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August 2009
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Announcements
Changes at The Community Foundation
Many organizations are making changes in 2009 and for 2010 to better weather changes in staffing and financial resources. The Community Foundation is no exception.
At the beginning of August, we said goodbye to Carly Hare, Programs Director, and Alana Solimeo, Finance Associate. Both are moving on to exciting new professional opportunities. Carly is the new Development Director at the Native American Rights Fund, and Alana will be a KIVA Fellow. We wish them both the best!
As part of adjustments to these staff changes and the general economic environment, The Community Foundation will not produce Community Stars, the NOVA Awards, or the Vision of Giving Art Contest in 2009.
Awards and Debuts
The Pat on the Back and Stan Black Awards, honoring outstanding volunteers in Boulder County will be presented at the October 13th Friends Party. Nominations are due August 31st. Please nominate someone fabulous today!
And we're thrilled to announce that the 2009 TRENDS Report is coming soon! Stay tuned for the latest scoop on what makes our community tick and the new ways you will be able to access the information. If you'd like to schedule a presentation to hear TRENDS highlights, please contact Gretchen Minekime by email or at 303-442-0436 x107.
Director of Programs Job Opening
The Community Foundation will be hiring for the position of Director of Programs. This full-time position primarily manages the Foundation's grant cycles and non-profit related programs and reports to The Community Foundation President. There is a comprehensive benefits package, and salary will be commensurate with experience. The deadline for resume submissions is August 19, 2009, and the preferred start date for the position is October 1, 2009. Click here for the full job description and application instructions. Please share this opportunity with potential candidates.
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What Boulder County Non-profits are Reporting
By Carly Baggett, Communications Intern
The Community Foundation recently conducted a survey which polled local non-profit organizations and inquired about the effects of the current economic crisis. The results were informative and highlighted the needs of many non-profits. The survey requested information and responses that were valid through the end of June 2009, and served as a follow-up to a survey that had been conducted late 2008 and early 2009. Areas focused on were specific to the non-profit field and included topics such as client demographics, fundraising, needed technical assistance, the effects of the economic crisis, and staffing. What seemed to be the start of trends in January, such as a lack of funding for non-profits, as well as a decreased percentage of organizations being able to reach their fundraising goals, were still prominent in last month's survey.
Of the 24 responding non-profits, 14 organizations reported that they were unable to reach their fundraising goals, and were seeing a decline in major gifts from their donors and reductions in grant funding. Commonly voiced technical assistance needs include IT assistance, board development, and computer infrastructure specific to non-profits. Resource needs include volunteers, and of course, funding. The Boulder Community Housing Corporation wrote about starting a new capital campaign, including a new strategic plan, as an area where they could use assistance. In regards to employment, most organizations were happy to share that they had not had to lay-off employees, however, many are under a salary and hiring freeze. Some organizations fear they will have to reduce their staff by the end of the year, and The I Have A Dream Foundation, along with others, has reduced all travel and training expenses for the year.
The impact of the economic crisis on many non-profits has been difficult. With a third of the organizations who responded to the survey being health and human services organizations, results from the survey showed a decline in self-pay clients across the board, in addition to an increase in clients who qualify for Medicaid. There has been an increase in clients needing financial assistance with housing and medical expenses. The Mental Health Center (and Foundation) has had their budget cut by 1.3 million dollars, resulting in the closing of their Lafayette office. In addition, there has also been a dramatic increase in clients who are "new poor" or first time homeless. Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence (SPAN) has seen more middle income individuals and families than was previously common. There are also more children in need of services, due to the number of families now living below the poverty line. The PeaceJam Foundation noted their observation about schools and communities eager for more children's programs. Organizations such as the Imagination Makers Theatre Company are helping to bring resources to children- the organization increased the number of children they served in the 2008-2009 season by 5,974.
The survey also asked for stories concerning clients who were coping during these harder economic times. In summary, the economy has taken a huge toll on many individuals and families. Families, who were once able to donate to organizations and causes, are now asking to receive services. A mid-year update from Community Food Share reported that the organization distributed the same amount of food during the first half of 2009, as was distributed in all of 2006. They distributed $4,776,342 worth of food, 55% going to Longmont, 27% going to the city of Boulder, and 10% to Lafayette. Organizations are working hard to support their increased client base, while continuing to cope with reduced funding and donations.
The Community's Foundation's Community Trust, functioning like a community savings account, serves Boulder County organizations working on behalf of the arts, environment, education, civic engagement, and health and human services. The 2009 goal for The Community Trust is one million dollars. We are $655,000 away from this goal. A gift into The Community Trust is a visionary gift. By giving to The Community Trust, you are enabling services from the many organizations striving to support the increased number of Boulder County residents in need. To make a donation today, please contact Chris Barge by email or at 303-442-0436 x110.
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Carly's (Last) Tip of the Month
Effective Cover Letters
If you choose to include a cover letter as an introduction to a grant proposal, use it wisely. This letter can be used to frame your request, while providing additional information. Strong cover letters provide an opportunity to establish the relationship with the funder. ("Thank you for considering us for this funding again. We have appreciated the last two years of support.") It can be used to frame the explanation for your request. Be careful not to just cut and paste a request from another proposal, but provide a fresh context for your request. Finally, this is an opportunity to thank the funder for their time and consideration.
