As this busy summer starts to draw to a close, I want to express our team's gratitude for all you do for our community. It has been so wonderful to see the wide variety of summer programming for district residents, and we have so appreciated those who have taken the time out of their busy season to take part in our district-wide listening tour over the past few weeks. Thank you!

On that note, here are a few important updates from SCFD:

Road to Reauthorization:

• There are just two Community Reauthorization Workshops left as part of our Phase 2 Listening Tour on our Road to Reauthorization! Virtual workshops will be held on August 3 and 4. Don't miss your chance to share your thoughts on SCFD's funding model and processes!
• Key themes and ideas gathered through these workshops will help shape initial proposals for statute updates developed in Phase 3.
• We are also finalizing next steps for an organizational questionnaire for additional feedback on SCFD as well as standing up a stakeholder advisory group. Stay tuned for more information!



SCFD Organizational Development

• We are thrilled to welcome Heidi Messer to the SCFD team later this month as our new Director of Finance & Administration. Heidi will start at SCFD on August 18, 2026. You can learn more about her below!

Engage With Us

Meet SCFD's New Director of Finance & Administration, Heidi Messer

Heidi comes to the SCFD with over 20 years of non-profit experience in a wide variety of settings. She is experienced at working with teams of varying sizes and creating sound financial systems and strategies. She comes to the SCFD from the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, where she was responsible for overseeing all accounting operations, cash management, and financial reporting. She also directed financial and administrative activity at LiveWell Colorado and worked for a decade as an accounting consultant for multiple non-profits, including the SCFD.

Heidi has lived in the Denver metro area for most of her life and is passionate about arts and culture funding. Heidi judges high school gymnastics and loves reading and road biking. She and her husband enjoy spending time with their children and grandchildren, listening to live music, and attending City Park Jazz every summer.

Welcome to the team, Heidi!

Reserve your spot at the Engage-Empower-Connect Summit

Join SCFD, Denver Botanic Gardens, and The Collaborative of the SCFD from 1:00 - 4:45 p.m. on September 14, 2026 for the 2026 Engage-Empower-Connect Summit at Denver Botanic Gardens. This year's EEC Summit will feature engaging panel discussions on nonprofit management topics for cultural organizations such as strategic collaborations, community engagement, and advancing technology. The summit will culminate with a networking happy hour in the UMB Amphitheater tent. The agenda will be as follows:

12:00- 12:45 p.m. - Check In

1:00 - 1:15 p.m. - Opening Remarks

1:15 - 2:00 p.m. - Strategic Collaborations: Leveraging Resources

2:10 - 2:55 p.m. - Community Engagement

3:05 - 3:50 p.m. - Advancing Technology for Nonprofits

4:00 - 4:45 p.m. - Networking Happy Hour

Celebrate the 2026 Rex Morgan Awards

New this year - we'll celebrate the biennial Rex Morgan Awards immediately following the EEC Summit on September 14, 2026! Join us in celebrating impacts in lifetime leadership, civic engagement & volunteerism, and innovative partnerships & regional cooperation. Attendees can join us for a happy hour in the UMB Amphitheater at 4:00 followed by an awards ceremony at 5:00. Honorees include Colorado Dragon Boat, George Peck, and Dr. Amelia C. Ashmann.

Share Your 2026 Free Days!

As you continue to build out your event calendars, don't forget to submit your free admission opportunities to the Free Days calendar here. This is one of our most popular webpages, and we'd love to help spread the word about your free events!

What you need, when you need it

Just a friendly reminder that we continually add information, tutorials, grant deadlines, and other important details to pages dedicated to your tier of partnership with the district. Of note, 2026 grant process calendars are now available on each of the webpages below. Please use these resources to help answer your questions. 

Tier I | Tier II | Tier III 

SCFD has resources for curtain speeches, social media posts, newsletter spotlights, and more in our Communicators' Toolkit. We'd love your help in spreading the word about SCFD and our vision of Culture For All! If you need additional resources or branding information, please reach out to emma@scfd.org.

Hat Tip to Colorado Black Arts Fest



Thanks to Colorado Black Arts Festival for the shout-out on Instagram! Every time you post or mention SCFD, you help us remind district residents of our community's commitment to Culture For All. Be sure to tag SCFD or add us as a collaborator on your next post about the district!

Resources for Good

News from the Board

August Board Meeting

The next meeting of the SCFD Board of Directors will be at 1:00 p.m. on August 27, 2026 at Lone Tree Arts Center. Get information for joining meetings.

SCFD | scfd.org