“So many times over the last few weeks we’ve heard, ‘We’ll get through this together.’ We are fortunate here in Boulder County to have a talented and dedicated organization that has been in this with us for decades, whether we realized it or not. Now, in our time of greatest need, the Community Foundation is here to ensure that, when we say we will get through this together, we really can.”
By Boulder Mayor Pro Tem Bob Yates
There are institutions that stand the test of time. Like pillars on a bank building, they are strong and sturdy, holding up tremendous weight with seeming ease. Overlooked when there is no need, they are the first places we run to in times of crisis and desperation. Such is Community Foundation Boulder County. Quietly present in our town for more than a quarter of a century, the nonprofit organization serves those with the greatest need without fanfare or self-congratulation. Now, when even the most secure among us looks around anxiously to find help in these dark hours, the Community Foundation is ready to provide aid and comfort.
Having collected and distributed $100M to dozens of worthy causes since it was established in 1991, the Community Foundation is well-positioned to identify the greatest needs in Boulder County during this crisis, solicit funds from both traditional and new donors, and make grants rapidly to the organizations that can do the most good, equitably and fairly. Within days after the epidemic reached Colorado, the Community Foundation set up a special COVID- 19 Response Fund dedicated to relief for those most affected by the crisis, but least able to suffer the blow. Explains the Community Foundation’s CEO, Jeff Hirota, “Aligned with your Community Foundation’s values to stand with those most impacted by inequity, the COVID-19 Response Fund Boulder County was created to help frontline nonprofit organizations serving our neighbors most vulnerable to the virus and already experiencing inequity.”
The Response Fund was seeded with a $100K match challenge gift by Amy Batchelor and Brad Feld on March 16, and they were quickly followed by two more donors making match challenge gifts totaling $240K. Hundreds of gifts from the community soon followed, some in the amounts of four and five figures, some $25 or $50. Local leaders, like Leslie and Bob Cutler, sent letters and emails to their mailing lists, asking their friends to re-direct their philanthropy to the Community Foundation’s Response Fund, and to accelerate all of their 2020 giving. Says Bob, “We’ve come to understand that, in circumstances like these, the time to act is now.” Inspired by the leadership demonstrated by Amy, Brad, Leslie, and Bob, I have pledged to the Response Fund the federal stimulus check that I will receive later this month from the IRS. If you are fortunate enough to be in a position to do this yourself, please consider assigning some or all of your federal stimulus money to the Response Fund here.
Thanks to the generosity of the community, as of the end of last week, more than $1M had been contributed and pledged to the Community Foundation’s Response Fund. So, where is all of this money going? The first round of 14 grants, totaling $120K, was made on March 20 to well-established local organizations that are providing immediate housing and food relief to the neediest members of our community, including Shelter for the Homeless, Bridge House, Community Food Share, EFAA, and Meals on Wheels Boulder Food Rescue, Boulder Boulder. Lisa Moreno, Senior Program Officer at the Community Foundation, says that the second round of grants, likely exceeding the first round’s total, will be made later this week. “In most cases, the grants are given as general operating funds so that the recipient organizations can use the funding to meet their clients’ most pressing need at this time,” says Lisa. “The purpose of the fund is to ensure services to those at the nexus of most at risk of the virus and most vulnerable in the community. Grants at this stage of this crisis are focusing on basic needs for underserved and vulnerable community members.”
But the crisis support provided by the Community Foundation is not limited to distributing dollars and cents. Jeff and his team recognize that some of the needs of our community cannot be paid for with money. People are genuinely anxious about the health and safety of their loved ones, and the security of their jobs and savings. Right around now, everyone needs a big hug, particularly those on the front line of providing human services. So, the Community Foundation is doing just that. While it’s not yet safe to give physical hugs to people outside of our homes, the Community Foundation has joined with Social Venture Partners Boulder County to offer virtual hugs on Zoom to people who are leading the local nonprofits that are providing services to the neediest members of our community. Says Jeff, “Gathering these leaders is just one way the Community Foundation is striving to create connection during this
time when we’re all practicing social distancing.”
And in addition to hugs, there are the stories. Stories of fear. Stories of sacrifice. Stories of loss. Stories of adaptation. The Community Foundation is gathering these real-time stories of real-life people and sharing their experiences with the rest of the community through reflections in TRENDS Diary. If you’d like to share with your neighbors discoveries and experiences of making connections and realizing strengths during a time of physical separation, you can submit your stories, poems, songs, and art through the Community Foundation here. The most inspirational pieces will be posted on TRENDS Diary, and some may be broadcast on KGNU Community Radio, giving hope to those around us.
So many times over the last few weeks we’ve heard, “We’ll get through this together.” We are fortunate here in Boulder County to have a talented and dedicated organization that has been in this with us for decades, whether we realized it or not. Now, in our time of greatest need, the Community Foundation is here to ensure that, when we say we will get through this together, we really can.