And thank you all for the last five years!
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Transformational Leadership
The Community Foundation facilitates Boulder County Health Information Exchange
You've probably been
hearing a lot about how technology improvements are at the center of the Obama
Administration's strategy for health care reform. A key component to that
technology improvement is the implementation of electronic medical records and
health information exchange. How many times have you been to a doctor's office
and had to fill out a list of your allergies and prescriptions? What if you had
to visit the hospital and they couldn't reach your doctor to find out your
latest test results? Electronic medical records and the ability to exchange that
data between providers in a private yet timely manner can make a big impact on
improving the quality of care we all receive.
The Community
Foundation is currently at the helm of a countywide collaboration, the Boulder
County Health Information Exchange (BCHIE). First identified as a significant
opportunity through our Forum on the Medically Underserved in 2007, The
Community Foundation is now facilitating a group that includes all four county
hospitals, four community health centers, three major physician networks, the
Boulder Valley Independent Practice Association, mental health, public health,
Dental Aid, and the County Commissioners Office. The BCHIE group chose The
Community Foundation to lead this project because of its history and reputation
as a trusted community leader, and because of our role in addressing emerging
community health trends.
A recent recipient of a
major planning grant from the Colorado Health Foundation, Boulder County is just one of three communities in
the state working with the Colorado Regional Health Information Organization
(CORHIO) to establish a common platform across the state to improve the safety
and quality of care for all our residents. For more information, contact Morgan Rogers by email, or consider our
upcoming free event on "What
EMR/EHR has meant to the provider, the practice, the patients and lessons
learned" at A Spice of Life on
August 13th from 4:30-8:30 pm. Click here for details.
$90,000 Community Foundation grant leveraged to secure $629,468 for Providers Advancing School Outcomes program
The Community Foundation's recent and largest unrestricted grant of $90,000 served as leverage for the Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition's Providers Advancing School Outcomes program (PASO) to receive a $629,468 grant from the Statewide Strategic Use Fund (SSUF). In essence, every dollar of The Community Foundation's original $90,000 investment has been turned into 8 dollars.
PASO is a groundbreaking and nationally innovative pilot program addressing school readiness for children most at risk. The program focuses on skill-building for childcare providers who work in informal settings through a network of family and friends, i.e., at-home providers who care for their friends' or family's children younger than 5.
The Community Foundation's $90,000 grant helped PASO secure the SSUF grant, move forward with training a third co-hort of Boulder County providers, and expand the program into one additional metro-area county. There will be a request for proposals and a competitive process to choose that second county.
The $629,468 SSUF grant's term is September 1, 2009- June 30, 2011. The grant is the only of SSUF's grants this round in Boulder County and the only related to the critical issue of school readiness.
Insuring that each and every child is ready to learn when they start school is a critical issue affecting children individually, how they contribute to the overall learning environment of their classes throughout their school career, and eventually the quality of our work force. The connections between school readiness and a variety of other social and economic issues are immediate and transformable. The Community Foundation has chosen early childhood education as a multi-year focus area for Community Trust funding. The Community Trust is the Foundation's permanent unrestricted fund serving Boulder County.
PASO, Co-Directors, Denys Vigil and Tikki Heublein, Ph.D., said, "The educational achievement gap in Colorado between Latino students and White students has been, and continues to be seriously out of line. The Community Foundation of Boulder County, not only has demonstrated the courage to face this issue head on, but moreover, has clearly understood the positive impact that early childhood educational interventions have on young Latino children from birth to 5 years of age. It is this combined organizational commitment and wisdom that has greatly resuscitated the viability of the FFN PASO vision to open new and expanded doors. The Community Foundation of Boulder County is, indeed, a catalyst."
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Congratulations to...
Former Trustee and current Expanding Leadership advisor, Ester Quintana
Matheson, has been chosen as the Regional Honoree for the Boy Scouts of America
Vale de Pena award for extraordinary service to youth. She will be honored Dec.
1, 2009 at a luncheon in Denver. Flatirons Bank on their beautiful new location at 1095 Canyon Blvd., Boulder. The Community Foundation thanks them for their ribbon cutting ceremony donation!
Thank you to...
Baker Street Pub & Grill for donating appetizers to Carly Hare and Alana Solimeo's Goodbye Party!
Cold Stone Creamery, Longmont for donating yummy treats for the Millennium Trust Reception!
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Join The Community Foundation's Facebook group and follow our COG Blog!
The Community Foundation is on Facebook. Get plugged in to Boulder County news and events you care about by searching for "Community Foundation of Boulder County" from your Facebook page. You can also stay informed by reading or subscribing to the COG Blog.
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Thank you Community Partners!
Roche
Colorado Corporation
Bolderwomen
Daily Camera
RegOnline
Vermilion
tuggl
Ehrhardt
Keefe
First Western
Trust Bank
Wells Fargo
Bank
Western
Disposal
Jared Polis
Ball
Elevations Credit Union
Kaiser Permanente Foundation
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