Royal Wedding Fever

04/29 By Leave a Comment

I’ve been an avid royal watcher for many years. My interest truly deepened when Lady Diana Spencer entered the scene. Her mystique, her style, and her charm had me hooked. I’ll admit I awoke at 5 am Pacific Time to watch Prince Charles and Lady Diana’s wedding live. And I’ll certainly awake at 3 am to see the nuptials of Prince William to Kate Middleton.

Prince William and Kate Middleton (BBC America)

I love attending weddings anyway, but a royal wedding, I wouldn’t want to miss that. First of all, they don’t come along that often. Secondly, I like William and Kate. They make an adorable couple and I wish them the love and happiness that eluded William’s parents. As a confirmed romantic, I hope they live happily ever after. But at their wedding I want to see The DRESS, and lots of BLING, and all the PAGEANTRY. It’s been a long year after all and I’d like a little escape about now. By witnessing the wedding celebration it’s a pleasant reaffirmation that fairytales can come true. If you’d rather sleep in, don’t worry; there will be plenty of televised highlights and Web Sites that will cover all the fascinating details.

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Swedish Honeymooners Survive Six Natural Disasters

04/25 By Leave a Comment

Stefan and Erika Svanstrom of Sweden planned a perfect honeymoon… but Mother Nature intervened.  The couple wed on November 27, 2010 and decided to celebrate their wedding on a four-month long honeymoon. With their infant daughter in tow they set off for a 16-country adventure. “Our plan was to get a lot of sun and beach-life early in the trip, and experience nature and culture later in the trip. Some of the destinations were chosen for the diving, as we are both keen to go scuba diving,” Stefan said, “leaving plenty of time to explore.”

Stefan and Erika Svanstrom

The Svanstroms left Stockholm a week after getting married and became stranded for a night in Munich, Germany due to a severe snowstorm, one of Europe’s worst snowstorms. The newlyweds enjoyed China and Thailand, but in Bali, Indonesia, a relentless monsoon kept them indoors for days. Another natural disaster awaited in Cairns, Australia where a catastrophic cyclone forced them to join a group shelter with thousands of people. “Trees were being knocked over and big branches were scattered across the streets,” Stefan said. Once the family arrived in Brisbane, massive flooding had put much of the city underwater. The Svanstroms then narrowly escaped bush fires in Perth.

Moving on, the family arrived in New Zealand, just after the 6.3 quake hit Christchurch on February 22. Their last ordeal was in Tokyo, where they experienced Japan’s largest quake ever recorded and the resulting calamitous tsunami. “The trembling was horrible… we saw roof tiles fly off buildings,” Stefan said. (He also survived the devastating tsunami that hit Southeast Asia in 2004).

The couple said the most emotionally upsetting experience during the trip had been the Japanese earthquake and its consequences. “Oh – we’re very grateful that nothing happened to the family and we think a lot about the people, particularly in Japan,” Erika said.

The Svanstroms returned to Stockholm on March 29, 2011 after an uneventful final stop in China. “Although we’ve had some bad luck, we still have our lives. Our thoughts are with those who couldn’t escape these disasters. In the end, we are very fortunate to be alive,” Stefan said. The family plans to continue their travels in the future. I’m hoping they don’t visit California. : )

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Japan Struck By Massive Quake and Tsunami

03/14 By Leave a Comment

My heart goes out to the people of Japan, and to all those who have loved ones who are still missing. I’ve been blogging about the unfolding disaster on the Fierce Planet web site. The devastating destruction of the 8.9 quake and tsunami has been catastrophic.  So many lives lost and so many still unaccounted for. With aftershocks, fires, and nuclear power plant malfunctions added to the chaos, Japan is in absolute turmoil. Officials are still assessing the damage and sadly the death toll continues to rise.

Japan 2011 Quake and Tsunami (AP) JAY ALABASTER and TODD PITMAN

The USGS reports that more than 124 aftershocks of magnitude 5 or higher have rattled Japan since the big one. Thousands have been evacuated and sent to temporary shelters. I’ve also blogged on my Grant Whisperer web site about Network for Good, the organization accepting online donations for those of you interested in making a contribution to one of the many emergency responders such as the American Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders.

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My Book Is Here!

02/02 By Leave a Comment

I’m excited to announce that my book, Grant Writing 101, has finally arrived! I wrote this book because so many of my friends who volunteer at, or work for, nonprofits would ask me for grant writing advice. While I could offer them a few tips, I realized they needed to know more if their organizations were to have long-term success. With this book I could give them more than advice, secret tips, and encouragement. I could share my guerilla tactics for grantwriting survival. And now any nonprofit or community group can have this knowledge for their organization, too! This guidebook covers all the basics of writing a grant proposal to help nonprofits raise much-needed funds. It takes you step by step and explains terms, gives real world examples, and talks in plain English.

