Search Through Jefferson County Grants for Nonprofits in Colorado

Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Grants

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation only accepts unsolicited proposals for specific areas within the education, family economic stability and childhood health sectors in select countries where we work, namely the United States, India and South Africa.

As a guideline, the foundation does not fund more than 25% of a project’s budget or more than 10% of an organization’s total annual operating expenses.

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation has always recognized the power of providing grants to partner organizations that we knew were already working hard to improve the lives of urban children living in poverty. By aligning with organizations that are already making a difference, we continue to make an immediate impact on the lives of thousands of children.

Foundation priorities:

We fund social enterprises that directly serve or impact children or youth from urban low-income communities in the areas of education, health, and family economic stability (including livelihoods and financial inclusion). These social enterprises may be structured as for-profit or nonprofit entities.

Partnerships

We collaborate with a range of organizations focused on creating opportunities for children and families living in urban poverty, with a deep emphasis on measuring impact. Our funding advances projects already making an impact in education, health, and family economic stability. Through these enduring and long-standing partnerships, we create lasting change together.

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.

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.

Bonfils-Stanton Foundation

Mission Statement

Bonfils-Stanton Foundation invests in inclusive, diverse, and equitable arts & culture and nonprofit leaders to create a thriving and just Denver.

Vision Statement

Denver is a diverse, vibrant community where arts and culture are essential, relevant and accessible to all, and nonprofit leaders have the tools and support they need to lead with vision, creativity, compassion and equity.

Technical Assistance

The Foundation recognizes the need for small, technical assistance grants especially as organizations and groups are reimagining their operations or programming, exploring ways to sustain and/or grow operations, or seeking to enhance team skill sets. Support may be used for a consultant, planning, technology or training/professional development. Grants are capped at $5,000 and are intended as one-time awards, not ongoing support. 

The Bonfils-Stanton Foundation has a longstanding commitment to empowering organizations dedicated to community development and enrichment. With a vision to foster sustainable growth and impact, the Foundation has initiated the Quarterly Community Grants program (which includes Technical Assistance grants) to offer vital support to organizations striving for long-term stability and effectiveness in fulfilling their missions.

Project Examples

Examples of types of projects eligible for funding:

• Strategic planning
• Governance and board development
• DEI and racial equity training
• Leadership and staff training
• Marketing and communications planning
• Fund development planning
• Membership, donor, ticketing software or other data and systems management

We have strong partnerships with nonprofit organizations across the country that are working to advance economic mobility and social progress in low- and moderate-income communities. Our focus areas include basic needs like food and housing, workforce development and education, and community development. In addition to our philanthropic investments, we also encourage our employees to make a difference by offering robust employee giving and volunteering programs, including the opportunity to direct funds to organizations they support through volunteer efforts, and a matching gifts program that doubles their individual giving to causes they care about. Last year, we invested $350 million in the communities we serve, and employees contributed more than 1 million volunteer hours and directed $65 million through individual giving and matching gifts to support nonprofits.Through our regional U.S. sponsorships, we support the economic, social and cultural life of the places we live and work. We provide an extensive program of arts and sports sponsorships to help maintain vibrant, healthy communities.Sponsorships supporting communitiesBank of America welcomes your sponsorship proposal for opportunities that make our communities a better place to live and work. We are particularly interested in providing support to address needs vital to the health of our communities through a focus on:

• preserving neighborhoods;
• educating the workforce for 21st century jobs;
• addressing critical needs such as hunger and emergency shelter;
• arts and culture;
• the environment; and
• diversity and inclusion programs.

Grants are made at the Foundation’s discretion based on our current funding strategies focused on housing, jobs and hunger. 

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.

We provide grants to nonprofits working to drive positive social change and prosperity for Jefferson County (Jeffco) residents. Our funding opportunities focus on impact areas developed through active community listening to create a more equitable and resilient community. By providing these grants, we strive to increase the resources for nonprofits to advance their mission to make good happen so Jeffco can thrive.

Workforce Development Grant Opportunity

Funding to support Jeffco residents as they adapt to evolving job markets and securing better employment opportunities that exceed the cost of living.

Bonfils-Stanton Foundation

Bonfils-Stanton Foundation strategically provides grants and fellowships to advance the arts and inspire creative leadership in Denver. Our foundation is richly steeped in Denver’s cultural history, but we are also a contemporary leader in fueling innovation and exploration in our creative economy.Denver is a diverse, vibrant community where arts and culture are essential, relevant and accessible to all, and nonprofit leaders have the tools and support they need to lead with vision, creativity, compassion and equity.Each year we give more than $3.5 million to arts organizations and nonprofit leaders, because we believe these entities and individuals are critical to building and sustaining a vibrant and just community.

