By Kristin Todd, President and CEO, NoCo Foundation 

Businesses help shape communities in ways that extend far beyond the products they make or the services they provide. 

They create jobs, welcome newcomers, develop leaders, build gathering places, and connect people across neighborhoods and industries. They also have the power to make generosity part of everyday community life. 

In a recent episode of the NoCo Voices podcast, we explored that opportunity with leaders from two Northern Colorado businesses: Tim and Carol Cochran of Horse & Dragon Brewing Company and Amy Hoback of The Group Real Estate and GroupGives. Horse & Dragon is a local craft brewery. The Group is a regional real estate company. Their size, structure, and business models are different, but they share an important belief: giving back is not separate from doing business here. It is part of what being a Northern Colorado business means. 

More Than Writing a Check 

Corporate philanthropy is sometimes reduced to sponsorships or year-end donations. Financial support is important, but businesses can contribute much more than money. 

They can offer space for people to gather. They can introduce customers to local causes. They can invite employees to volunteer and lead. They can lend marketing expertise, relationships, products, and visibility to organizations working on the front lines of community needs. 

Horse & Dragon puts this idea into practice through community partnerships, fundraisers, product-based giving, environmental stewardship, and a commitment to being a welcoming gathering place. Its company principles place people, community, and the planet alongside financial sustainability. 

The Group's culture of giving stretches back to the company's founding in 1976. GroupGives was created to combine and focus the generosity of its partners, involve families and customers, and ensure that charitable giving and volunteerism remain part of the company's legacy. Its work centers on a helping get people in homes and stay in them through a variety of support programs. 

In both cases, philanthropy is most powerful because it fits the business. It reflects the organization's identity, engages its people, and builds on relationships the company already has. 

Culture Turns Generosity Into a Practice 

A business does not build a culture of giving through a single campaign. Culture develops through the choices leaders and employees make repeatedly. 

When team members are invited to recommend organizations to support, participate in grant decisions, volunteer together, or champion causes they care about, philanthropy becomes shared rather than top-down. Employees gain another way to connect with one another and with the place where they live and work. Community organizations gain advocates as well as donors. 

That kind of participation also helps businesses listen. Employees often see needs and opportunities that leadership may not. Nonprofit partners bring valuable knowledge about the community. Customers notice when a company's actions reflect its stated values. 

Authenticity grows when giving is relational, consistent, and grounded in genuine learning. 

Generosity During Uncertain Times 

Businesses are navigating real pressures: rising costs, workforce challenges, changing markets, and economic uncertainty. When margins tighten, it can be tempting to view philanthropy as an extra that must be paused. 

But generosity is not limited to a large annual budget. A company can adjust the form of its support without stepping away from the community. It might offer meeting space, organize a volunteer day, promote a nonprofit partner, donate professional expertise, create a product that benefits a cause, or focus smaller contributions where they can be most useful. 

The important thing is to communicate honestly and remain connected. Community partnership is built over time, including during seasons when resources are constrained. 

Starting at Any Scale 

There is no minimum company size required to make a difference. A small business may have fewer dollars but deep customer relationships and the ability to respond creatively. A larger company may be able to build formal structures, engage many employees, and sustain grantmaking over time. Both can lead with intention. 

For businesses ready to begin, a few questions can help: 

  • What issues naturally connect to our work, values, employees, or customers? 
  • What resources can we share besides money? 
  • How can employees help shape and participate in our efforts? 
  • Which community organizations can teach us where support is most useful? 
  • What commitment can we make consistently and sustain over time? 

The answers will look different for every company. That is a strength. The goal is not to copy someone else's program; it is to find an approach that is authentic to your organization and responsive to your community. 

A Stronger Business Community and Region 

Horse & Dragon was named Colorado's Outstanding Small Business at National Philanthropy Day in 2022, and The Group Real Estate was recognized as Outstanding Large Business in 2025. These honors celebrate their work, but they also tell a larger story about Northern Colorado. 

Our region is filled with businesses that understand community well-being as a shared responsibility. When companies invest their time, talent, relationships, and resources locally, they strengthen the nonprofit sector, deepen trust, and help create the kind of place where employees, families, and businesses can thrive together. 

Community is our business — all of us. And every business has something meaningful to contribute. Reach out to me our a member of our NoCo Foundation team to learn more about how your organization can tap into the good that comes from giving back. 

Listen to the Conversation 

Listen to "Business as a Force for Good: Philanthropy at Every Scale in Northern Colorado" on NoCo Voices for practical ideas and an encouraging conversation about making generosity part of company culture. 

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