Milestones in Creating Culture for All

2024 has been a landmark year for many of our funded partners, marking anniversaries of service to our community and corresponding programming to celebrate! The below organizations have uplifted arts, culture, and science in our region by exposing residents to our region's history, the power of music and performance, natural science from birds to dinosaurs to sharks, theatre for youth, dance in all of its forms, and various cultures. Happy anniversary to:

• Cherokee Ranch & Castle Foundation, 100 Years since castle construction began
• Colorado Railroad Museum, 65 Years and 20 Years of the POLAR EXPRESS Train Ride
• Empire Lyric Players, 65 Years
• Denver Audubon, 55 Years
• Swallow Hill, 45 Years
• Friends of Dinosaur Ridge, 35 Years
• Colorado Chamber Players, 30th Season
• Northglenn Youth Theatre, 30 Years
• Lone Tree Symphony Orchestra, 25 Years
• Tesoro Cultural Center, 25 Years
• Lakewood Cultural Center, 25th Season
• Danse Etoile Ballet, 20 Years
• Zikr Dance Ensemble, 15 Years
• Life/Art Dance Ensemble, 15 Years
• Boulder Children's Chorale, 15 Years
• Ocean First Institute, 10 Years



Engage With Us

SCFD's Executive Director to Step Down in 2025, Assume Senior Advisor Role

SCFD Executive Director Deborah Jordy will step down from her role at the district’s helm on June 30, 2025. A fixture on the national, regional and local arts and cultural scene, Jordy will move into a role as the district’s senior advisor on a host of issues including reauthorization.

Learn more here.

County Cultural Council Openings - Support the exciting arts, culture, and science programs in your own backyard!

Each SCFD county has a county cultural council made up of volunteers who live in that county and are appointed by either their board of county commissioners or city council. Council members review grant applications from Tier III organizations and make funding decisions, which are then reviewed by the board of county commissioners or city council and approved by the SCFD board of directors. There are several openings:

Adams County Cultural Council: The Adams County Cultural Councils is seeking to fill three council seats for 2025. Interested applicants can learn more and apply here by December 15 or contact Zoe Ocampo, the Adams County Cultural Council Liaison, at zocampo@adcogov.org with questions.

Boulder County Cultural Council: The Boulder County Cultural Council is currently recruiting to fill two council seats. Applicants need to be 18 years old or older and live in Boulder County. Interested applicants can learn more and apply here or contact Aleta Sherman, the Boulder County Cultural Council Liaison, at asherman@bouldercounty.gov.

What you need, when you need it

Just a friendly reminder that we are continuing to add information, tutorials, grant deadlines, and other important details to pages dedicated to your tier of partnership with the district. Please use these resources to help answer your questions. 

Tier I | Tier II | Tier III 

Resources for Good

Roundtables from The Collaborative of the SCFD

The Collaborative of the SCFD hosts roundtables, trainings and networking events, which are open to all SCFD Tiers. Please RSVP to Brianna Firestone (Brianna@CollaborativeSCFD.org) if you would like to attend the events below or if you have any questions.

Volunteer Roundtable

Monday, December 2, 2024 | 11:00am – 12:30pm

Butterfly Pavilion 

6252 W. 104th Avenue Westminster, CO 80020

Please join us for The Collaborative's last Volunteer Roundtable in 2024! This is an opportunity for us to chat about volunteer initiatives and efforts. Bring yourself, discussion topics, and questions!

Employee Orientation: What is SCFD and the Collaborative of the SCFD?

Thursday, December 12, 2025 | 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.

Zoom (passcode 207463)

For new employees or for those needing a refresher. What is the SCFD and how does it relate to my organization? What is the Collaborative and how can I participate? Learn how you can be professionally connected to our amazing art, culture and science community in the Denver-Metro area. This will be a general overview about the two organizations and how they are interrelated. All tiers welcome to attend.

Education Roundtable

Thursday, January 9, 2025 | 3:00 – 4:30pm

Colorado Symphony (Room TBD)

The Commons on Champa - 1245 Champa St, Denver, CO 80204

Kick off the new year with your fellow educators at 2025’s very first Education Roundtable. This is an opportunity for educators and education coordinators to have the opportunity to connect and share updates and ideas in person.

Development Roundtable

Friday, January 31, 2025 | 10:00am – 11:30am

Wings Over The Rockies – Exploration of Flight

13005 Wings Way, Englewood, CO 80112

Kick off the new year with your fellow Development colleagues at 2025’s very first Development Roundtable. This is an opportunity for development teams to have the opportunity to connect and share updates and ideas in person.

DOVIA/The Collaborative of the SCFD - Volunteer Program Idea Exchange Session

Thursday, February 6, 2025 | 2:00 – 4:00 pm

Denver Botanic Gardens

1007 York St, Denver, CO 80206

Join us at Denver Botanic Gardens for the annual DOVIA (Directors of Volunteers in Agencies Colorado) and Collaborative SCFD volunteer program idea exchange session. This is an opportunity for educators and education coordinators to have the opportunity to connect and share updates and ideas in person.

Tier III Partnership Opportunity: VISIT Denver

VISIT DENVER will be offering a free partnership to all SCFD Tier III cultural organizations in 2025.

The free partnership includes the following benefits:

• A 75-word business listing on VISITDENVER.com (10.5M+ visits/year) complete with a link, photos/videos, social media and more 
• Leads and referrals from the 60+ staff at VISIT DENVER that interact with meeting planners, media and leisure tourists every day 
• Submit special offers appearing on VISITDENVER.com and also convention and meeting microsites 
• Monthly networking with nearly 1,300 partners representing all aspects of the hospitality industry 
• Paid advertising opportunities and access to industry research 

Please reach out to Abby Schirmacher at aschirmacher@visitdenver.com to finalize this process and for more information about VISIT DENVER partnership benefits. 

New Staff? Make Sure They're Signed Up for SCFD Email Communications!

As the 2024 grant cycle continues, please ensure that any new staff at your organization who might be involved with SCFD funds signs up for our email communications. We send regular updates to organizations by Tier regarding grant deadlines, trainings and more.

"Elevating the SCFD" Shout Out

As part of our ongoing work with you to help raise the profile of the SCFD for residents across the metro area, we’ll be giving a hat tip to organizations who have found a way to include SCFD in their outreach. The goal is to highlight all the ways your organization can help. 

We welcome all funded partners to join us in elevating the value of SCFD. Need ideas or content? Check out our Communicators Toolkit. And don't forget to tag SCFD in your social media shout-outs or make sure there's an SCFD staff member on the distribution list for any email shout-outs for the chance to be featured below.

Hat Tip to Think 360 Arts for Learning

A special thank you to Think 360 Arts for Learning for this thoughtful Instagram shout-out to SCFD!

Submit Your 2025 Free Days with Us

If you have free days, programs or events to share with the public, you can submit them for inclusion on the SCFD website. This is one of the most visited pages on our website, and we need your dates for 2025! Submit your 2025 Free Days. 

News from the Board

January Board Retreat

The SCFD Board of Directors will have a board retreat on January 16, 2025 from 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. at the American Red Cross (room TBD). This retreat is open to the public.

February Board Meeting

The next meeting of the SCFD Board of Directors will be held virtually at 1 p.m. on February 27, 2025. Get information for joining meetings and see the full calendar of 2024 board meetings.

Other News You Can Use

Did you know you can stay up to date on all things SCFD more than just once a month through our newsletter? Check out our News You Can Use webpage!