The Community Trust inspires action around current and future needs countywide.
The Community Trust is a discretionary grantmaking fund of Community Foundation Boulder County addressing needs throughout Boulder County in the following areas: animal care and welfare, arts and culture, civic engagement, education, environment, and health and human services. Community Foundation Boulder County relies on a community-driven grant review process. Boulder County community members review grant applications and make funding recommendations. More than 75 Boulder County community members volunteer over 2,500 hours of their time reviewing proposals and recommending grants. Community Foundation staff manage the review process, lead committee meetings, and present Community Foundation leadership with the committee’s grant recommendations. Community Trust grants typically range between $1,000 and $9,000. Applications must be submitted online. Once the application is submitted, an email receipt will be sent confirming it was received.
In 2021 the Community Foundation asked stakeholders for feedback on the Community Trust grant program. We are grateful to the many partners, donors, and leaders who gave insight and suggestions. Based on your input, we are pleased to announce the following changes to the Community Trust grant program:
Community Trust is no longer divided into two grant cycles. Applications for all areas (animal care and welfare, arts and culture, civic engagement, education, environment, and health and human services) will be accepted at the same time.
Grant awards will be for general operating support. Applicants are invited to apply once to Community Trust.
In alignment with trust-based philanthropic practices, the grant application and reporting process has been simplified. To be respectful of grant applicants’ time, the application has been shortened. Progress reports will no longer be needed as part of the Community Trust grant application. Future reporting will be more flexible. Grantees will be invited to select from a variety of reporting options such as providing pre-existing blog posts, brief written reports, videos, or taking part in a brief conversation with staff.
We will continue to work closely with community members and nonprofit organizations to improve and evolve the grant process.