12 Hallmarks of WCCF
1. Distributing $8 Million in Grants & Scholarships
We are thrilled to announce that, as of 2024, thanks to the amazing support from our donors and community, we have distributed over $8 million in grants and scholarships to the communities we serve. This outstanding accomplishment showcases the collective spirit of generosity and dedication to making a meaningful impact across our region.
2. Serving over 300 Donor Families
Our community foundation is honored to work with many donors in establishing funds that reflect their interests. As of 2024, we manage over 300 donor funds, each carefully created to support causes significant to our community members and we are honored to help bring their charitable intentions to life. These funds include a variety of initiatives, from scholarships that provide educational opportunities to environmental projects that protect our natural landscapes. Our donors’ dedication to charitable giving allows us to respond to current community needs and invest in the future.
3. Helping People Define Their Charitable Legacy
4. Celebrating 10 Years of the Lunch Lizard
IIn2024IIn 2024, the Lunch Lizard wrapped up its 10th summer of providing meals to children in neighborhoods across the Grand Valley. To celebrate ten successful summers, our Community Foundation provided a $150,000 grant for a third new food truck. This truck is working to support the newly added route in 2025.
5. Completing our ‘Hold the Phone’ Campaign
During the summer of 2024, we launched an educational and fundraising campaign to support School District 51’s new policy on limiting cell phone use in classrooms across the district. Thanks to the generous donations from many individuals, we successfully reached our fundraising goal of $100,000 to provide cell phone storage solutions for middle and high school classrooms in D51. Moreover, D51’s cell phone policy received national attention, resulting in a case study on Mesa County School District 51’s approach. The partnership with our Community Foundation was highlighted in this report. Commissioned by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and authored by the Colorado Education Initiative, ‘More Social, Less Media: How Colorado’s District 51 Advanced a Unified Cell Phone Policy to Enhance Student Learning and Wellbeing’ outlines the planning and implementation process utilized in our School District while also presenting best practices for achieving success.
6. Launching ‘Heads Up Parenting’ Mesa County
7. Activating the Center for Philanthropy
Since January 2024, we’ve hosted 42 meetings and events, ranging from strategic planning sessions and nonprofit trainings to community discussions and leadership retreats. In addition to providing a valuable resource to our local partners we’ve also been able to accommodate requests on a state level. Our building has welcomed over 700 guests and donated more than 120 hours to hosting events and meetings for our non-profit and community partners.
8. Managing Over $180 million in Assets
As of 2024, our community foundation manages over $180 million in assets, enabling us to make a significant impact across the communities we serve. With these resources, we are committed to advancing our mission of connecting donors who care with causes that matter. By working collaboratively with donors, nonprofits, and our community members, we can create lasting change, and our foundation’s team is dedicated to managing these assets with the utmost responsibility. We are grateful for the generosity of our donors and look forward to continuing to support current challenges and emerging opportunities.
9. Supporting Stars at the Asteria Theatre
In 2024, advisors of the Dave and Mary Wood Fund generously donated to Colorado Mesa University’s Asteria Theatre Capital Campaign. In recognition of their significant contribution, the entrance plaza to the theatre was named the Dave and Mary Wood Plaza. The Woods were long-time donors of our Community Foundation and generous supporters of various organizations, and particularly passionate about music. They would be delighted by the opening of the new regional theatre and performing arts center at CMU, which enhances theatre and music programs and broadens cultural offerings for the western Colorado community.
10. Jumpstarting Community Food Bank 7th St. Café
In 2024, thanks to funding from one of our “field of interest funds,” a charitable giving option where donors establish a fund within a community foundation to support a specific interest area, we were able to provide seed funding for the 7th Street Community Cafe to assist with renovations. Additionally, we are offering a challenge match to help them develop the cafe into a skills-building social enterprise that raises funds to support the Community Food Bank and deepen this impact throughout the community.
11. Advancing the Confluence Center
In 2022, we awarded a $25,000 Dreaming Forward grant to help the Confluence Center establish its incorporation and develop a business plan. They broke ground early in 2025, collaborating with six nonprofit partners who will occupy the facility. The Confluence Center will be situated at the intersection of the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers, on the southwest side of Grand Junction, close to Orchard Mesa in Mesa County. This center will offer office space for all nonprofit partners, a preschool center, an interactive lobby designed for public education on land and water science, conservation, and stewardship, as well as conference and meeting rooms, classrooms, a kitchen, and open networking areas for informal gatherings.
12. Helping 278 Students Achieve Higher Education
Many of our donors work with us to set up scholarship funds to support students in achieving their higher education dreams. In 2024, because of the generous support of many, we were able to provide scholarship funding to 278 students, helping them take significant steps toward their academic and career goals.
