Search Through Boulder County Grants for Nonprofits in Colorado

Who We Are

The Creag Foundation is a private grant making foundation established in 2009 in Woodinville, Washington.

The founders of the Creag Foundation believe that meaningful change can only be achieved through hard work, creativity and passion. They also understand the practical mechanisms that allow charitable organizations to succeed and grow. As a group, Creag Foundation principals are dedicated to helping today’s most innovative programs improve the human condition in a wide variety of ways.

Our Focus

The broad purpose of the Foundation is to support the efforts of nonprofit organizations who are innovators in the field of human services. Our particular focus is on smaller organizations that are starting out or established organizations that are looking for funding to take their organization in a new direction.

What We Fund

/ What We Fund

The Creag Foundation is focused on innovation in the industry. We will consider proposals from 501(c)(3) organizations that are finding new ways to address societal issues facing the nonprofit community. Applicants must have held 501(c)(3) status for one year before submitting. If your organization has held 501(c)(3) status for over a year, and your believe that your organization has a new approach to an existing social problem or is addressing a previously unaddressed social issue, you are welcome to contact us and request that we consider your organization for a funding opportunity.

The Labcorp Charitable Foundation

We believe every person deserves equitable care and education.

In 2020 Labcorp established a private charitable 501(c)(3) foundation to advance our desire to bring quality healthcare access to all by supporting education and our local communities. 

Common grant opportunities include:

• Supporting food pantries and meal programs
• Providing healthcare and patient services for underserved populations
• Encouraging STEM programming
• Advocating for healthy lifestyles through ongoing medical research and screening

Newcomers Fund Grant

Since December 2022, over 40,000 people have arrived in the Greater Denver region after traveling from South and Central America. The city of Denver, the state of Colorado, and many local nonprofits have stepped in to welcome them and provide necessary services. For those individuals and families who intend to make their home here in Colorado, there are continued needs that our community can rally together to help address.

At this time, the Newcomers Fund steering committee is prioritizing grants to organizations that are helping new immigrants with housing, resource navigation, and workforce and employment opportunities. We are interested in supporting nonprofits working at a larger scale – those serving 20 or more people.

Funding

Funding amounts will be determined based on the breadth and depth of impact in addition to the total amount available to grant.

PNC Foundation

Strengthening and enriching the lives of our neighbors in communities where we live and work.

Vision & Mission

For decades, we have provided resources to seed ideas, foster development initiatives and encourage leadership in nonprofit organizations where imagination and determination are at work enhancing people's lives everyday.

The PNC Foundation's priority is to form partnerships with community-based nonprofit organizations in order to enhance educational opportunities, with an emphasis on early childhood education, and to promote the growth of communities through economic development initiatives.

Foundation Grant

The PNC Foundation supports a variety of nonprofit organizations with a special emphasis on those that work to achieve sustainability and touch a diverse population, in particular, those that support early childhood education and/or economic development.

Education

The PNC Foundation supports educational programs for children and youth, particularly early childhood education initiatives that meet the criteria established through PNC Grow Up Great. Specifically, PNC Grow Up Great grants must:

• Support early education initiatives that benefit children from birth to age five; and
• Serve a majority of children (>50%) from low- to moderate-income families; and
• Adhere to all other standard PNC Foundation guidelines, as outlined on the PNC Foundation website, applicant eligibility quiz, as well as the Foundation policies and procedures; and
• Include one or a combination of the following:
  • direct services/programs for children in their classroom or community;
  • professional development/workforce development for early childhood educators;
  • family and/or community engagement in children’s early learning
• Additional considerations:
  • The grant focus should include math, science, reading, vocabulary development, the arts, financial education, or social/emotional development.
  • The grant recipient, or collaborative partner, should have early childhood education as an area of focus. If the organization’s focus is beyond birth to age five, the specific grant must be earmarked for birth to age five.
  • Incorporate opportunities for PNC volunteers in classroom or non-classroom-based activities.

Economic Development

Economic development organizations, including those which enhance the quality of life through neighborhood revitalization, cultural enrichment and human services are given support. Priority is given to community development initiatives that strategically promote the growth of low-and moderate-income communities and/or provide services to these communities.

