Dear Friends,
We all know the story of Chicken Little. An acorn falls on his head and he assumes the
sky is falling. Except of course it's
not.
"I saw it with my eyes, I heard it with my ears, and a bit
of it fell on my head," he tells the barnyard animals. And so Chicken Little, Henny Penny, Cockey
Lockey, Goosey Loosey and Turkey Lurkey decide to tell the King, even though it
means they will meet the hungry Foxy Loxy along the way.
 The
moral of the story? Have courage.
Many of us have felt as if the sky were falling in some way
over the past year. Nonetheless, Boulder
County's barnyard full of courageous and generous givers rallied around The
Community Foundation to help us achieve last year's ambitious $1 million
fundraising goal for The Community Trust.
The early success allowed us to double the unrestricted
fund's grants to Boulder County nonprofits.
We heard from them that the extra funding, which we awarded in January,
couldn't have come at a better time, following a rough year-end giving
season. We continue to build the
endowment so we can sustain our higher giving level.
The funding also enabled us to launch a two-pronged effort to
close the educational achievement gap between the county's students of means
and those struggling to get by - a disparity most concerning for many local
Latino families. First, we gave a large
grant to a program called Providers Advancing School Outcomes, which leveraged
our funding to expand its programming, rather than shut down. Second, we laid the early groundwork that
will be necessary to start preventing the achievement gap, by securing a
sustainable source of funding for school readiness with at-risk kids.
With your support, The Community Foundation in the past year
has also provided courageous leadership on local health care reform efforts,
helping hospitals design a network for sharing health records. We have worked to increase diversity on
nonprofit boards. We have built the
capacity of local nonprofits through our Community Ventures seminar, our Social
Venture Partners, and individual consultations.
Our Trends report on the social and economic health of
Boulder County continues to help guide civic leaders, donors and nonprofit
organizations in their strategic decisions.
The latest edition provides true insight into who the people of Boulder
County are, and where we want to head.
Email me if you'd like me to mail you a copy. I encourage you to read it
and use it like we do, as a compass to help you navigate local needs.
 The
Community Foundation courageously increased its investment in our community
last year, despite warnings that the sky was falling. We couldn't have done it without your
incredibly generous support of The Community Foundation.
Please consider a gift this year to The Community
Foundation. Together, let's watch out
for falling acorns and rediscover what a difference courage makes to our most
vulnerable neighbors.
Thank you for your support and partnership, and warm wishes for happy, healthy holidays!
Yours in community,
Chris Barge, Director of Philanthropic Services
Donate Now
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Community Voices
A monthly series highlighting issues from the 2009 Boulder County Trends Report
Isolated Diversity in Boulder
 Lee Shainis, Executive Director and Co-founder, Intercambio de Comunidades
When I moved to Boulder in 1999 I saw mostly white faces. I worked in Louisville at an Elementary School, I spent time hiking and at night I often went to Pearl St. When I co-founded Intercambio in 2000 that quickly changed. We began to visit homes to promote the program in a dozen or so neighborhoods that we never knew existed. Since 2001 we have provided individualized volunteer-taught English classes to over 4,500 adult immigrants throughout Boulder County, and more than 2,500 in the City of Boulder. These neighborhoods, spread throughout the city of Boulder, consisted primarily of Latino immigrants, many who live in isolation where life consists of going to work, shopping at the few stores that accommodate Spanish speakers, and being at home. It is possible to survive here as a monolingual Spanish speaker, but it is difficult to succeed. When you ask Latino immigrants what percentage of the local population they think is Latino they guess around 40-50% while Anglos guess closer to 5% because that is who they see and interact with.
In most communities the reality is that humans interact with people who are of the same race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. We tend to stay away from people who have a dissimilar set of values, speak a different primary language, and have different ways of seeing the world. Many immigrants in Boulder County have had a wonderful experience living here, while others have been victims of discrimination and need many positive interactions to offset the powerful effects of the isolated negative interactions.
Intercambio is making efforts to reduce discrimination and build bridges across cultures by bringing together people who don't normally come together, but there is still much work to be done.
Learn more and get inspired today!
View TRENDS online
Request a print copy
Schedule a presentation for a group
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Welcome Elvira Ramos, Director of Programs!
 The Community Foundation was thrilled to welcome Elvira in November. The moment she arrived she jumped into The Community Trust Grant Cycle and began visiting Boulder County organizations.
Elvira has extensive grant-making experience and has returned to Colorado, after fours years as the Brownsville Community
Foundation CEO in Texas.
During an interoffice interview Elvira shared, "I'm so excited to be here, and I feel I can put my skills and experience to good use. It's an honor to work with such an accomplished staff, committed board, and passionate community volunteers and organizations." |
Announcements
TCF on KGNU Tonight at 6pm
It's the season of giving, and
thankfully there's lots of good stuff going on at The Community Foundation.
Find out what we're seeing and what we're doing about it tonight on "It's
the Economy" with KGNU host Kathy Partridge, from 6 to 7 p.m.
Chris Barge, Director of Philanthropic Services, will sit in live for the full hour as Kathy covers
the 6 Principles of High Impact Giving, as outlined in the new book,
"Change Philanthropy: Candid Stories of Foundations Maximizing Results
through Social Justice" by Alicia Epstein Korten and edited by Kim Klein.
Kathy will air an interview with Alicia during the
top half of the hour, and then she and Chris will discuss the state of giving in Boulder
County, how nonprofits are braving the economy, and what The Community
Foundation is doing about one of our community's biggest problems: the
educational achievement gap.
Catch us live on KGNU, 88.5 FM in Boulder, tonight (Thursday, Dec. 17), 6 to 7 p.m. Or listen in online, at KGNU.org
And remember, if you haven't yet given to The
Community Trust this year, you've got two weeks left to help us reach this
year's goal of raising $1 million for the Boulder County nonprofits that need
it most. Mail a check today to The Community Foundation, 1123 Spruce St.,
Boulder, CO 80302. Or give online, at www.commfound.org
Legacy Society
If you've been considering putting The Community Foundation in your estate plans, or are inclined to make a minimum $25,000 gift to The Community Trust, you are eligible for membership in our Legacy Society. Members' names are etched in the stones in the courtyard outside our offices at the Spruce Street Mansion. It's easy, and it's a great way to make a lasting and meaningful commitment to this community we all love. If you'd like more information, contact Colleen Conant or by calling 303-442-0436 x118.
Save-the-Date
The annual Open Door Dinner will be May 8, 2010. Mark your calendars today!
Events
Monday, January 11, 2010
Education Matters: 2010 Business Leadership Forum, 7:00-9:00
am
University of Colorado UMC Glenn Miller Ballroom
Impact on
Education and the Boulder Chamber present Senator Michael Bennet.
Education is the key to our nation's economic success, at home and
abroad. Former Denver Public School Superintendent Michael Bennet is
now helping to craft education policy for the nation as a member of the
U.S. Senate. Come hear Senator Bennet's perspective on education reform
and why it is critical to our economic future.To Buy Tickets
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