Newsletter

Kurt Spieler, Chief Investment Officer recently joined the NoCo Foundation’s Chief Financial Officer, Jordan Cook, to discuss the NoCo Foundation’s investment performance as we head into the fall. Kurt reviewed the three investment pools they manage on the NoCo Foundation’s behalf.

In this recording, Kurt talks about the investment parameters by pool, provides an economic outlook, discusses current allocations by pool, and briefly covers risk/return of each pool.

You can watch the Mid-Year Investment Update here.

On July 29, 2024, the Alexander Mountain Fire sent billowing smoke and ash into the Northern Colorado skies, and quickly grew to more than 9,600 acres in less than four days, forcing thousands of residents and animals to evacuate. On August 1, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Offices released the tragic news that at least a dozen structures had been damaged or destroyed in the affected area.

This prompted the NoCo Foundation to create the Northern Colorado Disaster Recovery Fund. This fund was established to meet the immediate and long-term relief and recovery needs of the people and places affected by man-made or environmental disasters in Northern Colorado. Currently, the fund will be directed to help address relief and recovery needs for the Alexander Mountain Fire.

To support our efforts in raising money for this disaster and future disasters, Next with Kyle Clark’s Word of Thanks featured the NoCo Disaster Recovery Fund as the microgiving campaign of the week in early August. During this campaign, the Colorado community helped us raise an additional $14k to the fund!

Fortunately, the Alexander Mountain Fire has since been extinguished by brave firefighters and responders; and now begins the long process of assessing the unmet needs of survivors and communities impacted by the fire. The NoCo Foundation is working with state and county officials and local agencies to identify where to distribute funds. As this is recovery work, fund distributions may occur well into 2025.

It’s important to note that the NoCo Foundation doesn’t distribute funds directly to survivors. The process for residents/survivors of the Alexander Mountain Fire are directed to reach out to Serve 6.8 or 211 Colorado to talk to a case manager, from there, needs will be determined, and funds will be distributed to organizations helping with these needs.

Answering the Call

Over the last twenty years, the NoCo Foundation has been quick to act when the Northern Colorado community and communities beyond our state’s borders needed support during disasters and emergencies. From supporting nonprofits responding during COVID-19 to providing funding for wildland restoration in the Cameron Peak and East Troublesome burn areas, the NoCo Foundation has collected and distributed funds in many situations. But we haven’t done this work alone. Our partners at Bohemian Foundation, the United Way of Larimer County, and a variety of community-based organizations are also supporting disaster response and recovery.

Our goal with the Northern Colorado Disaster Recovery Fund was to create an easy place for people to donate when disaster, whether man-made or natural, does strike our communities. While the funds will be currently allocated for the recovery efforts of the Alexander Mountain Fire, the fund will remain open to help with any other disaster that might come our way.

Thank you to everyone who donated funds before, during, and after the Word of Thanks micro-giving campaign. With your support, we will be able to help our neighbors in need. You can learn more and donate to the Northern Colorado Disaster Recovery Fund here.

Earlier this month, September 4, 2024, was announced as the inaugural Colorado Youth Sports Giving Day as a collaborative effort between the Aspen Institute Project Play, Daniels Fund, Colorado Gives Foundation, and nonprofit organizations supporting youth sports.

Did you know that the average age kids drop out of sports is 11, and maybe even younger for girls and families struggling financially? As youth sports participation continues to decline, especially in low-income families and communities of color, Youth Sports Giving Day aims to level the playing field and strike out inequality.

Every kid deserves to experience the joy of playing sports and reap the lifelong benefits they can offer. Sports can help boost self-esteem, improve mental, behavioral, and physical health, teach important life skills, build leadership capacity, and so much more.

At the NoCo Foundation, we know many of our donors have shown interest in youth sports, making this the perfect opportunity to share with our audience! Through this campaign, funds are being raised to ensure more kids have the chance to play sports. But the best part?

Local partners are generously matching over $1 million in donations made online to participating nonprofits from September 4 to September 30! There are currently 159 participating organizations that specialize in youth sports, allowing you to support one or many in their efforts to get more kids playing.

Kid sports aren’t just for fun, there is real data around the benefits of kids’ participation on teams:

• Lower school dropout rates
• 92% less likely to get involved with drugs
• 80% less likely to get pregnant

How to Donate

Donating is easy, safe, flexible, and convenient through the Colorado Gives platform. Simply search the sport or organization you want to support and choose the method of payment that works best for you!

Support our State of Play. Give generously at youthsportsgivingday.org!

