In the spring of 2025, Community Foundation Boulder County conducted the first Boulder County Nonprofit Survey to better understand how funding cuts and policy changes were impacting the local nonprofit sector. The data confirmed that our local, community-driven organizations were having to work harder and make difficult decisions to meet greater needs with fewer resources. It also highlighted that among all nonprofit organizations, Latino/a led organizations, Latino/a serving organizations, and the communities they serve were being uniquely impacted by recent policy changes.
The foundation used these insights to shape a coordinated response, beginning with the creation of the Resilience Fund, a program designed to support Boulder County nonprofits with education, technical assistance, and financial support.
Through the work of the resilience fund, the foundation sought to offer support, beyond discretionary grantmaking, that could have a lasting impact for nonprofits. Knowing the unique challenges facing Latino/a led and Latino/a serving organizations, one priority of the resilience fund identified early on was capacity building support for Latino/a organizations in our community.
To do this, the community foundation partnered with Somos El Poder, a national organization dedicated to improving fundraising, financial self-reliance, and leadership for Latino/a-focused nonprofits. Through the Resilience Fund, CFBC was able to offer free admission to Somos El Poder’s La Vanguardia Academy Program for five local Latino/a nonprofit leaders from organizations including:
• Cal-Wood
• El Centro Amistad
• Espacios para Jovenes
• MyWealthbeing
This one-of-a-kind fundraising certificate program gives participants invaluable training on the best practices in fundraising from seasoned Latinx fundraisers all over the country.
“Somos El Poder has been an incredible mentor, helping us move from learning fundraising concepts to putting them into practice,” said Ricardo Cabrera, Executive Director of MyWealthBeing. “These experiences strengthened my fundraising knowledge and gave me practical skills to support our organization’s growth. I’m grateful to the community foundation for its vision, generosity, and investment in local Latino/a leaders.”
“After two years of listening, trying new approaches, and adjusting the work of the Resilience Fund along the way, we continue to think of this as a learning process — both for us and for our nonprofit partners,” Said CFBC’s Vice President of Programs, Sarah Harrison. “While we haven’t solved all the challenges Boulder County nonprofits face, we believe that our work is stronger and more impactful than when we started.”
The Resilience Fund is a program of Community Foundation Boulder County supporting local nonprofits with education, technical assistance, and financial support.
To learn more about and support the work of the resilience fund, visit https://www.commfound.org/program/resilience-fund/
