With Gratitude for You!

We want to share our immense GRATITUDE for our FAN network and all who attended our Annual Celebration on November 21. Whether you donated before or during the program, held a Watch Party with friends or watched from home, or have promised to send a contribution from your retirement account by the end of the year—we are deeply grateful! If you were registered but couldn’t attend at the last minute, the good news is that the whole program is archived on our YouTube site and can be watched anytime:  https://www.youtube.com/user/FaithActionNetwork (the program begins at 29 minutes, after the pre-show slides). We are grateful to our production partners, Synchronicity events and Live Oak Studios, for amplifying our celebration!

FAN’s new Policy Engagement Director Kristin Ang served as our excellent host and emcee for the evening. Rabbi Ruth Zlotnick, FAN board member and lead rabbi at Temple Beth Am, Seattle, dedicated our time with an invocation. FAN supporter Rick Steves joined us throughout to encourage support of advocacy through FAN. We celebrated our 10-year anniversary with a slideshow highlighting important moments, prepared by creative FAN staff member Tara Miller. And the heart of our evening was a celebration of Rev. Paul Benz’ service to FAN as a founding co-director as well as his legacy for justice across Washington state. Governor Inslee launched the tributes to Paul, followed by several colleagues and friends, and capped by a loving tribute by Paul’s family. FAN board chair Carol Jensen surprised Paul with a Justice Legacy award, and Paul was able to have the last word and share thanks to those assembled. You can add your own words/photos/videos to the chorus of voices thanking Paul to this KudoBoard in his honor.

Our evening concluded with Co-Director Elise DeGooyer, board member Rev. Jim CastroLang (live from Spokane), and FAN staff Tara, Elizabeth, Lauren, Juli, Jaspreet and Kristin reaffirming our shared values as we move forward with gratitude into FAN’s future.

You can still give! We are getting closer to our $150,000 goal to power our work into 2022, with the generosity of over 350 donors and event sponsors, combined with Rick Steves’ generous $50,000 matching gift, for more than $130,000 so far. You can donate online on our GiveLively campaign page,  or through FAN’s Online Donation portal, by check, or call us about a retirement distribution or gift of stock. All of us together, moving like a murmuration of starlings with a unified purpose, can reach goals, make policy change, and create the kind of communities we want to live in. THANK YOU for being part of FAN. Blessings for your holidays!


Thank you to our Sponsors!