In 2008, Community First Foundation awarded 1,133 grants totaling $2.5 million to support community health in the seven-county metropolitan Denver area.
The following lists the names of grant recipients and the dollar amounts awarded through our Nonprofit Preservation Initiative, community grants, Exempla Lutheran Medical Center restricted funds, Donor Advised Funds and Donor Designated Funds.
Nonprofit Preservation Initiative
The Foundation created the Nonprofit Preservation Initiative in 2004 to help support the futures of charitable organizations. The initiative is comprised of a multi-faceted set of programs designed to address the long-term health of nonprofit organizations. In 2008 we awarded the following grants as part of the initiative.
Endowment Challenge Grants
These grants were designed to help nonprofit organizations in the metropolitan Denver area strengthen their long-term financial stability through endowment building. Matching grants in the amount of $259,572 were made to the
following nonprofits:
ALS Association – Rocky Mountain Chapter
Boulder Historical Society
Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra
Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education (CAEE)
Colorado CASA
Colorado Children’s Chorale
Colorado Humanities
The Conflict Center
Denver Street School
Deproduction/Denver Open Media
Family Tree, Inc.
The GLBT Community Center of Colorado
Hotel de Paris Museum
Jefferson Center for Mental Health
Junior Achievement – Rocky Mountain, Inc.
Lutheran Family Services of Colorado
Mountain Area Land Trust (MALT)
NAMI Colorado
Platte Valley Medical Center
Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic – Rocky Mountain Unit
Rocky Mountain Parents as Teachers
Seniors’ Resource Center
StreetSchool Network
The Wildlife Experience
YMCA of Metropolitan Denver, Susan M. Duncan Family Branch
GivingFirst.org
GivingFirst.org is an online resource featuring hundreds of Denver area charities. It encourages charitable giving by providing comprehensive, objective and up-to-date information about local charities–and an easy way to support them online. In 2008, the Foundation processed $864,115 in donations through the site for 166 organizations and awarded incentive grants totaling $100,000.
Community Grants
The Foundation has developed relationships in the metropolitan Denver area to keep us intimately aware of the issues facing our communities. In 2008, we granted a total of $276,867 to support a variety of community needs. The majority of the grants are highlighted below. (Grant recipients are listed first, followed by the grant purpose.)
Anonymous Recipient ($275)
To cover child burial expenses
Catholic Charities and Community Services ($3,851)
To purchase an industrial refrigerator for the food bank
Lois & John Cochran Oncology Award Recipient ($1,000)
To fund an educational scholarship for a staff member in the Exempla Lutheran Medical Center oncology department
Deproduction/Denver Open Media ($28,000)
To fund a “new media” training program for six nonprofit organizations
Exempla Lutheran Medical Center ($819)
To provide bus passes and taxi coupons for oncology patients to attend therapy sessions
The Greatest Generations Foundation ($5,044)
To purchase filming equipment to preserve the stories of World War II veterans
Hope House of Colorado ($5,000)
To support the GED Learning Lab & Childcare Program
Institute of International Education ($5,000)
To provide computers for Jefferson County children and youth who are unable to afford them
Jeffco Action Center ($6,000)
To purchase a washer and dryer
Jefferson Center for Mental Health ($11,750)
For school-based counseling services
Jefferson County Department of Health and Environment ($15,000)
To support the colposcopy program for women who are below 150% percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines
Lutheran Medical Center Foundation ($15,000)
To create a safety video for patients at Exempla Lutheran Medical Center
Parkinson Association of the Rockies ($500)
For program support
Patients of Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center ($987)
To purchase digital scales for patients in the heart failure program
Patients of the Rocky Mountain Blood and Marrow Transplant Program ($18,678)
To provide financial assistance for patients’ non-medical expenses
Red Rocks Community College ($15,551)
To provide financial assistance through the Collier Family Fund for students to attend the college
Seniors’ Resource Center ($36,400)
To support a pilot program that funds a care navigator to assist seniors with non-medical needs at Wheat Ridge Internal Medicine
VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau ($15,000)
To support the 2008 Symposia of the Rockies
Wheat Ridge Foundation ($500)
For the Cultural Commission’s public art campaign
YMCA of Metropolitan Denver ($15,000)
To support the Strong Kids Campaign and Janet’s Camp
Young AmeriTowne ($11,235)
To support a philanthropy curriculum at Young AmeriTowne’s Belmar Campus
The Foundation awarded the following 10 organizations $1,000 each to help stock food banks to help the community’s neediest citizens.
