Region’s nonprofits garner a goldmine of grants

It’s Community Foundation Week, and nonprofit organizations in Northern Colorado and the Boulder Valley have received a bounty of grants, according to news releases issued this week.

The Community Foundation of Northern Colorado, also known as the NoCo Foundation, marked its largest grantmaking year between June 2023 and July 2024, granting $12.2 million to 568 nonprofits, programs, scholarships and other organizations.

Meanwhile, trustees of the Colorado Springs-based El Pomar Foundation announced grants totaling $170,500 ​f​or 14 nonprofit organizations and government entities in​ Northern Colorado, and Omaha-based FNBO announced its 2024 Impact Grant recipients, with $305,000 going to Northern Colorado nonprofits.

Out of the NoCo Foundation’s 568 grantees, 27 received at least $100,000 over the yearlong period. Boys and Girls Clubs of Larimer County, Homeward Alliance and Realities for Children each received more than $250,000 each.

The grants supported dozens of types of organizations, with the top five focus areas being human services; educational institutions; religion and spiritual development; arts, culture, and humanities; and food, agriculture, and nutrition.

“As trustees of a dear friend’s estate, we established a charitable fund at the NoCo Foundation to support the causes she cared about most. We were able to make five large grants to organizations whose work mattered deeply to her and, in doing so, we have been able to honor her legacy in a meaningful way,” the fund advisors of the Susan S. Martin Charitable Fund said in a prepared statement.

Added foundation president and CEO Kristin Todd, “I am so incredibly proud to be a part of a selfless community that sees the challenges Northern Colorado is facing and does whatever they can to help,” . It is inspiring to be surrounded by such generosity. As the Northern Colorado communities continue to grow, so will the impact of the NoCo Foundation.”

El Pomar made its grants during the foundation’s September ​trustees meeting.

​The grants will go to:

• Alliance for Suicide Prevention of Larimer County in Fort Collins: $12,500 for general operating support​.
• Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art: $2,500 for general operating support​.
• Center for Family Outreach Inc. in Fort Collins: $15,000 for general operating support​.
• ChildSafe Colorado Inc. in Fort Collins: $10,000 for its Loveland expansion​.
• City of Longmont: $5,500 for Longmont Youth Center general operating support.
• Emergency Family Assistance Association Inc. in Boulder): $30,000 for general operating support​.
• Estes Valley Restorative Justice Partnership Inc. in Estes Park: $5,000 for general operating support​.
• Family Center – La Familia in Fort Collins: $15,000 for general operating support.
• La Cocina in Fort Collins: $15,000 for general operating support​.
• Larimer County Partners Inc. in Fort Collins: $20,000 for general operating support​.
• North Range Behavioral Health in Greeley: $5,000 for general operating support.
• Tiny Tim Center Inc. in Longmont: $25,000 for early learning collaborative building​.
• United Neighbors Vecinos Unidos in Fort Collins: $5,000 for general operating support​.
• United Way of Weld County Inc. in Greeley: $5,000 for its PASO Institute​.

​The El Pomar Foundation, which was founded in 1937, established its Regional Partnerships program in 2003, with 11 regional councils to advise the foundation’s trustees and recommend grants to help support their communities. The North Regional Council recommends grants in Larimer, Boulder and Weld counties.

FNBO, or First National Bank of Omaha, awarded a total of $1.758 million in Impact Grants to 88 organizations in Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, South Dakota, Wyoming and Texas, Christina Kahler, the bank’s managing director of marketing and philanthropy, in a prepared statement. The grants support programs dedicated to FNBO’s pillars of giving in the areas of affordable housing, workforce development and financial literacy.

“Our commitment to the community goes beyond banking; it’s about being a partner in building stronger, more resilient people and neighborhoods,” Kahler said. “These grants reflect our belief in supporting programs to empower people to take control of their financial futures.”

Organizations across Northern Colorado sharing in FNBO impact grants included:

• Boys & Girls Club of Weld County in Greeley: $10,000 to support a comprehensive workforce readiness program that helps youths build critical social and emotional skills and acquire the skills necessary to enter the workforce and become productive, self-sufficient adults.
• Bridge House in Boulder: $20,000 to support the Ready to Work Program, which provides transformative opportunities for adults experiencing homelessness through paid employment, housing and support services.
• CARE Housing in Fort Collins: $10,000 to support residents in achieving their goals to remain stably housed there.
• Colorado Enterprise Fund in Fort Collins: $25,000 to support capital and coaching programs for small businesses in Northern Colorado, building small business capacity and creating jobs for those who face the greatest barriers to economic opportunity.
• Community Resources and Housing Development Corp. in Westminster: $10,000 to support its Homeownership Center, which helps low- to moderate-income households -prepare for, invest in and retain homeownership through free bilingual education and counseling services.
• DreamSpring in Fort Collins: $10,000 to support programming that offers affordable capital, including small business loans from $200 to $2 million and lines of credit up to $50,000, and support services such as business counseling, technical assistance and business resource events with a focus on low- to moderate-income, women and minority entrepreneurs.
• Fort Collins Habitat for Humanity: $20,000 to support the construction of two affordable homes through a STEM education program called Geometry in Construction, making it possible for homebuyers earning at or below 80% of area median income to build their own home.
• Greeley-Weld Habitat for Humanity: $20,000 to support the Construction-Electrical Pathway CTE Program, a partnership with Greeley-Evans School District 6 and Aims Community College to construct affordable housing.
• Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley in Longmont: $20,000 to support construction of two affordable homes in Longmont.
• Homeward Alliance in Fort Collins: $20,000 to support EARN, which empowers job seekers experiencing homelessness or near homelessness to find and maintain employment.
• Imagine in Lafayette: $15,000 to help individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities secure and maintain competitive, community-based employment, including skill assessment and development, job training, job placement, job coaching and advocacy.
• Intercambio in Boulder: $15,000 to support volunteer-taught adult English classes for immigrants to gain communication and culture related skills and overcome language barriers to achieve self-sufficiency and community integration.
• Larimer Small Business Development Center in Fort Collins: $25,000 in funding for consulting to entrepreneurs from the idea stage to exit planning through no-cost confidential support.
• Project Self-Sufficiency in Loveland: $25,000 to support the Selfpower Model, which blends best practices grounded in post-secondary education, employment training and wraparound support to empower single parents to map their path out of poverty.
• The Greeley Dream Team: $10,000 to support the team’s students during the first two years of post-secondary education and help them become workforce ready.
• Thrive in Lafayette: $20,000 to support its workforce development program.
• University of Northern Colorado Foundation in Greeley: $20,000 to support the East Colorado Small Business Development Center’s work.

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