Cultivate in Boulder faces funding cuts from multiple sources

BOULDER — Cultivate, a Boulder nonprofit group that supports seniors, faces funding reductions from Boulder County and slashes in the grants it receives, but likely can’t make any more budgetary or staffing cuts and still remain operational in 2025.

“If we have to cut anymore, can we even operate?” said Chrysti R. Britt, executive director of Cultivate, which helps low-income seniors age in place and serves Boulder, Broomfield and Weld counties. “We literally are at a barebones crew. … We literally can’t reduce anymore.”

Cultivate, in operation since 1972, saw a 10% budget cut in 2024 and responded by cutting staff from 7 to 5.5 employees, reducing marketing and other operational funds and mileage reimbursements for volunteers, freezing salaries and replacing its health insurance program with small stipends for employees to purchase their own insurance. 

Britt and her staff haven’t finished the 2025 budget but expect to have to cut another 10% or more, depending on funding amounts. They likely won’t have that information until November or December, she said.

One of Cultivate’s major funding sources is Boulder County Human Services, which accepted grant applications though early August for 2025. The allocation is for $8 million for one-year Community Partnership Grants, $3 million less than for this year. The result could be fewer grants issued or a reduction in the grant amounts to Cultivate and the other nonprofits the grants support.

The grants are for various service categories including housing and mental health with the aim to ensure the economic security and social wellbeing of the county’s residents. This year, the county placed a priority on racial equity, since “race is the most significant predictor of disproportionate outcomes and disparities,” as stated in the request for applications.

“We don’t serve a specific demographic,” said Beth Amore, board member for Cultivate and first vice-president of MidFirst Bank in Boulder. “How do we ensure we would fall into that priority of a demographic?”

According to the 2022 U.S. census, 8.5% of the county’s 60-plus population identifies as nonwhite, which “leaves behind 91.5% of our seniors,” Britt said. That number is 50% lower than the overall reported BIPOC population in the county, which is 17.2%, she said.

Cuts aren’t only possible from the county but are coming from a number of the large and small foundations that support Cultivate, Britt said. Cultivate is primarily funded by grants from about a dozen large and small foundations, as well as government funding and a small amount of individual donations.

“This is a long-time organization, (and) we want to make sure these services continue in the county,” Amore said. “There is a significant increase in the aging population, especially in Boulder County. The housing costs are so high and keep going up. Assisted living costs have significantly increased over the years.”

At the same time, individual donations are on the decline, as the country’s social climate changes. Right now, donors are focusing on current issues and needs, including social and environmental justice, and old standbys like animals and children.

“While those are very important, it leaves behind seniors who have given so much of their last 60 years,” Britt said. “It’s happening in cities all over. Older adults are not a priority for people to give money to. It’s the largest growing demographic, yet the funding continues to shrink.”

At the same time as the county and other funding cuts are coming into play, Cultivate’s general operating expenses continue to rise. 

The 2024 Aging Well in Boulder County report found that the state’s 15 area agencies on aging are at fiscal year 2019 funding levels, despite an increase in cost of living, costs to provide services and the number of older adults,

“We are being affected by the potential threat of having to reduce our services or no longer operate if funding continues to stay stagnant or decline, which means seniors in our community cannot have access to our basic needs services,” Britt said. “They won’t be able to get groceries. They won’t be able to go to medical appointments. They won’t be able to have safety modifications like grab bars. … The increase in social isolation would be absolutely devastating.”

Cultivate was originally chartered as Boulder County RSVP Board Inc. RSVP refers to the Retired Seniors Volunteer Program, a federal program under AmeriCorps that places seniors aged 55 and older into volunteer positions. In 2009 or 10, the nonprofit became Boulder County CareConnect, and in 2018, Cultivate, which still holds and administers the RSVP grant. The nonprofit wanted to branch out to be able to provide direct services in addition to operating the RSVP volunteer program.

“It was really to better reflect and broaden who we are and where we serve,” Britt said. “That’s what we do is cultivate volunteers, cultivate connection and cultivate community.”

Cultivate now works with volunteers of all ages—there are about 800 currently—to provide a long list of services at no cost to about 7,500 clients a year. The services include Carry-Out Caravan to provide weekly grocery deliveries, VetsGo to offer veterans transportation to and from their medical appointments, YardBusters to do basic yard cleanup, SnowBusters to clear snow from residential sidewalks, and FixIt to perform simple home, wheelchair and walker repairs and grab-bar installations. There’s also PhoneBuddies, a program that matches volunteers with seniors for regularly scheduled social calls and wellness checks. 

“What’s nice about these services is it helps them stay in their home,” Amore said. “To keep costs down on a fixed income, we provide these services to them at no cost, so they can stay in their own house.” 

Seniors receiving the services don’t have to prove their income level, but 94% are at or below the federal poverty line, Britt said.

“Our services are important to help our older adults age in their homes and remain connected to the community,” Britt said. “Connecting our seniors back to the community reduces loneliness and social isolation.”

To make up for the cuts to funding, Cultivate will continue to seek new funding partners, generate more corporate interest, and check other foundations and grant opportunities.

“Really, it’s a matter of building those relationships and hopefully finding people who are interested in supporting us,” Britt said. “Our message is that the continued cuts or not an increase in funding is really just going to leave our seniors behind. That’s really what it comes down to.”

Cultivate doesn’t have any active fundraising events or galas to support its mission, but is involved in Colorado Gives Day, which this year is Dec. 10 and encourages online donations to local communities through a statewide day of giving. 

“We’re trying to figure out what are other creative ways to drum up awareness to the organization as well as raising funds,” Amore said. “We’ll never say no to someone, but we’re concerned we have to cut back on services and not be able to provide them to everybody who needs them.”

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