Flexible funding empowers Community Trust grantees throughout Boulder County
The Community Foundation Serving Boulder County announced $372,500 in grants to 131 Community Trust grantees comprising Boulder County nonprofits focused on animals and environment, the arts and culture, basic needs, children and youth, civic engagement, education, or health and human services. While there is no upper funding limit, individual grants from the Community Trust typically range between $1,000 and $9,000.
Visit our photo album of the Community Trust grantees reception on Facebook.
“It’s a very competitive process, especially this year,” says Elvira Ramos, Director of Programs, who oversees the Community Trust grant cycle. “For the first time, we invited applicants to choose their own focus within our seven issue areas. We saw a jump of more than 12 percent in the overall number of grant proposals we received compared to 2014, and there were many first-time applicants who received funding.”
Indeed, The Community Foundation received 181 grant proposals in 2015, up from 161 the previous year. In 2015, grant requests totaled $1.2K, compared to just above $975K in 2014.
The Community Trust – the permanent grantmaking fund of The Community Foundation – is the most flexible and responsive of the foundation’s funds, driven by members of the community who evaluate proposals as part of the application review process.
“Every fall, more than 60 Boulder County residents volunteer to serve on one of eight committees to review grant applications,” explains Ramos. “This year, to accommodate the influx of grant requests, we relied on 71 volunteers throughout Boulder County to serve on one of nine Community Trust advisory committees.
“All volunteers familiarize themselves with The Community Foundation’s Boulder County TRENDS Report to better understand the strengths, weakness and nuances of our communities, as well as an orientation and other committee meetings. They also conduct site visits and interviews on select proposals, in addition to their careful reading and full consideration of each grant proposal we receive. We simply couldn’t do it without this very dedicated, inclusive group.”
One of this year’s volunteers was Rebecca “Becky” Chavez. In addition to her role as Director of Outreach and Enrollment Services at Front Range Community College-Boulder County Campus, she serves on The Community Foundation’s Board of Trustees and previously participated in the foundation’s Leadership Fellows program. This year, she even persuaded her husband and her supervisor – Carla Stein, FRCC-BCC Dean of Student Services – to join her in serving on a Community Trust advisory committee.
“After being involved with the process and learning about all that’s going on throughout Boulder County, I’m hooked,” says Chavez, who is particularly passionate about education. “I feel that being part of the Community Trust process has helped me be a better leader, and more aware of the needs in Boulder County.”
Community Trust grants are exclusively for activities or projects in Boulder County and for the benefit of Boulder County residents – from specific projects and programs to unrestricted expenses (general operating), capital campaigns and technical assistance. This year’s grantees are:
ANIMALS AND ENVIRONMENT
Cal-Wood Education Center
Center for ReSource Conservation
Colorado Horse Rescue
Community Cycles
Cottonwood Institute
EcoArts Connections
Eco-Cycle
Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Center
Humane Society of Boulder Valley
Longmont Humane Society
Rocky Mountain Conservancy
Thorne Nature Experience
Wild Bear Conservation
Wildlands Restoration Volunteers
ARTS AND CULTURE
Art Studio Inc.
Artwalk Longmont
Asian-Pacific Association of Longmont (A-PAL)
BaoBao Foundation (Boulder County Arts Alliance)
Boulder Asian Pacific Alliance
Boulder Bach Festival
Boulder Ballet
Boulder Chorale
Boulder County Arts Alliance
Boulder International Fringe Festival
Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art
Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra
Carousel of Happiness
CenterStage Theatre Company
Colorado Music Festival and Center for Musical Arts
Colorado Shakespeare Festival
eTown
Frequent Flyers Productions, Inc.
Greater Boulder Youth Orchestras
JLF Colorado (Boulder County Arts Alliance)
Junior Symphony Guild (Inside the Orchestra)
Longmont Chorale, Inc.
Longmont Council for the Arts (Arts Longmont)
Longmont Museum
Longmont Symphony Society, Inc.
Motus Theater
OpenArts
Parlando School of Musical Arts
Shaolin Hung Mei Kung Fu Association
Stories on Stage
The Dairy Arts Center
Turning the Wheel Productions, Inc.
CHILDREN AND YOUTH
Alternatives for Youth
City of Longmont Children, Youth and Families
Crossroads School
Ed & Ruth Lehman YMCA
Rocky Mountain Special Hockey, Inc.
TEENS, Inc.
The Family Learning Center
The Women’s Wilderness Institute
TLC Learning Center
Trebol Soccer Club
Wild Plum Center
YMCA of Boulder Valley
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
Boulder Emergency Squad
Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition
Community Action Development Corporation
INVST Community Studies (University of Colorado Foundation)
Latino Task Force of Boulder County
League of Women Voters of Colorado Education Fund
National Manufactured Home Owners Association
New Era Colorado Foundation
ProgressNow Colorado Education
EDUCATION
Boulder Day Nursery Association
Boulder High School
Children’s House Preschool
Colorado Youth for a Change
Creekside Elementary School (BVSD RE-2)
Ed & Ruth Lehman YMCA
Hispanic Education Foundation
I Have a Dream Foundation of Boulder County
Impact on Education
Intercambio Uniting Communities
Legacy of Learning
New Horizons Cooperative Preschool
Outreach United Resource Center, Inc.
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Association for Community Living
Attention, Inc.
Audio Information Network of Colorado (AINC)
Boulder County AIDS Project
Boulder County RSVP Board, Inc. (Boulder CareConnect)
Boulder Food Rescue
Boulder Pride
Boulder Valley Women’s Health Center
Bridge to Justice
Child and Family Advocacy Program (Blue Sky Bridge)
Children First of the Rockies
Coal Creek Meals on Wheels
Community Action Development Corporation
Dental Aid Inc.
EFAA-Mountain Coalition
El Centro AMISTAD
Ensight Skills Center
Flatirons Habitat for Humanity
Foothills United Way, Inc.
Growing Gardens of Boulder County
Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley
Harvest of Hope Pantry
Ignite Adaptive Sports
Imagine!
Immigrant Legal Center of Boulder County
InReach
Longmont Community Justice Partnership
Lyons Emergency Assistance Fund (Colorado Nonprofit Development Center)
Mother House
Nederland Area Seniors
Nederland Food Pantry
Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountain Legal Center
Safe Shelter of St. Vrain Valley
Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence
Second Wind Fund of Boulder County
Voices for Children
Young Women’s Christian Association of Boulder Colorado
BASIC NEEDS
Boulder Shelter for the Homeless
Bridge House
Community Food Share
EFAA
H.O.P.E.
Inn Between
Meals on Wheels of Longmont
Meals on Wheels of Boulder
OUR Center
Sister Carmen Community Center
St. Benedict Health and Healing Ministry
Via Mobility Services
