The Colorado Trust Awards Grants to Rural Philanthropy Days Participants

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Julian Kesner, Director of Communications
303-539-3147; [email protected]

DENVER, COLO.—The Colorado Trust today announced it has made $25,000 in grants to strengthen the work of five nonprofit organizations working to improve the health and well-being of rural Coloradans. The Colorado Trust, a grantmaking foundation dedicated to achieving access to health for all Coloradans, made the grants after meeting with nonprofit organizations at Rural Philanthropy Days in Salida, Colorado.

Rural Philanthropy Days (RPD) connects funders with nonprofit organizations that serve rural Colorado. This three-day event, which takes place twice each year, was created in 1991 by the Community Resource Center to strengthen nonprofit-funder relations and to address critical needs in rural communities across Colorado.

“Growing up in rural Colorado, I know firsthand how important access to health is in rural communities,” said Ned Calonge, MD, President and CEO of The Colorado Trust. “Rural Philanthropy Days offers us a unique opportunity to learn about the needs of the community and the essential work of the nonprofits serving their communities. We are proud to continue our long-time support of rural Colorado through this important program.”

The Colorado Trust awarded grants of $5,000 each to the following five nonprofit organizations that participated in RPD:

• Chaffee County Public Health – general program support, including a nurse-home visitation program and workforce training with its Early Childhood Council’s breastfeeding program (Salida)
• Custer County Community Sharing Center – general operating support to help the food bank offer a larger quantity of food at a higher nutritional value (Westcliffe)
• Full Circle Restorative Justice – provide alternative dispute resolution for high-risk youth by expanding their youth program, including education about compassion communication and alternatives to drugs and alcohol (Salida)
• Senior Services Solutions Plus – general operating support, including volunteer recruitment to expand assistance to homebound seniors, cancer patients and people with disabilities (Canon City)
• Valley to Valley Senior Care Center – general operating expenses, including a van to transport seniors to medical appointments (Salida).

Since 2010, The Colorado Trust has provided $168,500 in support of RPD.

The Colorado Trust will participate in the 2013 Rural Philanthropy Days on the Western Slope in June and Northwest Colorado in September.

For additional information about The Colorado Trust and its grantmaking, visit www.coloradotrust.org. For additional information about RPD, please contact the Community Resource Center at www.crcamerica.org.

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