Equity-Focused Leadership Grants

The Equity-Focused Leadership Grants program seeks to nurture a pipeline of diverse leaders committed to driving positive change within their communities. The nonprofit sector has consistently struggled with a lack of diversity of staff – especially at the executive level. This persistent racial leadership gap negatively impacts the career trajectories and well-being of BIPOC professionals who face systemic barriers that prevent them, and others from historically marginalized communities, from pursuing pathways to executive leadership. To help address these disparities and build on our longstanding commitment to support leaders who affect change, Bonfils-Stanton Foundation seeks to support the pipeline of potential leaders through the Equity-Focused Leadership grants which provide up to $10,000 to six (6) organizations that support the leadership development of BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and/or adults with disabilities aspiring to lead in the nonprofit sector. 

Process

Grant awards will be determined by a panel of BSF staff and community members who will evaluate proposals based on the following criteria:

• Development and use of innovative, culturally relevant methods to supporting leaders
• Degree and depth of community involvement in both identifying and addressing the issue(s)/need(s) of aspiring leaders
• Centering BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disability and/or other underrepresented communities and their lived experiences in program design and implementation
• Potential for the program to cultivate leaders who champion systems change
• Organizational commitment to fair wages/stipends for program staff/collaborators

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

Art for the Culture, Leaders for the People.

Bonfils-Stanton Foundation, Denver’s leading private arts funder, has distributed over $90 million in grants since 1981.

We extend grantmaking opportunities to arts institutions and organizations dedicated to fostering a just and vibrant city. Bridging arts and leadership, we shape Denver's cultural and civic landscape through investing with impact, innovative grant-making, and community partnerships. We are creating a vibrant city that works for everyone.

Capital

Grants for capital projects, typically for organizations with operating budgets under $5 million.

Grants for capital projects are generally considered for organizations with which the Foundation has an established relationship. To allow for more community-focused and opportunistic grantmaking capacity the Foundation is unlikely to fund significant capital gifts for the largest cultural organizations with operating budgets typically over $5 million. 

Art for the Culture, Leaders for the People

Bonfils-Stanton Foundation, Denver’s leading private arts funder, has distributed over $90 million in grants since 1981.

We extend grantmaking opportunities to arts institutions and organizations dedicated to fostering a just and vibrant city. Bridging arts and leadership, we shape Denver's cultural and civic landscape through investing with impact, innovative grant-making, and community partnerships. We are creating a vibrant city that works for everyone.

Our Grantmaking Approach

Bonfils-Stanton Foundation invests in inclusive, diverse, and equitable arts and culture organizations and nonprofit leaders to create a thriving and just Denver. We seek to impact three of our five main goals through our grantmaking initiatives:

• Strengthen cultural organizations and increase arts engagement
• Nurture creative, transformational nonprofit leaders and artists
• Elevate the visibility and value of the arts, cultural heritage, and identity

Quarterly Community Grants

Unrestricted operating grants for ongoing stability to carry out an organization’s mission. Project support considered for relationship building.

A priority of the Foundation is to provide unrestricted operating grants for ongoing stability to carry out an organization’s mission. These grants may take time to secure as we build a relationship together. A new applicant to quarterly community grants may have received support through another Bonfils-Stanton initiative that supported a stage of earlier development. Project support may also be considered as a way to build our relationship. General operating and project support is currently capped at $60,000.

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.

Who We Are

For 50 years, the Golden Civic Foundation has had a profound impact on our community by partnering with residents, government, businesses, schools and nonprofit organizations to ensure essential programs and services work together to achieve lasting, positive change. This profound impact started in the late 1960s when the City of Golden was a much different place – nearly 40 percent of downtown Golden was vacant and the existing businesses had a difficult time surviving. There was a dire need for civic improvements, but tax revenues and other public funds were simply not available. It was at this point when a group of businessmen, Heinie Foss, Fred Pattridge and Joe Meyer, along with other City officials formed the Golden Civic Foundation in May 1970.

Our mission is to invest in the economic and cultural vitality of the Golden Community. For 50 years we have provided Civic Development, Community Grants and Small Business Loans with the help of our partnerships, donations, and volunteers. Our charter is clear: to champion the passion and spirit of those who inhabit our neighborhoods, to assist beyond what’s expected, and ultimately abide by the “Golden Rule.”

