Involvement
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