• Affordable Housing
  • The PNC Foundation understands the critical need for affordable housing for low-and moderate-income individuals.
  • We are committed to providing support to nonprofit organizations that:
    • give counseling and services to help these individuals maintain their housing stock;
    • offer transitional housing units and programs; and/or
    • offer credit counseling assistance to individuals, helping them to prepare for homeownership.
• Community Development
  • Because small businesses are often critical components of community growth and help foster business development, the PNC Foundation provides support to nonprofit organizations that
    • offer technical assistance to, or loan programs for, small businesses located in low-and moderate-income areas or
    • support small businesses that employ low-and moderate-income individuals.
• Community Services
  • Support is given to social services organizations that benefit the health, education, quality of life or provide essential services for low-and moderate-income individuals and families.
  • The PNC Foundation supports job training programs and organizations that provide essential services for their families.
• Arts & Culture
  • Support is given for cultural enrichment programs benefitting the community.
• Revitalization & Stabilization of Low-and Moderate-Income Areas
  • The PNC Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that serve low-and moderate-income neighborhoods by improving living and working conditions.
  • Support is given to organizations that help stabilize communities, eliminate blight and attract and retain businesses and residents to the community.

Philanthropy is our commitment to communities in which we operate and broader society. We focus our resources on a limited number of key projects that can deliver valuable benefits from our contributions and those of our partners. We give priority to innovative, high-quality projects that meet the following criteria:

• promote sustainable development
• offer an opportunity for Roche to use its expertise and logistics capabilities
• involve Roche actively at an early stage with local authorities and established partners
• engage Roche employees in cultural (focus on contemporary arts), educational and social activities
• managed by an accredited charity

Our four focus areas

Humanitarian and Social

We direct the majority of our philanthropic donations to humanitarian and social development projects.

Science and education

We are dedicated to programmes that promote scientific interest and provide educational opportunities for young people around the world.

Community and Environment

We are committed to building stronger communities and responding to natural disasters sustainably.

Arts and Culture

We support groundbreaking contemporary art, cultural projects and activities that explore the parallels between innovation in art and in science. 

Mission

Driven by a philanthropic calling to support marginalized communities throughout the world, the Semnani Family Foundation partners with on-the-ground organizations and leverages its resources in a cost-effective and efficient manner that delivers the maximum benefit.

History

Guided by his grandmother Maliheh’s example and teachings, Khosrow Semnani and his wife Ghazaleh established the Semnani Family Foundation in 1993. The foundation’s first grant was issued through CARE International to an orphanage in Romania that cared for newborns affected by HIV. Over the last few decades, the foundation has continued to build upon its mission to empower the disaffected, partnering with a variety of organizations in different countries who can make the greatest impact.

In addition to its global influence, the Semnani Family Foundation established roots within the state of Utah with the founding of Maliheh Free Clinic in 2005 to provide free healthcare to thousands of uninsured people in the Salt Lake City area.

Where We Work

The Semnani Family Foundation focuses primarily on promoting health, education, and disaster relief for marginalized communities all around the world. Driven by a clear mission to adapt and serve at the global level, we have leveraged our resources to make a meaningful impact in the following countries so far:

• Afghanistan
• Bosnia
• Colombia
• England
• Ethiopia
• Ghana
• Guatemala
• India
• Iran
• Kenya
• Madagascar
• Mali
• Mexico
• Pakistan
• Philippines
• Romania
• Somalia
• South Africa
• Tanzania
• Tonga
• Uganda
• United States
• Yemen

At the heart of the Foundation lies a fervent commitment to human welfare, always prioritizing health and the needs of society’s most vulnerable.

Our Process

SVP Denver provides social impact organizations with free training and pro bono consulting services to increase their capacity and expand their impact. Here’s what we offer:

Training Cohorts:

We run training cohorts several times a year on a variety of topics to help groups of 4-6 social impact organizations level up. Each cohort is facilitated by a subject matter expert and social impact organizations are matched with an experienced SVP Partner who will act as their coach, providing additional support and third-party feedback on deliverables. 

