2017 was a year of growth for The Facing Project. As we count down the final hours of the year we want to give thanks for all that happened, and to say how much we appreciate all of you who have been a part of the story. Since we’re headquartered in David Letterman’s hometown of Muncie, Indiana, we thought it’d be appropriate to do a Top 10 List of 2017 (in no particular order):
10. Forty new Facing Projects were started covering 16 U.S. states with topics ranging from refugee experiences to the LGBTQ+ community to addiction.
9. Storytellers, writers, actors, and organizers gave over 38,000 hours to build a more understanding and empathetic society. This produced close to 1,000 stories and $917,320 in impact.¹
8. We received our first two grants as an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
7. The Facing Project model was adapted for use in high school classrooms.
6. Our headquarters moved to a new location (but still in Muncie!).
5. We organized the first storytelling festival in our hometown, A Midsummer Night’s Narrative: Stories of Home.
4. We launched our first fundraising campaign, Build Empathy Story-By-Story.
3. A new video was created for the organization.
2. We put together the Thanks For Giving Celebration on Giving Tuesday as a way to give back to all of the organizations who have given so much to us.
1. We began our first corporate project with Principal Financial Global.
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None of this would have been possible without all of the brave individuals who have stepped forward to say they believe in the power of storytelling to create community change. Stories from each project have inspired us to continue the work of connecting people across difference with the belief that it takes a thousand voices to tell a single story.
Thank you for continuing to be a part of the story.
So here’s to 2018 where we have new partnerships and endeavors on the horizon that are too early to announce but exciting nonetheless.
Happy New Year, Friends!
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¹The Independent Sector Releases New Value of Volunteer Time