Grants from a community fund to Boulder County nonprofits have doubled permanently and early learning for children in poverty has become a community-wide priority thanks to the success of a four-year fundraising initiative that came to a close over the weekend.
More than 2,000 donors contributed and pledged $4,040,000 between Sept. 8, 2008 and Sept. 8, 2012 to The Community Trust Initiative, The Community Foundation Serving Boulder County announced today. The goal was to raise $4 million in four years.
The successful campaign put The Community Foundation on track to permanently double the unrestricted grant-making fund’s support for Boulder County nonprofits, from $175,000 in February 2008, to $329,000 in February of 2012. That annual grant number will grow as donor pledges mature and the fund continues to grow.
Worthy nonprofits that have benefitted from these funds include Sister Carmen Community Center, Blue Sky Bridge, Intercambio, The Boulder County Latino Taskforce, The Colorado Participation Project, BMOCA, Veterans Helping Veterans Now, Frequent Flyers Productions Inc., Dental Aid, Community Food Share, Nederland Area Seniors, and hundreds more.
Gifts to The Community Trust impact both the current and future needs of Boulder County and are a statement of confidence in current and future residents to look after the community. Our community-driven grant making is unique because county residents serve on committees to review proposals from local non-profit organizations, make site visits, and recommend grants to the Foundation’s Board of Trustees. This process not only engages the voices of numerous community members, but also educates them about trends and need, while introducing many of the cutting edge programs non-profits provide right here in Boulder County.
The Community Trust campaign also raised funding for The Community Foundation to make progress in closing Boulder County’s significant achievement gap between kids growing up in poverty and their peers.
Examples of progress within this School Readiness Initiative to date include:
* Financial support for Providers Advancing School Outcomes (PASO), whose purpose is to ensure the success of Latino children ages birth to five years by training their informal daycare providers. The funding brought PASO from nearly closing in 2009, to expanding in Boulder County and two other counties
* Financial and community leadership support for BVSD’s 2010 Ballot Issue 3A, which brought $22.5 million more annually in funding for the schools, including $5 million per year earmarked specifically for early learning opportunities at low-income elementary schools
* Financial support for the current mill levy override question this fall in the
St. Vrain Schools, which would take some fiscal pressure off a district that is our county’s highest performer in terms of providing preschool and full-day
Kindergarten opportunities for low-income students.
* Financial support of capital campaigns for the Acorn School’s Wilderness Early Learning Center and the Family Learning Center.
Read the full press release or today’s Daily Camera article.
