Changes

Hello to our members and to the national community at large!  2023 was a year of achievement for Changes, after two years spent revitalizing and refreshing our brand as well as adapting our processes and practices to a fully online presence.  Here’s a short recap of 2023 achievements:

• We greatly expanded our outreach efforts and formal presence at addiction and parenting-related events, particularly in Utah. This represents a major rebound from the COVID period.
• We exceeded our annual fundraising goal, for which we are extremely grateful. So many nonprofits have struggled and even disappeared in the COVID and post-COVID period. 
• We consolidated and streamlined our new member orientation process, which has significantly reduced the time from a new call into our intake line to active support of a new member.
• We undertook our first-ever advertising efforts, starting with a print ad in Seattle’s Child Magazine’s Family Resource Guide, and continuing with Facebook advertising and Google search advertising. This is a totally new motion for us, so there’s still a lot for us to learn. 
• We sponsored and conducted presentations by nationally-recognized authors and made them available to the general public. This is something we hope to increase in the future. 
• Some of our members were interviewed on podcasts and shared their personal experiences with Changes.

2023 was not without its challenges, however.  Our biggest challenge has been to secure a roster of new volunteers to replace those that have been long in role and tenure.  We are an entirely volunteer-led and run organization, so this is our lifeblood.  To that end, we’ve streamlined and consolidated volunteer roles.  I personally find great inspiration in the story of one of our co-founders, Dennis Dudder, who is still active in Changes today – 28 years after he helped create the organization.  Dennis is profiled in our latest annual report, linked below.    

           – Karen Gustafson, Changes Board President