My second week started off with an incredible opportunity. I spent my first two days at the Columbus Foundation for the Green Funds presentations. I want to thank Dan Sharpe, Vice President of Community Research and Grants Management, for inviting me to this event and to the Green Funds for funding my fellowship at the GIAC.

The Green Funds program is an initiative where an advisory committee, which I had the privilege to observe, allocates a substantial amount of donated money to various nonprofits. These allocations are based on the Green Funds’ mission, which is to enhance the quality of life in Central Ohio by supporting the responsible use of natural resources and ensuring their availability for future generations. Over the course of two days, about 20 nonprofits presented their cases, and I was fascinated by the process of deciding which organizations would receive funding and in what amounts. It was an enlightening experience, and I gained valuable insights into the world of grants and nonprofit funding.

After the Green Funds presentations, I met with Nicole Minadeo, the Communications Director for the Audubon Great Lakes Region. She provided feedback on my press release that I wrote last week, including the addition of a boilerplate, which is a section at the bottom that explains Audubon’s mission. The press release was officially released and I was thrilled to see that it was featured in several news articles, including the Columbus Dispatch.

On Wednesday, I attended the fellows’ biweekly meeting, where I got to hear about the projects my peers have been working on. We also had the pleasure of listening to Erin Scott, Director of Capacity Building and Community Knowledge at the Columbus Foundation. Erin shared her inspirational career journey, emphasizing that career paths are rarely linear and sometimes require taking significant risks.

Returning to GIAC, I had the chance to visit the Linden Community Center to help with the after-camp nature-inspired programming that GIAC hosts every Wednesday during the summer. I led the children on a bird walk and introduced them to the sensory garden, where they got to taste all of the fresh herbs. The dill was a particular favorite because it “tasted like pickles,” and the kids even started putting it on the chips we provided for snack time!

The remainder of the week was busy and productive. I compiled a long list of LGBTQ+ organizations to contact to promote our Pride Bird Walk on June 22nd, created the associated social media post, and helped choose merchandise to giveaway.

Finally, I began working on the sponsorship program for 2025, which is my main objective for the summer. I started brainstorming potential benefits GIAC could offer to sponsors and what to include in the program.