The Colorado Trust Grants $25,000 to Five Nonprofits via Rural Philanthropy Days

Media contact: Julian Kesner, 303-539-3147, [email protected]

DENVER, COLO.—The Colorado Trust, a foundation dedicated to creating fair and equal opportunities for Coloradans to lead healthy lives, today announced it has granted $25,000 to five rural nonprofit organizations in conjunction with the June 2015 Rural Philanthropy Days.

Rural Philanthropy Days (RPD) connects funders with nonprofit organizations and government officials that serve rural Colorado. This biannual three-day event was created in 1991 by the Community Resource Center (CRC) and the Anschutz Family Foundation to strengthen nonprofit-funder relations and address critical needs in rural Colorado communities. The June 2015 iteration of RPD, which took place in Rifle, Colo., convened nonprofit representatives from Eagle, Garfield, Lake, Pitkin and Summit counties.

“It was wonderful being in Rifle to take part in Rural Philanthropy Days,” said Ned Calonge, MD, MPH, president and CEO of The Colorado Trust. “We spoke with folks from many worthy organizations, and choosing among them was a difficult decision. We are thrilled to support these five nonprofits in their ongoing work to improve the health and well-being of Coloradans.”

Grants of $5,000 were awarded by The Trust to each of the following organizations:

• Reach Out Colorado (Rifle, Parachute): “The ROC” provides emergency assistance to people in Rifle and Parachute, including food, rent payment, lodging, gas and transportation. It also provides healthy meals to children in Rifle at the end of the school week and during the summer. The ROC hopes to grow its network of volunteers to reach more community members.
• SOS Outreach (Eagle, Grand, La Plata, Lake, Routt and Summit counties): SOS Outreach serves at-risk youth using year-round, outdoor sports to engage underserved students in long-term mentor-based relationships. Its curriculum integrates outdoor experiential learning, character development, community service, values-based leadership development, social justice advocacy and peer mentoring. SOS Outreach served 4,569 youth during its 2013-14 program year.
• The Family Learning Center (Edwards): The center is dedicated to the healthy growth and development of all children, by providing continuing support from birth to age six. Its principles include universal access to high-quality child care, strong parental involvement and more. The Family Learning Center is the only Early Head Start child care provider in the Eagle Valley, and 78 percent of its students are considered low-income and receive financial aid in order to attend.
• The Youth Foundation Parent Mentor Program (Avon, Eagle Valley, Gypsum and June Creek elementary schools): The program gives parents the chance to be heard, gain education, become leaders, develop advocacy skills and build capacity to enrich the community. Parents of children enrolled in Eagle County Schools apply to become volunteers in a classroom at their child’s elementary school. Last year, 24 parents graduated and 23 are returning to the schools this year, along with a new class of parent educators. They worked with more than 600 students, and hope to double that number over the next three years.
• Ute Springs Experiential Learning Center (Eagle County): USELC works with students ages 7-17 in every school in Eagle County. The center strives to bring increased self-awareness, social awareness, responsible decision-making and leadership skills to students while connecting them to the places they live through an adventure-based curriculum. USELC offers after-school programs, curriculum enrichment, a transition program for people with developmental disabilities ages 18-21, and a day and overnight summer camp program. Scholarships are available, and USELC hopes to expand its outreach in minority communities.

Since 2010, The Trust has provided more than $310,000 in grants to rural Colorado nonprofit organizations through RPD. In addition, The Trust also provides general operating support to CRC to help make RPD possible.

The Trust will participate in the Sept. 23-25 RPD meeting in Creede, which will include nonprofit organizations from Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Mineral, Rio Grande and Saguache counties. For more information about RPD, visit CRC online.

About The Colorado Trust
The Colorado Trust is a foundation dedicated to achieving health equity. The Trust believes all Coloradans should have fair and equal opportunities to lead healthy, productive lives regardless of race, ethnicity, income or where we live. The Trust focuses on policies and information related to advancing health equity, as well as projects that address health equity in partnership with communities throughout Colorado. For more information, visit www.coloradotrust.org.