The Western Colorado Community Foundation (WCCF) announced its 2024 Community Grants awards to 14 Western Slope Nonprofit Organizations.  Youth Outside and Offline grants totally $125,000 were awarded to support after-school and out-of-school programs that get youth outside participating in a variety of activities while teaching healthy ways to use technology, reduce screen time, and engage safely with social media.

The organizations listed below will receive awards ranging from $6,000 to $10,000 as part of WCCF’s commitment to support new and existing programs that prioritize outdoor activities and incorporate a curriculum on healthy technology use or offer strategies to deliver age-appropriate messages on limiting social media use and cultivating healthy tech habits.

• Access AfterSchool – Balancing Media Wellness
• Eureka! McConnell Science Museum – Healthy Tech for Environmental
• Girls on the Run of the Grand Valley – Healthy Tech for Girls on the Run
• Haven House of Montrose, Inc (dba Haven House) – Healthy Tech for Summer Youth
• Mesa County School District 51- Scholarships for ‘No Tech’ Owl Camp
• PEER Kindness, Inc – Pere to Peer Outdoor and Offline
• R-5 High School – No Tech OWL Camp for at-risk R-5 HS
• Riverside Education Centers – Outdoor Programming with Healthy Tech for at-risk students
• Stepping Stones of the Roaring Fork Valley – Experiential Outings with Healthy Tech for Underserved Youth
• Summit 54 – Incorporate Healthy Tech Lessons into Summer Advantage Program
• The Buddy Program – Implement Healthy Tech into LEAD Outdoor Mentoring
• The Cycle Effect – Healthy Tech for Girls Mountain Bike Mentoring Program
• The Nature Connection (Delta County School District 50J) – Youth Alive Healthy Outdoor Opportunities (YAHOO!) for Olathe Schools
• Voyager Youth Program – Disconnecting to Connect Summer Teen Adventures

Western Colorado Community Foundation (WCCF) awarded Community Grants  to five Western Slope Nonprofit Organizations.  Building Forward grants totaling $110,000 were awarded to help nonprofits strengthen organizational capacity, expand programs, improve competencies, and invest in systems to increase effectiveness to address housing affordability/attainability and homelessness across western Colorado.

The following organizations received awards ranging from $10,000 to $25,000 as part of WCCF’s goal to provide planning and organizational capacity building funding typically not available, and that helps an organization leverage larger foundation and federal/state dollars to build out housing and shelter projects.

• Habitat for Humanity Mesa County – Expand programs with AmeriCorps staffing support
• Habitat for Humanity Roaring Fork Valley – Planning grant for manufactured housing factory
• Home Trust of Ouray County – Increased staffing to expand programs
• Housing Resources of Western Colorado – Integrated Accounting System
• Roaring Fork Community Development Corp. – Resident owned community model

In celebration of our 25th Anniversary year, the 2022 Community Grants were made to organizations working in our leadership areas. These grants supported nonprofit capacity building, developing strategic plans, investing in systems, improving effectiveness, or growing impact.

• 7th Judicial District Attorney’s Office – Lighthouse Diversion Program
• Colorado National Monument Association – Strategic branding and marketing
• Confluence Center at Dos Rios – Feasibility study for Science Education Center
• District 51 – Nutrition – Two new Lunch Lizard food trucks
• Grand Mesa Nordic Council – Website upgrades
• Habitat for Humanity – Roaring Fork – Modular manufacturing feasibility study
• Habitat for Humanity – San Juans – Manufactured housing campus feasibility study
• Housing Resources of Western Colorado – Purchase assistance loan program
• Karis/The House – Strategic planning and leadership development
• Riverside Educational Center – Leadership development and strategic planning

Our 2021 Community Grants focused on helping students recover academic skills and build resilience as they struggled with increased anxiety and other mental health issues worsened by the disruption and isolation of the pandemic. We awarded $110,000 in Community Grants to  programs supporting Recovery and Resilience for Youth.