Individual Strategic Projects:

Leadership and staff from your organization will work directly with SVP Denver partners rather than in a group cohort setting. Examples of projects include:

• Improving your financial management system
• Guiding you through a merger of two nonprofit organizations
• Supporting improvement of board of director governance processes
• Developing a business plan to guide your organization’s growth
• Tapping into masterminds by assembling a group of SVP Denver experts on a specific need (real estate, mergers/acquisitions, fundraising, etc.) to share expertise and solve problems.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis from organizations focused on basic human needs or economic mobility (e.g. housing, food security, education, job training, etc). Selected organizations will participate in a one-on-one virtual discussion to better understand your goals. If you are selected to become a capacity-building investee, we will begin the matchmaking process of finding SVP Denver partners who have relevant skills and a passion for your mission.

Capacity Building Grants

What SVP Will Bring to the Table

• Targeted investments. Our SVP Denver partners’ (members) time, professional expertise and resources include dedicated pro-bono consulting teams with relevant skill sets.
• Skilled volunteers. Our dedicated and passionate SVP partners roll up their sleeves and help build your organization’s capacity in areas that are keeping you from reaching your full potential.
• Commitment to working in partnership. Often there’s a power dynamic in capacity- building relationships; we do our best to mitigate that. We invite honest feedback, own up to our mistakes and strive to find a path forward that works for all. SVP Denver partners may have specific expertise and skills that can help you, but you’re the expert in your mission. Thus, we see our investee engagements as peer-learning opportunities where we can learn from each other while working towards goals.

What SVP Denver Will Ask of the investee

• Willingness to take a hard look at what’s holding your organization back, and share those weaknesses openly. After honest conversations, we can get to work – together.
• Flexibility and openness to working with our SVP Denver partners who have busy schedules, varied professional backgrounds and joined our organization to give back strategically to yours.
• A commitment to calling us out when something’s not working for you. That may be uncomfortable, but our best results come from honest relationships.
• Identifying the capacity-building areas you want to work on with us and how they relate to your mission.
• Be open to metrics/assessments throughout the process. We want to understand what impact our work together has so we can track our progress.
• Employ a work plan that follows a logic model framework as outlined in this resource.
• Develop impact metrics for each change project, both at the end of our engagement and one year later.

Helping Build Better Futures

Our mission is to deliver great value to our customers every day. For over four decades, our deep commitment to the principles of providing value and caring for others has helped define our culture. It extends beyond the walls of our stores, distribution centers, and offices, and into our local communities around the world. The intersection of these principles defines our global community mission:

Deliver great value to our communities by helping vulnerable families and children access the resources and opportunities they need to build a better future.

Our Social Impact Areas

We bring our community relations mission to life around the world by focusing our giving on four social impact areas where we believe we can have the most impact and are critical to helping families and children succeed and thrive.

Basic Needs

We are passionate about supporting nonprofit organizations that help fill critical basic needs such as a warm meal, clean clothing, and a safe place to sleep for vulnerable families.

Education & Training

Our efforts have focused on quality enrichment and extracurricular programs that provide skills, resources, and opportunities to support school and career success for children, teens, and young adults.

Patient Care & Research

We support organizations that deliver services to families and children facing health challenges and life-threatening illnesses.

Empowering Women

We support programs that provide services ranging from help for those fleeing domestic violence, to others that offer education, training, and job placement resources.

About the BRAVO Fund

The BRAVO Fund aims to improve the quality of life for Latino communities throughout Boulder County. BRAVO engages donors in philanthropy with the purpose of building resiliency through active voices and opportunities. The BRAVO Fund supports the Latino community in Boulder County by raising money and distributing grants.

We believe in the power of philanthropy to bridge the gaps among diverse communities. For more than 3 decades, the community foundation has brought people together to better meet the needs of all residents by promoting social justice, expanding opportunities for leadership, and empowering residents to benefit their own communities.

Program Information

The mission of the BRAVO Fund is to:

• Promote social justice.
• Strengthen opportunities for Latino leadership.
• Empower Latinos to engage in philanthropy that benefits their own communities.

About the Open Door Fund

The Open Door Fund supports lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning (LGBTQ+) individuals and allies in Boulder County.