“For the Good of Golden” Grant Program

The Golden Civic Foundation’s (GCF) mission is to invest in the economic and cultural vitality of the Golden community. We do this by mobilizing resources, gathering and sharing critical information, and making meaningful connections to keep the character of the Golden community. Since 1970, we have provided Civic Development, Community Grants and Small Business Loans with the help of our partnerships, donations, and volunteers. The GCF's Grant Program has provided more than $7.62 million to Golden's cultural, social service, clubs, schools and civic organizations.

Funding Priorities:

We believe supporting the economic and cultural vitality of Golden requires taking a broad perspective. Organizations seeking funding through the Grant Program may be working on one or more of six components of a vibrant community: Civic Development, Arts & Culture, Social Services, Education, Outdoor Stewardship & Recreation, and Community Improvement. The following table helps define GCF’s intention related to funding priorities.

Civic Development:

• Brick-and-mortar projects that provide improved amenities for our community such as improvements to a property (like a school track complex) or land, or property acquisition and re-purposing for the community’s benefit (like the American Mountaineering Center). 

Arts & Culture:

• Vibrant art and cultural amenities and experiences to promote cultural enrichment and help drive the local economy (examples include: public art, theater, music, and dance).

Social Services:

Infrastructure to give residents of all ages equitable access to opportunities for healthy living (such as social service facilities, amenities and services).

Education:

• Projects that benefit Golden students with high-quality learning and development, meaningful opportunities to pursue post-secondary education, career training, and pathways to gainful employment and fulfilling lives.

Outdoor Stewardship & Recreation

• Projects that sustain a healthy local outdoor environment and provide opportunities for outdoor entertainment and recreation (things like gardens, parks, and land preservation).

Community Improvement

• To provide "For the Good of Golden" at large and empower individuals or groups of people with the skills they need to effect change (strategic and organizational planning).

Mission Statement

We invest in equitable arts and culture organizations and nonprofit leaders to create a thriving and just Denver.

Bonfils-Stanton Foundation strategically provides grants and fellowships to advance the arts and inspire creative leadership in Denver. Our foundation is richly steeped in Denver’s cultural history, but we are also a contemporary leader in fueling innovation and exploration in our creative economy.

Denver is a diverse, vibrant community where arts and culture are essential, relevant and accessible to all, and nonprofit leaders have the tools and support they need to lead with vision, creativity, compassion and equity.

Inclusive Communities

Local, community-oriented organizations offering programs that integrate arts and culture play a critical role in the Denver area’s cultural ecosystem. In recognition of their important contributions, Bonfils-Stanton Foundation’s Inclusive Communities grant program provides $5,000 in unrestricted funding to Denver-area arts and culture organizations that are informed by, majority led by and serve BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and disability communities. Annual Inclusive Communities grants are awarded to small-budget nonprofits or fiscally-sponsored organizations for fostering deeper engagement with art and culture across our community through public programming.

We provide grants to nonprofits working to ensure all of Jefferson County (Jeffco) is thriving. Our funding opportunities are developed through active community listening to support collective wellbeing, economic freedom and vibrant communities. These grants provide resources for nonprofits to advance their mission and make good happen in Jeffco.

Housing Grant Opportunity

Funding to improve access to stable and affordable housing in Jefferson County.

Deaconess Foundation

Our Mission

In the spirit of our faith heritage, the mission of Deaconess Foundation is the improved health of the community and people of Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois.

Our Vision

Deaconess Foundation envisions a community that values the health and well-being of all and gives priority attention to the most invisiblized. This community only thrives if the allocation of power and distribution of resources, benefits, opportunities and burdens are not predictable by, nor predicated on race.

Nursing Scholarship Grants

The Deaconess Nursing Scholarship Program honors the nursing heritage of the Deaconess mission by supporting local students with demonstrated financial need. These grants are administered through a partnership with the Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis and the St. Louis American Foundation.

The In-N-Out Burger Foundation’s mission is to assist children and youth who have been victims of child abuse and neglect, and to prevent others from suffering a similar fate. The Foundation will only consider requests from organizations that closely align with our mission and that serve communities where In-N-Out Burger does business.

The In-N-Out Burger Foundation is happy to consider the following types of grants:

Traditional Grants: Grant awards range from $5,000 - $25,000.

Program: Restricted funding to support the development, expansion, or enhancement of programs within an existing organization.

General Operating Support: Unrestricted funding to support the overall operations and sustainability of your nonprofit. Applicants must present a strong case on how this funding will help sustain the organization’s mission and provide benefits to the children in their care. *Please note that all of your organization’s programs must align with our mission to be considered for this type of support.

