AS SEEN IN

Fortune | Forbes | Entrepreneur

SUNCOAST

“It’s so powerful when I can shake

their hand, look into their eyes, and say, ‘I
believe in you and your dreams.’ I’m very

TRAGEDY
grateful I survived and opened myself to
opportunities along the way that help me
help other people,” she says.
When choosing grant recipients, Mertes

TO TRIUMPH
seeks out entrepreneurs with a specific,
actionable need. One couple who own a
smoked salmon business were overcome
with emotion when they were chosen. “It
was given at the right time. They could now
After a severe car open their small storefront and expand,”
Mertes recalls. “This $1,000 grant made
crash left her with a tremendous impact. I knew then I was
a traumatic brain hitting the right target.”
With much of the organization funded by
injury, Karen Mertes honorariums from her motivational speaking
founded Fulfill engagements and other personal endeavors,
Your Destiny, a Mertes relies on partnerships with fellow
entrepreneurs to help back Business Builder
nonprofit that assists Grants. While donations are tax deductible
entrepreneurs who and Mertes contributes an additional 10% in
need someone to the sponsor’s name, she believes that the true
benefits of giving aren’t concrete.
believe in them. “All the money stays local, and donors
can have hands-on involvement if desired,”
Mertes notes. “The adage says the giver ends
up benefiting as much as the recipient. The

O
world would be much better if everyone
n February 7, 2007, Karen would eagerly reach out with their hearts
Mertes’ life veered off and hands to help others when needed.”
course. A drunk driver Now celebrating the 15th anniversary
slammed into her vehicle of her life-changing work, Mertes believes
at over 100 mph, totaling unconditionally in human resiliency. “The
her car and leaving her stranded on the crash was my worst day. I couldn’t change
interstate, unsure of the extent of her inju- what happened, but I could change how I
ries. “I prayed, pleaded, and promised God was going to respond,” she says. “Harness
that if I were blessed to live, I would spend the strength that comes from surviving neg-
the rest of my life helping others,” she says. ative experiences. Use it to challenge yourself
Before the collision, Mertes served as and others to thrive and do great things.”
an active-duty Lieutenant Colonel in our
United States Air Force. With two master’s
degrees and a bachelor’s in mathematics,
Mertes used the full extent of her advanced I had to change my
education in her work. However, when
she learned the crash left her with an
life because of what
undiagnosed traumatic brain injury and happened to me.
subsequent cognitive impairment, she knew
Honoring 15 years
she had to pivot.
“Th is was the genesis for Fulfi ll Your of giving, I continue
Fulfill
Destiny,” she says.
to make good on my Your
Building Back Businesses promise that I’ll spend
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Fulfill Your Destiny
runs the gamut of service, with initiatives my forever helping Destiny
aiding nonprofits, veterans, and those brav- other people fulfill their
ing adversity. However, the organization’s
Business Builder Grants program, which destinies. 3030 North Rocky Point Drive West
Suite 150
awards $1,000 to entrepreneurs facing Tampa, FL 33607
life- or career-altering circumstances, is 813-533-1963
especially meaningful to Mertes. fulfillyourdestiny.org