December 17, 2025 | By: Allison Sponseller
I recently heard that gratitude can be a powerful antidote to FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). While FOMO whispers, “Look at what you’re missing!”, gratitude shouts back, “Look at what you have!”
This mindset shift matters in our work with social sector organizations. There is no shortage of things that need fixing - inequities, harmful policies, systems that fail communities. As evaluators, we’re often asked to pay attention to what’s broken. That’s important work. And it’s also powerful to notice what is working – the sparks of hope, strength, and resilience that remind us that change is possible.
So, as the year winds down, I asked our team to reflect on the bright spots of 2025 – the moments that made us smile, feel excited, or beam with pride. Here is sample of LFA’s list of bright spots, or, per a well-known positive psychology exercise, “good things.” May this inspire you to notice some good in your life and work.
LFA’s List of “Good Things” from 2025:
Having the opportunity to work every day with a team of brilliant, dedicated, and diverse women at LFA. (Seriously, pinch us! We know how lucky we are.)
Facilitating a full-day outdoor strategic planning retreat with the Board and staff of a small private foundation in the Eastern Sierra. Picture this: hummingbirds, a thunderstorm, and a double rainbow, all while strategizing how to enhance connections between nature, place, and communities.
Convening a Grantee Working Group as part of Sobrato Philanthropies’ (SP) exciting participatory learning work. Twelve nonprofit leaders sharing insights that directly shape SP’s approach? That is participatory engagement at its finest.
Building a data dashboard with Safe + Sound that adds value to their work to support families. In addition to having a valuable tool to learn about their work, staff built their capacity to use and make meaning of data more effectively.
Visiting the rural community of Charleston, Missouri, along with a group of leaders supporting community-based mental health, through LFA’s engagement with Missouri Foundation for Health. For many of these community leaders, this was their first visit to the Bootheel region (a group of rural counties in Southeast Missouri), and they reflected on the power of learning about how this community is approaching similar challenges facing communities in St. Louis.
Honing our coaching skills while supporting non-profit leaders through one of our capacity building engagements. Did you know that running a small organization is like juggling flaming swords while riding a unicycle? We’re in awe of these leaders.
Learning from nine Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Healthy Children and Families grantee partners about their efforts to create systems of care and support that are community-driven and family-centered, and that promote healing and empowerment.