Every year, the week of Thanksgiving invites us to pause—really pause—and look around at the people who make our work possible. For KFA Nonprofit, this season of gratitude feels especially meaningful. A couple of weeks ago, in Kansas City at the ReFrame Conference 2025, we were honored by the Coalition for Home Repair at their annual Pinnacle Awards reception. Our team was recognized specifically for our coverage of the federal funding landscape during one of the most uncertain and tumultuous grant-funding years in recent memory.
Standing in that room, hearing our name called, I kept thinking one thing over and over: This is because of the team. All of it.
KFA Nonprofit has never been a story about one person. It has always been about the collective strength, integrity, humor, grit, and brilliance of a small but mighty group of people who show up every day determined to help nonprofits keep doing the work that matters. And because Thanksgiving is tomorrow—and because gratitude deserves more than a passing mention—I want to publicly say what I say privately all the time:
To everyone who has ever been part of this journey: You are The Best Team on Earth.
To the early builders
Thank you to those who helped shape KFA Nonprofit in its earliest days, when the brand was still an idea and not yet the award-winning consultancy it has become. You believed in the mission when it was a crazy idea. You helped build the foundation that allows us now to serve organizations across Appalachia and beyond. Your fingerprints are still visible on everything we do.
Chelsea, I am calling you out by name. Thank you for years of showing me how it’s done. I am a stronger, more professional writer because of you and I can never thank you enough.
To the current team, working day in and day out
You are the engine.
You are the reason clients trust us.
You are the reason proposals get submitted with excellence, data gets analyzed with precision, and nonprofits feel seen and supported during confusing funding cycles.
This year, our work required navigating federal rescissions, the longest federal shutdown in history, delayed funding competitions, compressed timelines, and shifting agency priorities. And despite all of it - despite the chaos that 2025 brought to the grant-writing world - you delivered clarity and strategy to nonprofits who desperately needed both.
Our recognition at the Pinnacle Awards does not represent a moment; it represents a year’s worth of early mornings, late nights, policy digging, grant forecasting, emergency client calls, and collaborative problem-solving. It represents your commitment to staying informed so our clients could stay prepared. Watching you work through each wave of uncertainty made me more proud than any award ever could.
To every former team member
You are part of our story. Your contributions helped us grow in capacity, clarity, and confidence. You shaped the culture that continues today - a culture built on trust, respect, life first, and an unshakable belief that nonprofits can and will do more, better because we have their back.
The real meaning behind the recognition
Awards are wonderful. Recognition is encouraging. But neither compare to the gratitude I feel for the people who made it possible. This isn’t about KFA Nonprofit winning something - it’s about us earning something together. It symbolizes the sleepless nights, the strategic pivots, the difficult conversations, and the shared commitment to doing right by our clients.
More importantly, it reflects the way our team consistently shows up with generosity, patience, curiosity, and heart (and at times, enough profanity to make a sailor blush). Those qualities cannot be taught. They come from who we are.
Looking ahead with gratitude
The coming year will bring new challenges: policy shifts, funding restructures, tightened deadlines, and competitive landscapes. But I feel confident - hopeful, even - because I know who is standing beside me.
So today, on the eve of Thanksgiving, I want to say to each of you:
Thank you. Thank you for your excellence.
Thank you for your resilience.
Thank you for believing in the mission.
Thank you for being The Best Team on Earth.
You are the reason KFA Nonprofit continues to grow, continues to serve, and continues to make a meaningful difference in communities across the country. I am profoundly grateful for each of you - not just during Thanksgiving week, but every single day.
May this season bring rest, warmth, and the reminder that your work matters more than you know.
Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at KFA Nonprofit.