Outdoor and Environment
Our Outdoor & Environment Work
Western Colorado is known for its desert vistas, mountain peaks, and mighty rivers. Many people live here because of these incredible landscapes. Our Community Foundation, like many residents of western Colorado, is concerned about the growing recreational demands on outdoor spaces, pressing needs related to clean air and water, and barriers to youth access to the outdoors.
Since 2018, our Community Foundation has created funding opportunities to support a multitude of projects related to the outdoors and environment with the long-term goal of increasing our organizational giving to this sector.
Initiatives Includes:
The CORE Fund and Giving Circle
In 2019, a group of founding donors launched the CORE (Conservation/Outdoor Recreation/Environment) Fund. The CORE Fund is our Community Foundation’s first and only Giving Circle, made up of donors interested in supporting and learning more about CORE-related topics. The Fund is specifically designed to support programs and projects that focus on conservation, outdoor recreation, and the environment with high impact for the people and places of western Colorado.
Interested individuals or households commit $5,000 to join the CORE Giving Circle. This contribution ensures an invitation to unique CORE-related field trips and other learning opportunities. Additionally, by joining the CORE Giving Circle, donors annually select projects for funding. Since 2019, the Giving Circle has awarded over $280,000 to over 40 organizations doing important CORE-related work in western Colorado.
Past CORE Field Trips:
- Outdoor Wilderness Lab, School District 51
- Grand Valley Power Plant and conserved property in Palisade, Colorado West Land Trust
- De Beque Roller Dams, Colorado Water Trust
- Gateway History and Geology Tour, Colorado Wildlands Project
- Palisade Insectory
Interested in becoming a CORE Giving Circle member, contact Emily at eorbanek@wc-cf.org
The Eagle River Fund
Our Community Foundation is pleased to partner with visionary donors in Eagle County working to build a permanent funding source to support the health of the Eagle River Watershed for generations to come. The Eagle River Fund, established in 2023, is designed to support projects that benefit the Eagle River and its tributaries, including policy interventions to volunteer restoration to agricultural efficiency projects. Over the next several years, the fund’s founders hope to grow the Eagle River Fund to $5 million.
Personalized Grantmaking Opportunities
In addition to the CORE Fund and the Eagle River Fund, our Community Foundation works with individual fund holders interested in the outdoors and the environment. Through this type of tailored donor work, our Foundation staff can individually curate investment opportunities unique to individual donors and donor families. For example, we have donors who care deeply about conservation work in western Garfield County and donors who care about getting kids outside. These interest areas allow Foundation staff to work with non-profits operating in a specific region or with a specific mission to develop a slate of projects tailored to individual fund holders.
I was struck by the beauty of the landscape and realized how fragile some of our resources are, and that motivated me to want to help protect them.
~ Dave Murphy
CORE News
Agrivoltaic Research
Our CORE Giving Circle Members visited Western Colorado Research Center [...]
Local Volunteers to the Rescue: National Recognition and Updated Facilities for Ouray Mountain Rescue Team
August 2022 2024 will mark the 50th Anniversary of the Ouray [...]
CORE Giving Circle Awards $60,000
November 2022 Our CORE Giving Circle gathered this fall for [...]
