Ten Dollars for Ten Years: Support the RENEWPR LGBTQIA Scholarship

When I launched RENEWPR ten years ago, my plan was to create an opportunity to do good work with good people. I thought my focus on energy and environmental policy and related communications challenges would afford me solid opportunities to do that. And I was right.

What I didn’t foresee, at least at first, was the opportunity to expand that remit to include equity and the many ways in which the energy and environment conversation includes those considerations. For example: the key role of communities, the importance of diverse voices in the rooms where decisions are made, the value of inclusion for any and all discussions about projects and technologies that provide solutions to many of the societal challenges we face. Fortunately, as our business evolved, we saw these opportunities and we took them:

In 2019, we joined with five other firms to start The Change Agencies, the first national network of inclusive PR firms. That network is now 15 members strong and spans the country from coast to coast. Each agency member is owned and operated by a person of color or an LGBTQ person and 11 of the 15 agency owners are women.

In 2020, we formally expanded our focus from energy and environment to equity. And since then, we’ve worked with numerous organizations on specific related projects and incorporated these perspectives in many more ongoing efforts. Much of this work has included our partners from The Change Agencies.

And in 2022, I launched the RENEWPR LGBTQIA scholarship for students at my alma mater, Texas Tech University. This is not just any scholarship however: it’s specifically designed for LGBTQIA students at Texas Tech who plan to study abroad (as I did) and/or who are enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences (as I was). It’s administered through the Texas Tech Alumni Association as an endowed scholarship, a permanent resource to help students with financial need continue their education. This scholarship is intended to help ensure that LGBTQIA students have access to opportunities for higher education specifically in a place like West Texas where being out isn’t always easy, particularly if you don’t have generational wealth. As I wrote last year when we celebrated the ninth anniversary of RENEWPR:

“We can’t expect every LGBTQ person to leave Texas or Florida or other states where regressive actions are dominating the headlines. Some can’t and some don’t want to. What we can do is try to make it easier for LGBTQ kids to get an education regardless of where they live and despite the fact that some state educational systems are set up to deny their humanity. With my RENEWPR scholarship, I’m providing a small example that we are not just everywhere, but we are everybody and we are all worthy of love, respect and opportunity.”

Our Tenth Anniversary celebration comes at a time when the nation is more divided than ever. The need for helpful efforts large and small is now greater than ever: finding ways to help one another can make a real difference. The RENEWPR LGBTQIA scholarship may be small, but it is important, and it is already making an impact with the students selected to receive it.  

As we celebrate our ten years in business, I have added more funding to the scholarship as we drive towards the $10,000 funding level required to change the endowment from $500 per year to $1000 per year. You can join me: donations of $10, $100 or even more will fund the expansion of this scholarship and make an even bigger impact on the lives of LGBTQIA students in one corner of the world where being LGBTQIA is not easy. To donate, visit this link and choose the “RENEWPR LGBTQIA Endowed Scholarship” in the dropdown box at the bottom of the page. Your donation won’t just help us celebrate ten years, it will help ensure that LGBTQIA students at Texas Tech have the opportunity to pursue higher education and make their own mark on the world. Thank you.

 Photo below: Agency president Ben Finzel with Chris Snead, vice president of operations and engagement, Texas Tech Alumni Association; photo taken in April of 2023 when Ben hand-delivered the final payment to endow the scholarship at the mininum $500 per year level.