From seniors to youth, our LGBTQ+ community faces persistent challenges including discrimination in the workplace, at school, when seeking healthcare, and in public spaces, as well as increased mental health struggles due to discrimination, stigma, and social isolation.

In response, the Open Door Fund, a permanent endowment of Community Foundation Boulder County, aims to support the strengths and needs of the LGBTQ+ community in Boulder County through grantmaking to organizations supporting LGBTQ+ individuals.

Since 1996 the fund has raised over $2M from thousands of donors and distributed nearly $1M to provide for the continuing needs of this community.

Program Information

The mission of the Open Door Fund is to:

• Support the strengths and needs of LGBTQ+ people in Boulder County.
• Build the LGBTQ+ community.
• Foster collaboration and dialogue between the LGBTQ+ population and the broader community.
• Provide a source of support for organizations serving the LGBTQ+ community.

About the Veterans Fund

The Veterans Fund, a permanent endowment of the Community Foundation Boulder County, supports Boulder County Veterans and their families by raising money and distributing grants to community partners to create, sustain, or expand programs and projects for Veterans.   

The Veterans Fund supports our community by raising money and distributing grants for programs that enhance the lives of its Veterans and their families.

Program Information

The Veterans Fund’s mission is to:

• Support the strengths and meet the needs of Veterans, transitioning servicemembers, and their families in Boulder County.
• Build community around and among Veterans.
• Foster education about Veterans’ issues and dialogue between Veterans and the community.
• Provide a source of support for organizations serving the Veteran community.

Our Mission

Our mission is to continue and further the philanthropic legacy of Gardner Cowles, Jr. and the Cowles family, which includes promotion of education, social justice, health, and the arts.

The Founder

The Cowles Charitable Trust was first established in 1948 by Gardner “Mike” Cowles, Jr. (1903-1985). Born into the Cowles publishing family of Des Moines, Iowa, Mike was the youngest of Gardner Cowles and Florence Call Cowles’ six children. A newspaper editor and publisher by trade, he was committed to his family’s traditions of responsible, public-spirited, and innovative journalism as well as philanthropy. 

The Cowles Charitable Trust supports the arts, education, the advancement of ethical journalism, medical and climate research.

About Us

In 1952, the U. of C. Federal Credit Union was founded with 12 members and less than $100 in assets to serve the financial needs of CU Boulder staff and faculty. Today, Elevations is an award-winning Colorado financial institution with over $3 billion in assets and more than 170,000 members. While our name has changed and our credit union has grown, our focus remains on empowering our members with financial solutions and education.

Elevations Foundation Community Grants

The Local Change Foundation is proud to support Front Range nonprofits through our Community Grants Program. Grant awards will generally range from $5,000 - $10,000 to organizations that strengthen our communities in the following focus areas: 

• Mental Health
• Affordable Housing

Calling to Serve

Since its inception in 2016, the Robinson Foundation has sought to demonstrate God’s love through sharing the gifts we have received. We understand the often unspoken hardships and struggles that people in and outside of our community face everyday. As such, our contributions are focused on relieving these hardships for the betterment of our world.

As a family-operated foundation, we pray that our small efforts will not only create immediate change in the lives of our neighbors, but will help set those lives on a course for success in the future. We are thankful for each and every day we have on this earth to use what God has granted us to make a difference.

Areas of Interest

• Animal Welfare
• Children & Families
• Disaster Relief
• Education
• Medical Assistance
• Nature & Wildlife Conservation
• Poverty Relief
• Religious & Spiritual Endeavors
• Veterans' Issues

Grant Considerations

We take many different aspects of applications into account when making grant issuing decisions, however these are some of the high-level questions we ask ourselves during the process:

• How does the organization serve their key audience goals?
• Is the organization fiscally responsible?
• Will a grant have a tangible, meaningful impact?
• Will we see direct results from this grant?
• Does the organization have other financial contributors?

The Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation Vision

The Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation, "A Foundation for All", was established in 2002. It was begun in order to give a clear voice for those who wish to be a part of the many, worthy, forces for change in our world.