While there’s plenty of advanced tips and techniques for veteran grantwriters, the book is also meant to simplify the grant process for first-timers. Want to know where to begin? Want to know what to do while you’re waiting to hear? I even include what to do if your proposal is rejected, and equally important, what to do if your proposal is approved. Click on the Grant Writing 101 book image to order your copy today. Or stop by your favorite bookstore in person. Pass it on to your favorite charity organization.

My Book Is Here!

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I Met A Maasai Warrior

01/23 By Leave a Comment

I had the honor of meeting a Maasai warrior during his recent visit to Silicon Valley. Sabore Ole Oyie, made an impression on me with his humor, storytelling ability, majestic qualities, and quiet strength.  Enjoying the conversation of our small gathering, I felt in the presence of royalty. He told us about growing up in his village in Kenya, and his mission to preserve the Maasai culture while advocating for the tribal villagers, particularly girls, to receive education.

Sabore, Victoria, and Hellen

Sabore, Victoria, and Hellen

As an ambassador, he helps promote tourism in Kenya and has traveled to Japan, Germany, Czech Republic, Sweden and the United States. However, Sabore continues to live in the traditional ways, including wearing the traditional Maasai clothing, carrying hand-made weapons for hunting and self-defense against lions and elephants, and living in a hut made from sticks and dung.

Sabore brought with him, Hellen, another ambassador of their tribe. They both talked about the importance of education and learning so that their community can be stronger and healthier. Hellen was in the Bay Area raising funds for her charity organization, Asante Africa.

I thought about Sabore and Hellen long after the visit ended.  I was struck by both the simplicity and complexity of their lives.  Their stories had enchanted me but I worried about the tribe’s challenges and wondered what I could do to help.  Spreading the word about Asante Africa and the work this organization does is one way I can make a tiny difference.  Click on the link above and see if you are touched as well.

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Blog Talk Radio Debut!

12/11 By 1 Comment

I wanted to let readers of this blog know that I launched an Internet radio show! You can now find a weekly installment of the Grant Whisperer on Blog Talk Radio!

Who is the Grant Whisperer?

There’s a clue over to your right… under Victoria’s Other Sites.

It’s Me! It’s been fun and exciting to host my own show. You have the option of listening live on Wednesday mornings at 9:30 a.m. pacific standard time, or listening to the recorded program at any time. The Grant Whisperer radio show (and blog) helps community organizations and nonprofits get through these challenging economic times by offering grantwriting advice and tips. Visit the Blog Talk Radio web site to see the Grant Whisperer’s schedule. My debut program on December 1st covered The Three R’s of Grantwriting and this episode is available for you to hear now. Other episodes include:  If Walt Disney Were A Grant Writer. Pass the word on to your friends who work at any community organizations that needs to raise funds.

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What’s Under Your Tree This Christmas?

12/05 By Leave a Comment

As we begin our holiday list making, it’s a good time to remember to add books. No matter the age and interests of those on your gift list, there are no doubt a wide variety of books to choose from. And don’t forget to add books on your own wish list.

The Romance Writers of America (RWA) has officially launched a “Shop Bookstores This Season” campaign, encouraging their members to support bookstores and purchase books this Christmas. According to the RWA web site, “During the excitement of the holiday season, bookstores offer shoppers the perfect opportunity to select some remarkably personal gifts for friends and family.”

I agree that books make a great gift. Each year there are at least a couple of books under my tree. Fiction, non-fiction, children’s, and poetry. This year will be no different for the Johnson household. How about you? Can you add a book or two to your shopping list?

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What I Loved About Elementary School

12/05 By 1 Comment

A couple of years ago, CompassPoint.org took a poll of it’s visitors, asking them to identify what skills they learned in elementary school that they continue to use today, and what features of grade school they wished carried over to adult life. The results were nostalgic:

Of skills most often used in adult life, 50% of respondents said spelling and grammar skills, 28% said learning how to play nice with others, 11% said how to calculate percentages, 6% said how to dodge things coming at you, and 6% said how to stand up for yourself and what you believe in. On which feature of grade school respondents most wished carried over into work life, 59% want recess, 18% want field trips, 6% want bake sales, 6% want slumber parties, 6% liked knowing when your work was finished, and 6% liked the more structured exercises in personal affirmation that took place in school, but that don’t happen in real life.

Field trips and recess—I loved those days. Didn’t you? And I’m surprised only 6% identified ‘like knowing when your work was finished’ as a feature they missed. Today my work seems never to end. Projects just kind of blend into one another to seem like one long project. Only the grantwriting I do has a sense of completion. That is unless I have overlapping deadlines.

(I searched the CompassPoint site to find the poll, but it is no longer there).

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