On August 1, we hosted a Make-a-Will Month estate planning webinar with local attorney, Lisa Larsen, as our distinguished guest. This webinar highlights the priorities and pitfalls of estate planning, dives into examples of what happens when you don’t have a will, and why wills are so important.

In this webinar, we also discuss charitable gifts, how the NoCo Foundation can assist individuals and professional advisors in estate planning and legacy giving, and the best next steps for anyone working on their estate plan. If you missed it, you can view the recording and the presentation slides now.

The NoCo Foundation Board of Trustees and some staff posing in front of mountains in Estes Park.

On September 10, the Board of Trustees and a handful of NoCo Foundation staff members hopped on a bus and took a day trip up to Estes Park to learn more about the unique town and about their nonprofit sector.

On the ride up to Estes Park, Estes Park Deputy Town Manager, Jason Damweber, discussed what makes Estes unique, highlighting stats, problems they are facing, and what they are doing to address these challenges. The 45-minute ride up the canyon was filled with great information and a beautifully painted mental image of what Estes Park is really like.

The group was dropped off at Crossroads Ministry, where the Executive Director, Brian Schaffer, gave us a tour of the facility, explained the many services they provide to community members in need, and how they have continued to expand their services to cater to those needs.

From providing a food pantry to offering casework and mental health services, Crossroads is one Estes nonprofit making a huge, positive impact in the community. It was incredible and inspiring to learn about Crossroads and everything they have been able to do to help Estes residents.

From Crossroads, the Board and staff took a quick bus ride around the corner to Salud Family Health. Tanya Trujillo, the Center Operations Director, and her colleague Rosa explained their services to us and how they provide a variety of healthcare services to everyone, including uninsured residents. Tanya gave our group a tour of their facility and discussed the benefits and the challenges they face. This amazing nonprofit makes necessary healthcare services available to everyone, whether they have insurance or not.

After a delicious lunch at Ember, the group traveled to the Estes Valley Community Center for a handful of community presentations. Local experts, Carlie Bangs (Town of Estes Park) and Scott Moulton (Estes Park Housing Authority) discussed the 6E lodging tax initiative and how it affects housing and childcare.

Cato Craft (Estes Nonprofit Network), Rut Miller and Angelina Kirkpatrick (EVICS), Kathy Whitacre (Partners), and Hannah Dittburner (Boys and Girls Clubs of Larimer County) joined us for a nonprofit sector panel. They shared overviews of their nonprofits and the services they provide to the community. Cato Craft, the Executive Director of the Estes Nonprofit Network, shared insightful stats about the nonprofit sector in Estes Park and how it is a pillar of their community.

After the nonprofit panel, Kaci Yoh, the Philanthropy Director for the Rocky Mountain Conservancy, shared more about the programs they offer and how they use their philanthropic dollars for these programs. This presentation was followed by Lori Hodges, the Larimer County Director of Emergency Management, and Ian Stewart, Estes Park Chief of Police, as they discussed the environmental challenges and the impact of fires and floods in Estes Park and how they handle these emergency situations.

These presentations provided our Board and staff with insight into Estes Park’s nonprofit sector, what makes Estes a unique place to live and work, and all the behind the scenes work being done to help this mountain town and the community thrive.

The NoCo Foundation has been serving the Estes Valley for nearly 30 years. We are honored to have deep relationships with donors and nonprofits in the area; the day trip was an extraordinary day of connection and learning. Since July 2019, a total of $2,395, 916 has been granted to Estes Park nonprofits from funds at the NoCo Foundation, $363,827 of that was granted by our Estes Valley Community Fund Committee.

We would like to thank everyone who took time out of their day to share more about their work with the NoCo Foundation staff and Board.

The NoCo Foundation houses a variety of corporate giving and giving group funds that allow dollars to be pooled together to make a bigger impact. These groups are empowered to create their grantmaking parameters with guidance from staff on which nonprofit organizations align with those parameters. Collaborative grantmaking plays an important role in providing positive community impact.

Through collaborative grantmaking, funds can be raised, joined together to ensure dollars go further, and granted out to specific causes. The NoCo Foundation houses a few collaborative grantmaking funds including GroupGives, NoCo CARES, and Loveland Generations.

GroupGives

GroupGives is a corporate giving group and serves as the charitable arm of The Group Real Estate. This fund was established with a focus on helping people get into and stay in their homes through educational programs, home maintenance and improvement, and financial assistance.