We are a foundation whose purpose is to look ahead towards the future, giving the past its due by remembering where we came from, and how much we can all accomplish together. We aim to make the critical difference on our planet by recognizing and having respect for our ever changing world. We respect all Life, the Environment, and all People, no matter who they are.

First Ascent Charitable Foundation

Mission Statement: To enrich, educate and better communities through the support of charities and organizations our family is passionate about. 

Specific Areas of Focus: To support the development, growth, and achievement of women through education, business and entrepreneurship in order to provide more opportunities and promote greater equality; to protect mountain environments and access to wild places for human-powered activities; to promote experiential education and training in order to increase awareness and appreciation of wild places and support careers in the outdoors and to strengthen our community through the support of local organizations and causes in Boulder County.

Program Areas

• Animal Welfare
• Arts and Culture
• Civic Activities,
• Community Development,
• Education,
• Environment,
• Health and Medical Research
• Human and Social Services
• Religious
• Scientific

The Lawrence Foundation is a private family foundation focused on making grants to support environmental, human services and other causes.

The Lawrence Foundation was established in mid-2000. We make both program and operating grants and do not have any geographical restrictions on our grants. Nonprofit organizations that qualify for public charity status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or other similar organizations are eligible for grants from The Lawrence Foundation.  

Grant Amount and Types

Grants typically range between $5,000 - $10,000. In some limited cases we may make larger grants, but that is typically after we have gotten to know your organization over a period of time. We also generally don’t make multi-year grants, although we may fund the same organization on a year by year basis over a period of years.

General operating or program/project grant requests within our areas of interests are accepted. In general, regardless of whether a grant request is for general operating or program/project expenses, all of our grants will be issued as unrestricted grants.

About Grants

Impact100 Metro Denver provides high-impact grants that enable compelling but often lesser known initiatives to dream “big”. Our goal is to provide significant grants that reach under-served populations, highlight unmet needs in our community, and raise the profile of organizations striving to make transformative change.

The Impact100 Metro Denver 2025 grant is a one-time, $100,000 Impact Grant to empower a Denver area non-profit to significantly impact its ability to meet its mission and serve its constituents. This is core mission funding; the grant could be used in any way the applicant believes this funding will impact its ability to serve its constituents, including strengthening or expanding existing programs or adding a new program.

About Impact100 Metro Denver

Impact100 Metro Denver brings together women in our community to provide a $100,000 grant to a Denver-area non-profit to significantly impact how it meets its mission and serves its constituents. The mission of Impact100 Metro Denver is to inspire and empower a community of women to be intentional and informed philanthropists, collectively funding grants to Metro Denver nonprofits. Each of our members gives $1,000 annually and has one vote toward the selection of the annual grant award.

Focus Areas

Arts & Culture

Programs that promote creative thinking, expression, education or appreciation.

Economic Opportunity

Programs that focus on economic independence, housing security, training, education or life skills

Education & Lifelong Learning

Programs that strive to close achievement gaps by addressing access, parity and quality.

Environmental Conservation

Programs that address economic and health consequences, protect natural resources or provide access to recreation.

Health & Wellness

Programs that provide access to health services, raise risk awareness and build equity in health care.

Social Services

Programs that meet needs for food, clothing, shelter and safety; or that tackle social problems in vulnuerable communities.

Ameriprise Financial Grantmaking

At Ameriprise Financial, giving back is deeply rooted in our culture. We’ve initiated positive change in the communities where we live and work for more than 120 years. We believe our community involvement enables us to actively live our values. Through grant making, volunteerism and employee and financial advisor gift matching programs, we support a diverse group of over 6,000 nonprofits across the country.

Focus Areas

Awarding grant dollars to nonprofits is one way we strengthen our communities and help individuals on a path to financial independence. To ensure we're meeting the needs of our communities and making an even greater collective impact, we focus on three key giving areas when awarding grants.

Volunteer engagement is a priority across all focus areas:

The engagement of Ameriprise employees and financial advisors is a critical component of our philanthropy. Whether it’s serving on a nonprofit board, engaging friends, clients and community members in volunteering or providing skills-based support, our relationships with nonprofits go deep. For this reason, we give priority across all focus areas to applications where there is active volunteer engagement of Ameriprise advisors and employees. 