Capital Grants: Grant awards range from $5,000 - $50,000.

Capital Campaign: Restricted funding for the construction of new facilities, renovations or upgrades to existing buildings, and other special projects that will enhance the organization’s mission.

Capital Purchase: Restricted funding to purchase equipment, furnishings, or any other major material purchases that will enhance the organization’s mission.

Capital grants are awarded on a very limited basis each year. The Foundation will only consider requests from organizations that meet all other funding criteria and who already have an established long-term funding relationship with the Foundation (minimum of 2 years).

Please carefully review the Capital Grant Guidelines above to ensure that your organization meets the requirements to apply. Capital Grants are invitation-only. Please contact us to set a 30-minute meeting to discuss your project and be prepared to send a draft summary of the project for review beforehand. 

Community Ties Giving Program

As part of the Community Ties Giving Program, Local Grants help us achieve our mission by providing small and medium-sized grants within our priority cause areas to local organizations spread widely across Union Pacific's footprint.

Funding Priorities & Objectives

Throughout its existence, the success of Union Pacific's business has been inextricably linked to the economic and community wellbeing of cities and towns across the nation. We take pride in the role we have played in helping communities thrive and believe the impact we can have on local communities is greatest when it is authentic to our history and reflective of the diverse company we are today.

As such, we have carefully aligned our Local Grants cause areas to our company's unique heritage, strengths, and assets. Specifically, we prioritize funding for direct services and efforts that build the capacity of organizations focused on the following causes within our local operating communities. Within each focus area, we aim to support programs and organizations working to advance the diversity, equity and inclusion of underrepresented populations within the local context and issue areas addressed. Find more information about our commitment to DEI in our FAQs.

Safety

In order for communities to thrive, all residents must feel safe. Just as the safety of our employees and community members is paramount to how we operate, Union Pacific is committed to helping communities prevent and prepare for incidents and emergencies, and helping residents get home safely at the end of each day. As such, we prioritize funding for projects and programs that seek to: 

• Encourage safe behaviors and prevent incidents through education and awareness, particularly projects which focus on rail, driver, bike, and pedestrian safety, and ensure outreach efforts reach underserved populations.
• Eliminate risks and improve safe and equitable access to community spaces through infrastructure improvements, such as signage, proper lighting, and public trail improvements.
• Prepare and equip residents and emergency responders* to effectively respond to incidents and emergencies if or when they occur.
  • *Union Pacific supports publicly funded emergency responders through a variety of corporate programs; only independent nonprofit, 501(c)(3) emergency response organizations, such as volunteer departments, are eligible for funding through this grant program
• Prevent crime and violent incidents and support survivors of domestic violence through efforts that address the root causes of these issues and seek to mitigate their occurrence.
• Build the capacity of safety-focused organizations to integrate practices that improve upon the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of the organization. This can take the form of internal capacity building or the creation/expansion of culturally relevant programming and services that seek to impact a broad and diverse audience. 

Workforce Development

For more than 160 years, Union Pacific has helped stimulate economic growth in cities and towns throughout the nation by training and providing employment to millions of workers. More than ever, we are committed to helping underrepresented residents in our communities achieve family-supporting careers like those offered by Union Pacific. As such, we prioritize funding for programs that seek to:

• Put youth on the right track by creating awareness of and pathways toward employment opportunities; building foundational skills, especially in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM); establishing necessary technical skills and life skills; and providing mentorship and positive role models for the future.
• Raise awareness of, educate and prepare young adults for middle skills jobs like those Union Pacific offers, for instance through community colleges, vocational and career training programs, workforce readiness initiatives, and programs that assist with job placement and/or on-the-job experience.
  • Programs that develop proficiency in areas relevant to Union Pacific operations such as welding, electrical work, machine operations, and civil and electrical engineering are given priority.
• "Up-skill" the existing workforce by providing training and resources that enable them to reach the next level of their career.
  • Programs that develop proficiency in areas of relevance to Union Pacific operations are given priority.
• Resolve barriers to employment such as transportation, childcare, acquiring necessary equipment for work, and second chance employment programs.
• Build the capacity of workforce development-focused organizations to integrate practices that improve upon the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of the organization. This can take the form of internal capacity building or the creation/expansion of culturally relevant programming and services that seek to impact a broad and diverse audience. 

