Letter from Executive Director, Kristi Nelson
2018 was a year of stepping up to address the greater hunger in the world for the inspiration and impact our work offers. Our first book - Everyday Gratitude - flew off bookshelves and into a third printing in its first six months. Our first weekend workshop of practice and teaching at Kripalu was larger than expected and received excellent reviews. We expanded our team to include Rose Zonetti who brought passion for growing our community programs and we announced the launch of Gratefulness Gatherings under her leadership. All-in-all, the gifts of gratefulness found their way into more people’s hearts, homes, and lives in 2018 in more ways than ever before. It is clear that grateful living offers deep nourishment that meets real needs and longings. There is always a place for you at the ever-replenishing banquet that is gratefulness. We hope you will continue to join us in this feast for the heart. Kristi
Letter from Board Chair, Kristen Johnson
Building on the last few years, I am thrilled to report that the healthy growth and expanded reach of A Network for Grateful Living has continued and flourished in 2018. Our community has responded to the messages and offerings of gratefulness in an immensely positive way. From the launch of our monthly Grateful Changemakers feature to the introduction of our Gratefulness Gatherings, it is clear to me and our entire Board of Directors that the work we do is serving an ever-expanding community. We are honored to continue bringing the gifts of the great fullness of life to you and the world in the coming year. Thank you for all you do to help make this a journey of love and gratitude. With a grateful heart, Kristen
Accomplishments in 2018
- Publication of Everyday Gratitude: Since its release at our book launch party in Easthampton MA, Everyday Gratitude has sold 26,000 copies. The book is now in its third printing and was named one of the best spiritual books of 2018 by Spirituality & Practice.
- A Year of Gratitude Page-A-Day Calendar: Our 2019 edition sold out of 15,000 copies, we completed the manuscript for our 2020 edition, and we were contracted to create a third edition for 2021 -- very atypical in this market!
- Grateful Changemakers series: Launched in June 2018, this monthly series uplifts and celebrates programs and projects that serve as beacons of gratefulness. Our inspiring array of 2018 Changemakers included Look for the Good Project, Envision Kindness, Musicians for World Harmony, ChangingAging, and Karma Kitchen.
- First “Everyday Gratitude” workshop at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health: Our weekend-long workshop drew nearly 50 participants and was a profound experience for all involved.
- The addition of Rose Zonetti to the Gratefulness Team as our Community Program Coordinator.
- Gratefulness Gatherings: In September, we fulfilled Br. David's dream of launching community-based groups to explore grateful living as an orientation to life. We now have 45 hosts/groups listed in our international directory.
- New eCourses: We added “Gratitude: A Way of Teaching” & “Reclaiming Aliveness: How Great Fullness Can Transform Our World” to our eCourse offerings.
- Poem-a-Month: Our new monthly poem email subscription is delivered to nearly 9,000 subscribers worldwide.
- New Grateful Goods Shop: Launched in time for the holidays, our online store offers grateful goods and supports our continued work.
- Grateful Living Toolkit: In partnership with Storey Publishing, we completed the manuscript for our Grateful Living Toolkit, to be released in 2020.
- Delivered 2 million Word for the Day messages to subscribers.
- Nearly 1 million visitors drew sustenance and found sanctuary at gratefulness.org.
Looking Forward to the Year Ahead
- Guidebook for Grateful Living: We have signed a publishing contract and at long last the book will be completed in 2019 and published in 2020.
- Spirituality & Social Change Symposium: In partnership with UMass Amherst, we will host this summit to explore gratefulness and its potential for social change on September 27th.
- A Year of Gratitude Page-a-Day: We will complete the manuscript for the 2021 edition and release the 2020 edition in time for the holidays.
- Everyday Gratitude Frame-Ups: This new product featuring a frameable selection of quotes from Everyday Gratitude as well as a selection of newly illustrated quotes will be published this coming Fall.
- Gratefulness Gatherings: Gratefulness Gatherings hosts launched their groups in January and will continue every month with a different theme and set of resource offerings provided by the Gratefulness Team.
- Second “Everyday Gratitude” workshop at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health: With the success of our first workshop, we have been invited to host a second on November 8 - 10.
- Podcast: We will launch a podcast in Fall 2019 featuring stories of people who are living "grateful anyhow."
- Website: Working with our partner Briteweb, we will explore refinements to our branding and website in an effort to bring the gifts of grateful living to a wider and more diverse audience.
- Program with Prisoner Express: In partnership with Prisoner Express, this project will engage approximately 200 incarcerated men and women in an exploration of the transformative power of gratefulness. A selection of writing submitted by participants will be published in the Prisoner Express newsletter and on gratefulness.org.
- Continued free seasonal Practice Invitations.
- New eCourse based on our upcoming book exploring the fundamentals of grateful living.
Credits:
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