The title of my blog today is a quote from TLC CEO Diane Sontum. She believes that the practice of gratitude can change the world—and I want to share a personal story of how it changed mine.

Every day during TLC team meetings, Diane asks us to share something we are grateful for. At first, I thought this was a little strange and I didn’t have much to say. But, I didn’t like coming up short, so I started to think about gratitude more, paying particular attention to the things I appreciate. Now, the practice has become part of my life and I scan my world every day through the lens of gratitude. I look for things that make me smile–and even when things challenge or upset me, I find something in the situation that I can appreciate.

One of the things I am grateful for about my job at TLC, and how it encourages gratitude to spill out in communities on so many levels. Campaign creators appreciate contributions, contributors appreciate the opportunity to support something they believe in, and residents appreciate being part of a caring community!

Reaching your campaign goal is a reason to celebrate, because you’ve done all the right things, and, yay!, it worked! Yet, what happens when you reach your goal and you still have days or weeks left on your campaign? Use this as an opportunity to raise even more money by creating a stretch goal.

A stretch goal is a goal you activate once your campaign surpasses its initial funding goal. Plan for it well in advance. Just like a musician must be ready with an encore set before stepping on stage; you must be ready with your stretch goal long before you hit the launch button. Plan out how much you believe you can realistically raise above your initial goal — and how the new funds will be used. Announce the new goal with fanfare and tell everyone how the additional funds will amplify and improve your original project.

That’s what Relative Theatrics did— stretching their initial $9, 000 goal to $12,000, and ultimately raising $12,335!