Meeting Basic Needs

At Ameriprise Financial, we help clients achieve financial security and peace of mind. That’s satisfying, meaningful work. We also help the people in our neighborhoods who struggle to meet basic needs such as where their next meal comes from, where they’ll sleep tonight or how they’ll find a higher wage job. We’re here to help them through the three platforms of our Meeting Basic Needs focus area.

Consideration is given to applications addressing the following: 

• Hunger
• Food banks, food shelves and food pantries, daily meal programs or meal services for the homebound
• Hunger-relief programs targeted to meet the special needs of children, ethnic populations or veterans
• Food programs run by nonprofits where hunger is not their sole focus, for example a youth meal program at the YWCA or a backpack program run by a Boys & Girls Club
• Shelter
• Emergency shelter, including youth homelessness
• Transitional housing, permanent supportive housing and efforts to end chronic homelessness
• Housing-first models (programs quickly providing housing and then addressing needed services)
• Achieving and maintaining home ownership, repair and maintenance efforts helping keep seniors, veterans and other populations in their homes 
• Adult Self-Sufficiency: Programs serving adults age 21 and older that help address the following areas:
• Basic hard and soft skills that help adults achieve economic and family stability
• Basic financial and budgeting skills
• Increase employability and wages, including work readiness and job transitions
• Employment of disabled adults

Supporting Community Vitality

We believe communities should be strong, healthy and resilient. We want livable places for all, where neighbors look out for one another, cultural events are well-attended and people pull together in times of crisis and joy. We work to create economic vitality and cultural enrichment through the following areas of focus.

Consideration is given to applications addressing the following: 

• Community Development
• Neighborhood revitalization
• Economic development
• Strengthening and supporting small businesses and nonprofits through technical expertise
• Cultural Enrichment
• Arts education
• Access for underserved populations
• Diverse artists and performances that spark topical community conversations 

Volunteer Driven Causes: Ameriprise employees and financial advisors are outstanding volunteers who serve in teams and also as individuals bringing personal skill-sets to nonprofits. Volunteering is part of the culture at Ameriprise and we are proud to support communities through contributions of both service and financial resources. 

Funding for Volunteer-Driven Causes is determined by current Ameriprise volunteerism. In general, funding is in proportion to the size of the Ameriprise volunteer team supporting a nonprofit. A team may include employees, financial advisors and/or staff or a combination of any Ameriprise volunteers. 

About CFBC Grants

We partner with organizations county-wide, connecting resources with ideas to help make Boulder County a place where all can thrive. 

Our funding areas focus on a broad range of issues including animal care and welfare, arts and culture, civic engagement, education, environment, and health and human services, alongside support for the Latino, LGBTQ+, and Veterans communities.

15 Forever Fund Request For Proposals

15 Forever was established at the Community Foundation Boulder County in 2006 to promote civic engagement and leadership among Boulder County youth. Since that time, this youth-driven program has granted over $225,000. The intention of 15 Forever is to address the needs and concerns of Boulder County youth from a peer perspective. Students involved in 15 Forever learn about philanthropy and local issues by managing their own grant cycle over the course of the school year. Students raise funds for entities addressing community issues that they have prioritized. 100% of funds raised by students will go directly to grantees.

Please see FAQs for additional guidelines.

About Community Trust

Community Trust is a grantmaking fund addressing needs throughout Boulder County in the areas of 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. Every year, more than 80 Boulder County community members volunteer over 2,500 hours of their time reviewing Community Trust grant applications and making grant recommendations.

Foundation staff manage the review process, lead committee meetings, and present community foundation leadership with the committees’ grant recommendations.

Community Trust grants range between $3,000 and $9,000. Applications are submitted online. Once an application is submitted, an email receipt is sent confirming it was received.

Focus Areas

Community Trust is no longer divided into two grant cycles. Applications for all areas will be accepted at the same time. 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 Trust grants typically range between $1,000 and $9,000. Grant awards will be for general operating support. Applicants are invited to apply once to Community Trust. Applications must be submitted online. Once the application is submitted, an email receipt will be sent confirming it was received.