Community Vitality

Union Pacific Railroad is committed to establishing vibrant, healthy and inclusive communities for employees, customers and residents to work, visit and call home. Just as the railroad opened avenues for economic development and opportunity more than 160 years ago, we maintain this tradition by cultivating unique cultural and recreational experiences and equipping community members with opportunities to live healthy, vital lives. As such, we prioritize funding for projects and programs that seek to:

• Create, sustain or expand artistic and cultural experiences offered to a broad and diverse audience (e.g., museums, theaters, zoos, cultural and local heritage, visual and performing arts, etc.)
• Provide recreational opportunities that foster wellbeing, enrichment and/or an appreciation for our natural environment (e.g., parks, libraries, senior centers, recreation centers, learning centers, etc.).
• Revive neighborhoods and main street areas, especially in historically underinvested neighborhoods, to improve livability, promote commerce and attract more residents, businesses and visitors to town.
• Ensure residents’ basic needs are met and barriers are overcome (e.g., safe shelter and homelessness prevention, hunger relief, mental health and community health needs, etc.).
• Offer youth development and educational opportunities to ensure young people can thrive into healthy and productive community members (e.g., mentoring, leadership development, tutoring, services for youth in foster care, etc.).
• Build the capacity of community vitality-focused organizations to integrate practices that improve upon the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of the organization. This can take the form of internal capacity building or the creation/expansion of culturally relevant programming and services that seek to impact a broad and diverse audience. 

Environmental Sustainability

The future of our business, communities and planet depends on bold, collective action to reduce and slow the impacts of climate change while building a more sustainable economy for the next generation. Union Pacific is taking deliberate steps to reduce our environmental impact and helping our partners improve their own. Extending this commitment to our community investments, we seek to support leading environmental nonprofits and community-based organizations to advance the health of our environment. As such, we prioritize funding for projects and programs that seek to:

• Preserve and restore nature, including programs focused on natural habitats, ecosystems, and biodiversity.
• Protect and enhance water, soil and air quality through innovative and proactive solutions such as water conservation, carbon sequestration and emission reduction programs.
• Reduce waste through initiatives focused on promoting recycling and circularity throughout the community, including recycling and composting programs and other efforts that reduce waste.
• Develop environmental stewards through youth programs focused on fostering environmental appreciation, responsibility, and leadership.
• Advance a sustainable economy by helping communities accelerate their transition to environmental jobs and renewable energy, as well as helping nonprofits and small businesses build their own capacity to operate more sustainably.
• Promote environmental justice through initiatives that ensure access to clean air, water, and land and protect underserved populations from disproportionate and adverse environmental effects.
• Build the capacity of sustainability-focused organizations to integrate practices that improve upon the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts of the organization. This can take the form of internal capacity building or the creation/expansion of culturally relevant programming and services that seek to impact a broad and diverse audience.

We provide grants to nonprofits working to ensure all of Jefferson County (Jeffco) is thriving. Our funding opportunities are developed through active community listening to support collective wellbeing, economic freedom and vibrant communities. These grants provide resources for nonprofits to advance their mission and make good happen in Jeffco.

Early Care and Education Grant Opportunity

Funding to support improving access to quality child care and education for Jefferson County children 8 years and younger.

We provide grants to nonprofits working to ensure all of Jefferson County (Jeffco) is thriving. Our funding opportunities are developed through active community listening to support collective wellbeing, economic freedom and vibrant communities. These grants provide resources for nonprofits to advance their mission and make good happen in Jeffco.

Health Grant Opportunity

Funding to support the holistic wellbeing of Jeffco residents, encompassing mental, social, spiritual and physical health.

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.

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.

We provide grants to nonprofits working to ensure all of Jefferson County (Jeffco) is thriving. Our funding opportunities are developed through active community listening to support collective wellbeing, economic freedom and vibrant communities. These grants provide resources for nonprofits to advance their mission and make good happen in Jeffco.

Convenient Neighborhoods Grant Opportunity

Funding to support community spaces so all Jefferson County residents can easily access parks, transportation hubs, farmers markets, recreation centers and other amenities. Having easy and safe access to public transportation, bike-friendly routes and accessible paths supports overall health and wellbeing.

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.

We provide grants to nonprofits working to ensure all of Jefferson County (Jeffco) is thriving. Our funding opportunities are developed through active community listening to support collective wellbeing, economic freedom and vibrant communities. These grants provide resources for nonprofits to advance their mission and make good happen in Jeffco.

Collective Wellbeing: Food Security Grant Opportunity

Funding to support improving access to food for Jeffco residents. This ensures the availability of local, healthy and culturally relevant food.