Bray Cares Foundation
Housing Education Forum for Local Leaders
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Kevin Bray, Bray Cares Foundation, welcomes local housing providers and donors to
an education event at our Center for Philanthropy in May
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Our Community Foundation partnered with Bray Cares Foundation to host Homelessness and Housing in the Grand Valley, a donor education event held at our Center for Philanthropy on May 11th. With a goal of connecting Bray Cares supporters to nonprofit partners, the event was designed as a "speed-dating" style round robin for small groups of participants to hear from five organizations working to address housing issues in our community. More than 60 donors and community leaders learned from Grand Valley Catholic Outreach, Housing Resources of Western Colorado, Karis/The House, the Joseph Center and Foster Alumni Mentors.
Participating nonprofits shared information about their mission and programs as well as client stories regarding their very real struggles to find or keep a roof over their heads. Updates on current projects included Housing Resources' recent launch of their new Down Payment Assistance loan program, Catholic Outreach's Mother Teresa Place supportive housing project for the chronically homeless, and the Joseph Center's expansion of their Golden Girls Project which provides shelter for unhoused, middle-aged to elderly women with a goal of transitioning them to permanent housing.
Mona Highline, founder of the Joseph Center, was recently named Nexstar's Remarkable Woman of the Year. Chosen out of 10,000 nominations across the nation, Mona was recognized for her work with homeless families, older women, and at-risk youth here in the Grand Valley. She shared some of her prize money with Grand Valley Peace and Justice, presenting a surprise grant at our event.
Read more here from The Daily Sentinel coverage.
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Local housing leaders gathered to share updates and insights as part of a donor education event put on by Bray Cares Foundation and our Community Foundation |
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Groundbreaking Project: Village on San Juan
CASA's Intergenerational Housing is a Model for the Future
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Carlton Mason, Executive Director for CASA of the 7th District/Resources for Family and Youth, does not see barriers when it comes to building affordable housing for at-risk youth. His particular focus is housing for youth aging out of foster care who are up to 46% at-risk of experiencing homelessness in their lifetimes. CASA's new project, the Village on San Juan, is a place for both youth and seniors to live independently but with common space and support services on site. This vision for an inter-generational project grew out of the recognition that residents could provide each other with co-supportive living assistance to enhance life for all within the Village. At the groundbreaking May 22nd, Carlton announced the project funding is nearly complete with a $5.59 million state Housing Transformational Grant. The Village will welcome its first residents in about 14 months from now.
Our Community Foundation is proud to have provided early financial support for this project in 2022 with a $20,000 planning grant. Our early project funds often help organizations lay the ground work for capital projects and leverage significant additional project funding. We have a long history supporting CASA's innovative housing projects for at-risk youth, including 1st Place on 2nd in Montrose, 1st Place on Palmer in Delta, and the Youth Access Center (YAC).
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"The Community Foundation's partnership, funding and early support
for our projects has been critical for getting to the next step
with the projects and gives other funders the confidence to sign on
when they see our local philanthropic leader involved."
~ Carlton Mason, CEO
CASA of the 7th Judicial District
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Dreaming Forward... Building Our Foundation
Capital Campaign Update
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President and CEO of the Boettcher Foundation, Katie Kramer visits with Anne Wenzel
and tours our new Center for Philanthropy
(photographed here at our Community Foundation Founders Wall)
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Last week, Katie Kramer, President and CEO of the Boettcher Foundation, was in town to tour our Center for Philanthropy and use our Hotel Office for a day of work and meetings in western Colorado. Tim Schultz and the Boettcher Foundation were instrumental in the launch of our Community Foundation over 25 years ago; Boettcher Foundation recently committed $50,000 to our $3.6 million capital campaign to purchase, renovate, and furnish our new office home.
Nine months in, the capital campaign is going well. We have raised almost $3.3 million in cash and pledges for our late summer closing to purchase our building.
A big THANK YOU to the generous donors listed below (in no particular order) who have helped us get this far!
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Dee Blue
Kate and Bob Denning
Kim and Joe Giannone
Verne and Diana Smith
Alpine Bank
Bacon Family
Boettcher Foundation
Family of Bruce Dixson
Ann and Dave Brach
Tom and Sue Hillhouse
Dennis and Alice McCary
Robert Pew
Lynn Wegener and Karen Combs
Bernie and Mary Beth Buescher
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Family of Dave and Mary Wood
Kay and Mike Ferris
Anne Wenzel and David Miller
Goodwin Foundation
Gormley Family
Steve and Lenna Watson
Bray and Company
Jaynes Family
Brian and Joyce Olson
Shirley and Bill Ela
Gregg and Kristine Kampf
Dan and Elise Prinster
David Lane
Anonymous
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It's not too late to help our Community Foundation get into its permanent home! Thank you for considering a gift to our Building Our Foundation campaign. For more information or to discuss a gift, please contact Kristin Lynch at klynch@wc-cf.org or call (970) 243-3767.
Donations of any size are welcome! Donations to this project are eligible for the Enterprise Zone state tax credit.
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Board Transitions
At our Annual Board Meeting in May, we said goodbye and thank you to two term-limited board members: Kim Giannone, who has served as our board chair this past 12 months, and Barb Chamberlin who served as board chair for the previous two years.
These women have been instrumental in the development of our exciting vision and ambitious strategic plan for our organization, providing leadership through 18 months of incredible growth and the process to identify and secure our permanent office home. They have given hours of time and much enthusiasm and energy to our organization. Both will continue to be involved with our growing CORE Giving Circle - engaging people in the community who care about conservation, outdoor recreation, and the environment.
Also at our Annual Board Meeting, we welcomed new board member Gregg Kampf. Gregg is a long-time friend and donor to our organization. He has decades of experience as a local attorney and a deep track record of board and community service, having served on the board of many organizations including Grand Valley Catholic Outreach, St. Mary's Hospital Foundation, and the Grand Junction Symphony Foundation.
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Congratulations Kristin!
We are excited to announce that Kristin Lynch, Director of Development and Legacy Giving, has earned the designation of Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP® ) from the American College of Financial Services.
The CAP® credential is for financial and nonprofit professionals focused on the best strategies for philanthropic planning. In addition to mastering the financial details involved in different forms of charitable giving, CAP® designees gain critical interpersonal skills needed to guide clients and donors from philanthropic aspiration to positive social impact.
To achieve this designation, Kristin studied and passed rigorous exams, and proved that she not only had the technical knowledge to serve donors, but has also sworn to practice ethically and in the best interest of the people she serves. She will also be required to complete continuing education annually to keep the designation.
Kristin is excited to bring this skillset to the Western Slope and to better serve donors in their charitable planning.
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New Friendly Face
Welcome Deana!
We are excited to welcome Deana Pietro as our new Administrative Assistant!
Deana has over 30 years of experience in various administrative support roles, including health care, local government, and event management.
Deana was born and raised in Grand Junction, and takes pride in calling the Grand Valley home. She is married to her husband, Rob, and has an adult daughter, Michaela, who lives and works in Grand Junction, and a son and daughter-in-law, Tyler and Cierra, who live in Utah with her 20-month-old granddaughter Olivia. She also has a bonus son and daughter-in-law, Ryan and Rose with granddaughter Gianna in Nevada.
During the weekends you’ll find Deana and her husband riding bikes on the Riverfront trails, walking/hiking on various trails and parks with their two fur babies, Kai and Kali, or at Canyon View Park attempting to improve upon their new-found love of pickle ball.
Please give Deana a warm welcome when you see her at our reception desk!
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The Western Colorado Community Foundation is confirmed in compliance with National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations by the Council on Foundations.
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