The Denver Post, The Denver Post Community Foundation and Denver Active 20-30 Children’s Foundation, with funds raised through Season To Share, are committed to helping those less fortunate in our community improve their lives and become self-sufficient. Thanks to the generous support of donors, readers and corporations…grants are made to qualified nonprofit organizations that focus on children and youth, health and wellness, homelessness and hunger.

Grant Making Focus Areas

Children and Youth

All children should have the chance to succeed in life and opportunities to help them reach their full potential by being on track for success in the classroom and in life.

Funding will focus mainly on out-of-school time programs that support the development of children and youth in the community, ages 5 – 18. Programs must be evidence-based and demonstrate positive outcomes in academic achievement and/or social and emotional development and show ongoing relationships with children/ youth beyond a one-time encounter. Programs must also focus on youth with barriers to success, serving at least 60% who qualify for free and reduced lunch or other low-income indicator.

Health and Wellness

Everyone deserves access to services that help them be healthy, including physical, behavioral and dental health care.

Funding will focus on established programs providing access to affordable, high-quality health care services for low-income residents in under-served communities. Programs of interest include community health centers serving under- and uninsured populations that provide integrated care and K-12 school-based health centers in schools where at least 60% of students qualifying for free and reduced lunch. Organizations must be able to demonstrate positive health outcomes for clients in addition to other output measures.

Homelessness

The issue of homelessness persists in our community and providing housing and services is important in working to end homelessness and support families and individuals.

This funding area supports prevention services and/or long-term housing strategies with multiple wrap-around services for individuals and families. Eligible programs include homelessness prevention programs that provide short-term financial support (i.e. rent, utilities, mortgage) to maintain current housing and supportive and transitional housing (six months or more) with additional supporting services. Programs must effectively demonstrate impact by tracking clients who are able to maintain housing and/or those who transition into and maintain more permanent and/or stable housing.

Hunger

Families and individuals deserve access to nutritious, supplemental food in order to meet their daily needs and to help support them in work and school.

Funding priority is given to established providers with large-scale programs or initiatives that reduce food insecurity. Eligible organizations and programs must meet the following criteria: effectively use data to make organizational decisions; provide client-choice services; offer nutritious food options; work in geographic areas where gaps for and access to nutritional services exist; support enrollment in SNAP/benefit programs; and provide warm referrals to other community supports.

Community Partnership Award

The Mutual of America Foundation Community Partnership Award recognizes outstanding nonprofit organizations in the United States that have shown exemplary leadership by facilitating partnerships with public, private or social sector leaders who are working together as equal partners, not as donors and recipients, to build a cohesive community that serves as a model for collaborating with others for the greater good.

Each year, the Mutual of America Foundation sponsors a national competition in which hundreds of organizations demonstrate the value of their partnership to the communities they serve, their ability to be replicated by others and their capacity to stimulate new approaches to addressing significant social issues.

Six organizations are selected by an independent committee to receive the Community Partnership Award.

• The Thomas J. Moran Award is given to the national award-winning program and includes $100,000 and a documentary video about the program.
• The Frances R. Hesselbein Award is given to a partnership that is addressing social challenges in more than one community, or which demonstrates the potential to be replicated in other communities. This recipient receives $75,000.
• Four other organizations are named Honorable Mention recipients for their programs, and each receives $50,000.

Since its inception in 1996, the Community Partnership Award has recognized 262 partnerships from cities and towns across America. Like so many of our clients working in the nonprofit community, Mutual of America is dedicated to having a direct, positive impact on society.

Program Purpose

The purpose of the Local Government Limited Gaming Impact Grant Program is to provide financial assistance to eligible local governments to address documented negative gaming impacts stemming from limited stakes gaming in the communities of Cripple Creek, Black Hawk and Central City. Grant funds are provided competitively to help finance planning, construction, and maintenance of public facilities and the provision of public services related to the documented negative gaming impacts, including gambling addiction counseling, prevention and education to Colorado residents.