ACS Community LIFT
Arvada Community Food Banks, Inc.
Community Ministry
Denver Urban Ministries
Father Woody’s Haven of Hope
Inter-Faith Community Services
Mountain Resource Center, Inc.
Project Angel Heart
Servicios de La Raza, Inc.
Sister Carmen Community Center
The following charitable groups and organizations received small community grants to support their programs for a total of $40,475.
Association of Fundraising Professionals – Colorado Chapter
Aurora Mental Health Center
Clinica Tepeyac
Coalition for the Medically Underserved
Colorado Business Committee for the Arts
Colorado Homeless Families
Colorado Neurological Institute
Denver Art Museum, Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Museum of Nature & Science, and Denver Zoo
Jefferson Center for Mental Health
The Jefferson Foundation
Metro Community Provider Network
Mile High United Way
Saint Joseph Hospital
Seniors’ Resource Center
West Chamber Foundation
Wheat Ridge Foundation
The Women’s Foundation of Colorado
Exempla Lutheran Medical Center ($342,136)
Community First Foundation manages multiple funds restricted for Exempla Lutheran Medical Center. The following lists grant activity that supported the hospital’s programs and projects in 2008 (Fund name is followed by grant activity).
Cancer Services Fund ($17,087)
For staff and community education programs
Cardiovascular Fund ($52,988)
For SuperScan, cardiac output monitors and cardiovascular and neurovascular services
Health Education Fund ($43,533)
To purchase software for a continuing education program, for nurse education, and to design a training program to improve patient and employee interactions
Hospice/Palliative Care Fund ($25,190)
To support the Dragonfly program, Hand Sculpture program and staff education
Humanitarian Fund ($170,016)
To provide no-interest loans for employees facing financial crisis
Long-Term Care/Colorado Lutheran Home Fund ($10,000)
To provide massage therapy for patients
Primary Care/Occupational Health Fund ($2,000)
For pharmacy staff education
Volunteer General Restricted Fund ($21,323)
For the Collier Hospice Center Capital Campaign
Grants From Donor Designated Funds
Donor Designated Funds are established by nonprofit organizations to support their mission. A total of $216,251 in grants was awarded to the following organizations.
Blue Sky Bridge ($25,000)
Colorado Law Enforcement Officers’ Association ($25,000)
The Jefferson Foundation ($50,000)
Metro Community Provider Network ($25,000)
Mountain Area Land Trust (MALT) ($29,125)
Renee’s Friends Fund ($34,226)
Seniors’ Resource Center Capital Campaign ($1,350)
Uplift Internationale ($26,550)
Grants From Donor Advised Funds
Donor Advised Funds are established by donors who make recommendations for grants to charitable organizations. A total of $82,268 in grants were made from the following funds held at Community First Foundation. (Fund name is
listed in bold followed by the name of organizations receiving grants.)
Community Resources Fund ($20,098)
Arthritis Foundation
Bonfils Blood Center Foundation
Boys Hope Girls Hope of Colorado
Easter Seals
Memorial Health Foundation
Rocky Mountain MS Center
St. Anthony Health Foundation
Stride/Aurora Housing
Janet A. Fania Fund ($1,000)
Blessed Sacrament School
Margaret V. & John D. Kirk Fund ($9,540)
First United Methodist Church, Barnesville, Ohio
Leach Family Fund ($29,000)
The Argyle Foundation
Collier Hospice Center Capital Campaign
Collier Hospice Center gift in memory of Peter James Palmer
Red Rocks Community College
Storatz Family Trust Fund ($500)
Conciliations Ministries of Colorado and the Invisible Disabilities Advocate
