Sunday, March 07, 2010 Albuquerque Journal--By Rick Nathanson Journal Staff Writer 

A motorcycle accident at age 19 left Dustin Berg in an Albuquerque hospital for three months, in a rehabilitation facility for another three months, and reliant on a wheelchair, possibly for the rest of his life, a result of a spinal cord injury.

Now 25, Berg heads an organization that allows people with disabilities, as well as their families, to engage in outdoor activities.

It was what he missed the most. "The thought that I wouldn't be able to take my dog for a walk, or go camping or fishing or hunting with my friends was just tearing me up inside," he says.

Global Opportunities Unlimited last year provided fishing and horseback riding outings to more than 80 children with disabilities, as well as advanced fishing trips and an elk hunt for older armed forces veterans with disabilities.

Its yearly operating budget of about $50,000 comes from a number of grants, fundraisers and tax-deductible donations from individuals and businesses, Berg says.

Among those funding sources is a grant for $2,235 from the Albuquerque Community Foundation, one of $2.47 million in grants that the organization awarded to 265 nonprofit organizations during the 2009 calendar year. The grants ranged from $250 to $145,000, with the average grant being about $5,000, according to Kellie Cooper, the foundation's communications director.

Cooper says awarding the grant to Global Opportunities Unlimited was a way of getting the biggest bang for the buck.

"For a small amount of money, it allowed us to touch the lives of 80 kids with disabilities. It just seemed very cost-efficient for an afternoon of outdoor activity for that many kids," she says.

The foundation's combined total amount of grant money awarded was down 15 percent from the previous year, a result of the downturn in the economy. Still, the foundation's board of trustees "voted to maintain a 5 percent distribution policy despite losses to the value of our endowment fund," says Randy Royster, executive director of the Albuquerque Community Foundation.

"It will take longer to rebound, but it's more important to support nonprofit programs that are providing services today for those who are in serious need," he says.

The foundation manages 200 charitable funds for individuals, families and corporations valued at about $48 million. Competitive grants are awarded in six fields: arts and culture; children and youth; education; environmental and historic preservation; health; and human services.

'Lucky to be alive'

After Berg's accident, his friends responded to his desire to get outdoors and soon Berg was fishing with them on a ranch in northern New Mexico. A wheelchair may have slowed him down, but it didn't stop him.

"Being outside in nature and breathing the fresh air is calming and it just kind of puts things in perspective about how lucky I am just to be alive."

Berg then began to meet others with disabilities who missed the outdoors, as well as a number of children and young people with disabilities "who never even had these outdoor experiences in the first place.

" Soon he started Global Opportunities Unlimited, filed for and received 501(c)(3) status, classifying it as a tax-exempt charitable organization. "At first it was just me and some friends, and the money mostly came from our own pockets," Berg says. "Then we started doing raffles and barbecues and fundraiser dinners."

In 2007 the organization got its first grant, from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. Other grants followed from the Governors Commission on Disability, McCune Foundation, New Mexico Children's Foundation and Albuquerque Community Foundation.

"It's obvious from the smiles on the faces of the kids and the way their whole demeanor changes," says Berg of the program's success. "You can sense that they're just having a blast and living life and not thinking about their disability. When they're out there fishing or riding a horse, they're focusing on their abilities."

For more information

Tax deductible donations to Global Opportunities Unlimited can be mailed to P.O. Box 10717, Albuquerque, 87184. For information, go to gounlimited.org.

For a complete list of Albuquerque Community Foundation grant recipients, go to abqjournal.com and click on "as seen in the Journal."

For more information about the Albuquerque Community Foundation, go to albuquerquefoundation.org.