GroupGives chooses a few nonprofit recipients for their annual Impact Grant, which will be selected later this month. While the Impact Grants are the larger, catalytic grants they distribute each year, they also give several other grants throughout the year. So far this year, they have granted out to a handful of organizations working on projects aligned with GroupGives’ mission. These organizations include A Little Help, Be the Gift, CARE Housing, Disabled Resource Services, and Volunteers of America Colorado.

 NoCo CARES

NoCo CARES (Community Awareness of Resources, Enrichment, and Services) is a giving group that promotes awareness of philanthropic needs in Northern Colorado and aims to educate others to make a difference in Southern Larimer County.

NoCo CARES has given grants to several nonprofits already this year. They have granted to The Crawford Child Advocacy Center, Be the Gift Incorporated, and Can’d Aid. They also gave a fire relief grant to Serve 6.8 after the Alexander Mountain Fire.

Loveland Generations

Another giving group, Loveland Generations supports projects and organizations that benefit Loveland residents. Members of this giving group enhance their understanding of philanthropy and their appreciation for the valuable work of local nonprofit agencies.

Loveland Generations solicits grant proposals once a year, giving preference to those who serve Loveland youth. This year they granted money to six nonprofit organizations including Thompson Valley Preschool, Be the Gift, Faith Evangelical Church’s Lago Vista Neighbor program, Safe Families for Children, and Teaching Tree Early Childhood Learning Center.

Collaborative grantmaking is an effective process that allows combined dollars to go further and make a bigger impact. Through this corporate giving and giving group collaborative grantmaking, more impact can be made in our communities, more projects can be funded, and more nonprofits can continue to do the important work. The NoCo Foundation is thrilled to partner with collaborative grantmaking groups, because community is our business.

Through our grantmaking, the NoCo Foundation aims to drive impact on issues facing our growing region as defined by our Northern Colorado Intersections Report. Our discretionary and responsive grantmaking specifically focuses on issues identified in the Sheltering & Caring and Connection intersections.

This includes:

• Affordable Housing
• Aging Population
• Healthcare
• Childcare
• Social Connectivity & Belonging
• Mental Health

Community Foundation Grants – Community Funds

The NoCo Foundation stewards donor resources so that they can make meaningful gifts into the communities and organizations they are passionate about. The Community Funds are a slice of that pie that impacts Berthoud, Estes Valley, Fort Collins, and Loveland.  Approximately $500,000 of the total funds held at the NoCo Foundation are available for discretionary grantmaking. Most funding distributed to the community is through grants made from donor advised and designated funds held at the NoCo Foundation.

Our Community Fund grantmaking process focuses on the communities of Berthoud, Estes Park, Fort Collins, and Loveland. Donors instructed that their donor advised funds support one of those communities after their lifetime. Volunteer committees in each community recommend grant funding.

Our goal is to make sure these limited grant dollars help drive impact. In July 2024, we launched two new grant programs: Intersections Grants and Community Grants.

Intersections Grants are larger grants to 1-3 organizations moving the needle on priority issue in each of the four communities. Community Grants are between $2,500 – $5,000 to support smaller organizations or project requests.

Each competitive grant process is just that, competitive, and it has granted nearly $6.8 million into the four communities since it began more than 20 years ago.

The grant cycles are underway; eligible nonprofits submitted applications in August and the Community Fund Committees are reviewing applications as we speak. Grant awards will be shared later this fall in the Inspire Newsletter.

Learn more and stay up to date at our grants page. Reach out at grants@nocofoundation.org with questions.

If you live in the Northeastern plains of Colorado and are always on the hunt for fun community events or live in Larimer County and want to explore a new Colorado town, this is the perfect opportunity for you!

The Game On! Fundraising Event will not only be a hooting good time, but you will be helping Logan County School District and the Sterling Community Fund by attending. The Sterling Community Fund (SCF) is an endowment created to provide a sustainable source of funding for projects that make Logan County a more attractive place to live, raise a family, establish a business, and retire.

The Details:

• Tickets are $100 ($75 of each ticket is tax-deductible)
• Tickets include one dinner, one drink, and $500 in play money
• A portion of the proceeds will go to Logan County Schools
• You’re encouraged to bring cash for drinks and fundraisers at the event (An ATM will be available)
• Attire will be an Upscale Western or Colorado Cocktail
• The night will include:
  • Casino games
  • Cornhole
  • Music by Jordan Suter and friends
  • Live auction with John Korrey
• Adults-only event

Tickets for this event can be purchased at the Logan County Chamber of Commerce or Bank of Colorado. They are also available for purchase online (with services and processing fees included)!