• Access AfterSchool – Accelerate After-School Program
• All American Families – Explore and Engage Delta County
• Andy Zanca Youth Empowerment Program – Classroom & Broadcast: Mental Health is Important to Me
• Black Canyon Boys & Girls Club – Behavioral Health Curriculum for After- School Program
• EUREKA! McConnell Science Museum – Gear Up! Mountain Biking and Science After School
• Family Resource Center of the Roaring Fork Schools – Family and Youth Resilience
• FocusedKids – FocusedKids for Rifle classrooms
• Haven House of Montrose, Inc – Child Development program for homeless families
• Hilltop Community Resources, Inc. – Youth and Family Connections
• HopeWest – HopeWest Kids – EMDR Therapy
• Mesa County Valley School District 51 – Elementary School Pilot: Regulation Station
• Mesa Youth Services, Inc – Behavioral Health Support for Diversion Youth
• Ouray Public Library – Learning Loss Recovery and Resilience Building
• Riverside Educational Center – After-School Tutoring and Enrichment
• Stepping Stones of the Roaring Fork Valley – Experiential Education to Build Resilience
• The Buddy Program – Scholarships for Outdoor Leadership Programs
• Voyager Youth Program – Peer Mentors for Youth Mental Health and Resiliency
• YouthZone – Youth and Family Support

Youth Outside! was a rally cry and the grantmaking theme for our 2020 competitive grants program. We funded outdoor recreation projects as an antidote to the negative impacts of disrupted school learning and cancelled extracurricular activities. Supporting these programs was extremely important for the mental and physical well-being of our youth.

We awarded $105,000 in Community Grants to 14 programs to support outdoor activities and programs for at-risk youth.

• Black Canyon Boys & Girls Club – summer outdoor adventures
• Colorado Canyons Association – youth education and recreation on public lands
• Friends of Youth and Nature – outdoor recreation for at-risk youth
• Hilltop Community Resources – recreation for residential youth services clients
• Karis/The House – summer camp for homeless youth
• Mesa County Partners – bike club for youth and mentors
• Partners of Delta, Montrose Ouray – summer outdoor adventures
• Stepping Stones of the Roaring Fork Valley – outdoor experiential learning
• Summit 54 – outdoor learning and activities
• The Buddy Program – Leadership through Exploration, Action, and Discovery (LEAD)
• The Cycle Effect – mountain bike skills training and mentoring
• The Nature Connection – expand river recreation for Delta County 9^th graders
• Voyager Youth Program – Adventure Wednesdays

In 2019 our discretionary funds supported environment projects, including several food waste, composting, and recycling initiatives. $100,000 was distributed to 15 organizations working on these issues.

• Blue Star Recyclers – expand recycling in the Roaring Fork Valley
• Citizens for Clean Air Grand Junction – citizen ozone monitoring devices
• Clean Energy Economy for the Region – increase renewable energy projects
• Colorado Canyons Association – expand Nature Knowledge Days
• Eureka! McConnell Science Museum – Environmental Institute
• Friends of Youth and Nature – reducing food waste in Delta elementary schools
• Grand Valley Audubon Society – wetlands education
• LIFT-UP – expand composting and reduce food waste
• Mesa County Libraries Foundation – conserving water at new Discovery Garden
• Mesa County Valley School District 51 – decrease waste across school system
• North Fork Friends of Montessori Foundation – solar panel for playground
• North Fork Valley Community Rights – reusable bags to reduce plastic use
• R-5 High School – develop youth leaders through aquaponics, agriculture, and recycling projects
• Solar Energy International – educational signs to reduce and recycle
• Valley Organic Growers Association – agriculture education and community outreach

In 2018, $100,000 in grant funding was awarded to 18 organizations to help them expand programs to alleviate hunger for our most vulnerable citizens in communities across western Colorado.

• Cedaredge Community Gardens – fresh produce for the local food bank
• Child and Migrant Services – healthy foods for farmworkers and their families
• Clifton Christian Church – support for expanding food bank needs
• Colorado Farm to Table – Colorado-grown produce for food pantries in Delta and Montrose
• CSU Foundation – Community Alliance for Education and Hunger Relief growing produce for food pantries at Orchard Mesa research station
• Common Ground Montrose – weekend backpack program
• Community Food Bank – commercial refrigerator and freezer
• Delta Food Pantry – dairy products for expanding program
• Food Bank of the Rockies – Fighting Hunger, Feeding Hope in Fruita
• Gray Gourmet – new transportation services for seniors in Clifton
• Karis/The House – food for youth in transitional housing
• Kids Aid – expanding Backpack Program
• Learning Council – community lunches and agricultural classes
• Lift Up – protein and other hard-to-get foods for Garfield County pantry
• Sharing Ministries – infrastructure for new community garden
• St. Mary’s Hospital – Food on the Move mobile pantry for Clifton
• Surface Creek Community Services – walk-in cooler
• Vail Valley Salvation Army – irrigation system for community garden