Deluge of donations slows to a trickle

Support for victims of last September’s floods has been impressive, but despite the millions of dollars and countless hours of volunteer time donated by people and businesses, it feels like a drop in the bucket to the nonprofits guiding long-term recovery efforts.

Community foundations in Boulder, Larimer and Weld counties have worked diligently for the past year, trying to fill the gaps that remain following federal, state and local government funding.

Before the floodwaters subsided, individual donations came in varying amounts, from a few bucks from kids running a lemonade stand to a million dollars from private and corporate foundations.

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But by the end of the year, donations that had been arriving almost hourly dropped off dramatically.

“Most of the donations we received came in between September and December,” said Margaret Katz, director of philanthropic services for the Community Foundation Serving Boulder County. “There has been a significant slowdown in donations since then.”

By February, the foundation had disbursed $1.1 million, including grants to the hard-hit communities of Lyons and Jamestown, and to farms through the Front Range Farm Relief Fund. So far, the foundation has given out $1.73 million in grants for flood relief.

All told, community foundations have funneled nearly $6 million into the hands of those in need, working through a network of nonprofits managing newly formed funds.

The nonprofits have served as the direct link to families whose homes were lost or damaged and small-business owners who needed help to reopen their doors.

But across the board, foundations say a lot of work still remains to be done.

Early on, Katz said, work was about helping people who had been displaced by providing the basics — food, clothing and shelter. Then work turned to helping people secure tools and equipment for repairs, or replacing wheelchairs or walkers lost in the flood, she said. Now, efforts are in long-term recovery mode.

“There is still a lot of need out there,” Katz said. “There are 200 families still working through reconstruction of their homes.”

The Weld County Flood Relief Fund was formed within 24 hours of the flood, a joint project of the Community Foundation Serving Greeley and Weld County and United Way of Weld County. The combined effort has raised $1.9 million.

The reason for the collaboration was to avoid duplication – the right thing to do so donors wouldn’t have to choose between one or the other, said Tom Fasano, director of marketing and communications for United Way of Weld County.

The Community Foundation of Northern Colorado, which serves Larimer County, has issued $1.97 million in grants to nonprofit and governmental entities that are carrying out flood-recovery efforts.

Nearly a half-million dollars was given to property owners, nearly a quarter-million was given to various groups in Estes Park, and another quarter million went to the Glen Haven Area Volunteer Fire Department to replace equipment and help reconstruction efforts, according to a report compiled by Kristy Klenk, the foundation’s accountant.

Klenk said the grants were made possible by donors from across the nation and a $750,000 match from the Bohemian Foundation, a nonprofit formed by the Stryker family.

Broomfield-based Ball Corp. (NYSE: BLL) is one of many businesses that has stepped up to help. The Ball Foundation, the publicly traded company’s philanthropic arm, has disbursed nearly all of the $1 million it pledged last September to flood-recovery efforts.

Kathleen Pitre, executive director of The Ball Foundation, said $500,000 was given within the first month to Community Food Share and Impact on Education to take care of immediate needs.

“People needed food, and students needed to replace materials lost in the flood,” she said.

In the spring, the foundation disbursed $200,000 to the Long-Term Flood Recovery Group for Boulder County to use as it saw fit.

It also split $120,000 between Flatirons Habitat for Humanity, which serves the Boulder and Broomfield area; Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley, which serves Lyons and Longmont; and the towns of Frederick and Firestone in western Weld County to help with their home-repair programs.

“We wanted to help people who weren’t helped by FEMA or didn’t have flood insurance,” she said.

The foundation still has $190,000 to disburse. “We are keeping an eye out to see where it will have the most impact,” Pitre said.

Doug Storum can be reached at 303-630-1959, 970-416-7369 or dstorum@bizwestmedia.com.