I wonder how many grant applications the A Room of Her Own Foundation (AROHO) receives each year for its Gift of Freedom Award. I’ve googled and googled and can’t find any numbers. But I figure if I’m submitting, there must be bazillions.
That screamed negativity, which I’m trying to shake this year. So regardless of the result, I have loved the process. It has been a great exercise, organizing me and forcing me to publicly declare priorities. It has helped me realize what I need to do and why and reminded me who I am.
The Foundation is dedicated to helping women artists achieve the privacy and financial support necessary to pursue their art. As Virginia Woolf recognized in the 1920s, “a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write.” It is a unique and generous cause and I am happy to know about it. I would sincerely be excited for any winner who will have an opportunity that, more than likely, would have been impossible otherwise. And the rest of us get a new author!
That was generous of me, I think. Because I really wanna win bad.