Total Funding Available: $7,500,000

Background

Women of color contribute immensely to the health, well-being, and advancement of our communities. They mobilize grassroots movements that create real change, they are thought leaders who shape our understanding of gender and race, and they are uniquely positioned to lead us into a better future because of their lived experiences. At the same time, women of color face greater disparities in health outcomes, pay, wealth, access to capital, and more.

Two leading philanthropic organizations – Echoing Green and Bridgespan – found in a recent research report that “racial inequity is built into philanthropic norms.” Black- and Latino-led organizations face significant disparities in revenue, assets, and acquired funding. Gender only compounds these disparities, despite the monumental achievements of grassroots, women-of-color-led initiatives.

As the only community foundation in our state focused on Colorado women and their families, it is up to us to change that. From the purpose, goals, creation, and management of the fund, we are committed to rejecting the problematic philanthropic norms that cause women of color to receive just .5% of all philanthropic dollars.

WGCF Grants

Our framework and priorities for the Women & Girls of Color Fund are based on your feedback. The fund focuses on organizations led by women or girls of color executive directors that are committed to building economic power and dismantling oppressive systems through direct service or community organizing.

The Women & Girls of Color Fund has two grant cycles per year: Rural focus and Front Range focus (Larimer, Boulder, Broomfield, Jefferson, Denver, Arapahoe, Douglas, Adams, and El Paso counties)

Our funding priorities are grounded in increasing investments in Colorado women and girls of color, their leadership, their futures, and their economic security.

• Led by women and girls of color: Women of color have the experience and community knowledge to best lead our communities into an equitable future. Grantee organizations will be led by women of color executive directors.
• Focused on women and girls of color: Women and girls of color receive just .5% of all foundation funding. Programs we fund will have a focus on the power and potential of women and girls of color.
• Colorado-based and Colorado-focused: Colorado is a large and diverse state. Grantees will take a range of approaches to advancing the economic security of women and girls of color based on their specific communities' needs.
• Liberatory leadership: Grantees will not only reject systems of racism, classism, homophobia, and patriarchy, they will also demonstrate radical practices of liberatory leadership such as self care and collective leadership, which undermine white supremacy culture.
• Advancing economic security: In alignment with The Women's Foundation of Colorado's mission, the fund will support programs that advance the economic security of women and girls of color.
• Those most underfunded: Following principles of intersectionality, the Women & Girls of Color Fund will prioritize those communities marginalized by multiple systems of oppression and most underfunded.

Our Mission

Uniting people, ideas, and resources to advance the common good.

What We Do

Working side-by-side with the community, Mile High United Way takes on critical human services issues facing our seven-county footprint of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson counties. For the current grant cycle, our priority will continue to be placed on basic needs services (access to housing, access to food, tax preparation, and legal services), out of-school time, and early childhood education.

What We Believe

• We believe every person who calls Colorado home deserves the opportunity to thrive
• We believe every young person deserves a strong start
• We believe every family should be economically stable
• We believe in community
• We believe in neighborhoods
• We believe in the power of diverse and inclusive voices
• We believe in data

Our Community Priorities

• Giving all children a strong start
  • Ensuring all children entering kindergarten ready to succeed
• Supporting Education and Academic Success
  • Building educational success through partnerships with schools, families, and communities
• Creating Economic Opportunity For All
  • Ensuring people can meet their basic needs and have opportunities to move toward economic success

Strategic Investment Grant (SIG) opportunity

The Strategic Investment Grant (SIG) opportunity is our flagship grantmaking program investing in eligible nonprofit organizations across the seven-county Metro Denver area. These organizations are an extension of our mission in the community. The goal of this Strategic Investment Grant opportunity is to focus investments on outstanding organizations whose work aligns with our overarching strategy to provide high-quality early childhood education, high-quality out-of-school time programming and access to housing, food, legal services, and tax preparation. Strategic Investment Grants are awarded through a competitive, community-driven process.

Issue Areas

We selected six issue areas for funding, under three categories:

• Basic Needs
  • Access to Housing
  • Access to Food
  • Legal Services
  • Tax Preparation
• Out-of-School Time
• Early Childhood

Types of Support

Organizations can apply for General Operating or Program support. The following organizations can apply for Program support only:

• Schools, school districts, school foundations.
• Government entities.