Nonprofit awards $263,000 in grants

The Community Foundation Boulder County has distributed $263,543 in grants in an effort to strengthen the community’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Funding was awarded to 72 nonprofits and organizations that support LGBTQ+ programs and initiatives, education, the arts, the environment, and animal welfare, according to a Community Foundation news release issued Tuesday.

Gretchen Minekime, the vice president of communications for the Community Foundation Boulder County, said funds were raised by people in the community, including individuals, families and businesses.

“This is one example of the power of this community,” Minekime said. “This is just the latest batch of grants out the door and it’s possible because of people and businesses in this community taking care of their own community.”

The funds given out included $165,724 from the Community Foundation’s Community Trust, the release said. The Community Trust is a permanent fund designed to address broad needs throughout Boulder County. Additional Community Trust grant funds will be given out later this month, Minekime said.

The release said the grantees, who directly helped those most impacted by the virus, also received an additional funding totaling $47,000 from the COVID-19 Response Fund Boulder County. In March, the foundation created the COVID-19 Response Fund Boulder County was established by the foundation on March 13 and raised $1.4 million.

The release said an additional $50,819 in grants was

awarded through the Open Door fund endowment to nonprofits enhancing the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/ questioning people in Boulder County. The Open Door fund raises money specifically for programs that support the LGBTQ+ community.

The Community Foundation Boulder County is a nonprofit that started 29 years ago with the aim to be a community catalyst by responding to immediate needs and anticipating future challenges, the release said. The foundation helps to support other nonprofits through grant opportunities. Since its founding in 1991, the foundation has granted more than $100 million to nonprofits focused on health and human services, education, civic engagement, arts and culture, and animals and the environment.

Those interested in learning more about the foundation or in donating, can visit the nonprofit’s website at commfound.org.