<\/strong>, GoPhil Co-Founder & Board Chair <\/em>\u2022<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>
As with anything that grows, change is inherent and brings challenges and opportunities to stretch in new ways. GoPhil\u2019s evolution has forced us to be open and flexible and to sway in the wind, yet it has also tested our resolve – to stay strong in the storm.<\/strong> Unbeknownst to us, the past fiscal year would demand just that as the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic took hold both at home and within communities that were already facing difficult odds.<\/span><\/p>\n This Annual Report documents how we reacted to our most challenging crisis to date, one we hope not to face again, but where strength and resilience were most evident within ourselves and partner programs. Having already shifted from a Co-Founder and volunteer-led organization to a staff-driven model, we were prepared; we could listen, understand and respond to the critical needs of programs in crisis; our community of donors showed overwhelming dedication by extending their support more than ever during a global time of need<\/strong>, and the Board of Directors committed to hiring a Development Director giving GoPhil even further wingspan to fortify our work. All of these collective actions reveal the depth of GoPhil’s commitment to the vision we held in our hearts and minds during our very first days ten years ago – to create a network of partnerships fostering a shared responsibility in solving global issues.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u2022<\/span> Lydia Dean<\/strong>, GoPhil Co-Founder & Board Chair <\/em>\u2022<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>