Onboarding Talent
Five New Directors Join Community Foundation Board
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Pictured (left to right) are WCCF
new board members Robin Tolan, Doug May, Carlton Mason, Joey Montoya-Boese, and David Lane.
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Our Community Foundation is pleased to welcome five new members to our Board of Directors, elected to the board at the Annual Meeting on May 11th. The new class of recruits is the largest in recent years, as we did not recruit new board members during COVID.
Our new directors are (in alpha order): David Lane (Delta), a retired CPA who has decades of experience serving on nonprofit boards, including Delta County Memorial Hospital and Community Options; Carlton Mason (Montrose) who is executive director of the CASA 7th Judicial District and a passionate advocate for at risk youth; Doug May (Grand Junction), an investment manager with WealthSource Partners and a long-time champion of our Community Foundation; Joey Montoya-Boese, a nonprofit professional who has worked for CMU Montrose campus, A Kidz Clinic, and currently Peer Kindness, bringing valuable skills in organizational development and strategic planning; and Robin Tolan (Glenwood Springs), a retired fundraising professional and active community leader and volunteer in Garfield County.
We also want to recognize and thank our departing board members: Nancy Hannah (Montrose), Katie Mackley (Rifle), Jay Moss (Grand Junction), Mike Rushmore (Avon), and Martha Tjossem (Grand Junction). Your commitment and contributions to our organization are very much appreciated!
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A Team You Can
Count On
Welcome Cheree!
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We are pleased to welcome Cheree Seader as our Controller. Cheree has spent the last nine years working in healthcare, six of those years at Colorado Canyons Hospital in Fruita. Her years of experience in financial reporting, budgeting, and analytics, as well as her excitement and interest in our mission will be a great asset to our team.
Cheree is a Colorado native who grew up in Grand Lake. She moved to the Western Slope to attend CMU and fell in love with all that the area has to offer. When she is not working, you can find her on the river fly fishing with her fiancé, or on the trails hiking with their three pups.
To contact Cheree, please email cseader@wc-cf.org
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Funding Available
Trutta Fund and Brownson Memorial Fund Now Open
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Our Community Foundation has opened up the application process for two of our field of interest funds which will make grants over the summer.
The Trutta Fund for Veterans is now accepting applications through June 30, 2021. $70,000 is available in grants. Eligible organizations must be a qualified 501 (c) (3), public school, or tax-exempt public service agency providing services within Mesa and/or Delta County.
The Brownson Memorial Fund supports programs that provide education, prevention, and treatment for substance abuse in Mesa County. The deadline to apply is June 30, 2021.
For more information and to apply visit:
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Interested in Our Hunger Work?
Next Hunger Matters
E-news Publishes in June
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If you are interested in receiving information on our regional hunger relief efforts and how to get involved, please subscribe to our Hunger Matters E-news by clicking below.
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Coming out of the COVID Crisis
Community Grants Theme Focuses on Recovery and Resilience for Youth
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After school programs like those offered by Eureka! McConnell Science Museum are eligible for grants to help students recover academic skills and regain confidence and focus lost during
the past year.
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As our communities emerge from a year of disruption, isolation, and stress, our Community Foundation is providing funding to programs that help youth recover academic skills and build back their emotional wellbeing and coping capacity to help them get "back on track." Our 2021 Community Grants theme - Recovery and Resilience for Youth - will support after-school and other programs that provide academic support while also helping students rebuild confidence and focus. Programs that offer parents and teaching staff resources to help youth build back up skills will also be eligible.
Organizations and programs serving youth in any of the seven counties we serve are eligible to apply and grants will be awarded up to $10,000. The deadline to apply is July 16th, with funding awarded in early September. Funding for these programs is made possible through our general purpose Community Grants Fund and by generous donors across western Colorado. More information and to apply click here.
Community members interested in supporting this issue are invited to make a donation to WCCF Community Grants Fund by July 15, 2021.
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Grantee Spotlight:
Glenwood Canyon Restoration Alliance
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We all remember the large and destructive wildfires of last summer, including the Pine Gulch and Grizzly Creek fires in western Colorado. This summer is predicted to be at least as dangerous a wildfire season as last year, with extremely dry conditions due to low levels of snowpack and runoff and continuing drought.
Our Community Foundation recently made a $20,000 grant to Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers. The first $10,000 is for the newly formed Glenwood Canyon Restoration Alliance to support their efforts to mobilize volunteers in restoration projects along the highway and in the rest areas damaged by the fire. Another $10,000 is dedicated to expanding their Young Stewards program to involve middle school students in these mitigation and restoration efforts, as well as to instill in them a sense of environmental stewardship.
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Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers' Young Stewards participants will work on the Grizzly Creek Fire restoration effort while learning environmental stewardship. |
Focus on Wildfires
In anticipation of a difficult summer, our Community Foundation is supporting several efforts aimed at wildfire prevention and emergency response. A grant to the Two Rivers Wildfire Coalition in Mesa County will support their work on mitigating wildfire hazards on public and private lands and raise awareness of what residents can do to reduce the risk on their property. Another grant to the local chapter of the American Red Cross will provide emergency assistance for people who may be displaced or impacted by wildfires in western Colorado this summer.
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Recognizing Community Leaders
CMU Mavericks Make a Difference in our Community and Through Our Foundation
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Congratulations to Dan Sharp and Robert Bray for their recent recognition as CMU Alumni of the Year by the CMU Alumni Association! In addition to being distinguished Mavs, both men are valued partners in our Community Foundation's work to address hunger and housing needs in the community.
As Director of Food and Nutrition Services at School District 51, Dan Sharp is the man behind the hugely successful Lunch Lizard summer mobile meals program we launched six years ago. Last year, he mobilized food trucks as part of a larger pivot to feed children breakfast and lunch when the schools were closed due to COVID. As this summer season starts, two Lunch Lizard vehicles, with 8 stops, will be out and about, serving children in the parks where they play and neighborhoods where they live when school is out. Additionally, 7 sites will provide curbside pick-up for lunch. Check out this short video to learn more about Dan Sharp and his Distinguished Alumni Award.
Several years ago, Robert Bray and Bray & Company launched Bray Cares Foundation to raise funds and support programs that address housing-related needs in Mesa County. To date, almost $50,000 has been distributed in grants through our Bray Cares application process. Grants include Karis' Laurel House supportive housing for homeless teens, Grand Valley Catholic Outreach's housing assistance program, and Foster Alumni Mentors to help former foster youth afford housing. Learn more about Robert Bray and his Distinguished Alumni Award here. |
Building CORE Strength
E-news Launching Soon!
Join our Mailing List
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Our Community Foundation is excited to launch the first edition of our Building CORE Strength E-news on June 15. Learn more about our efforts to support conservation, outdoor recreation, and environment projects to protect and enhance our western Colorado lifestyle. Please subscribe to our Building CORE Strength by clicking below. |
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Reflections from the President |
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Some people love being in front of a camera or in control of a microphone; I do not. While I usually have thoughts to share and plenty to say about the generosity or our donors and the wonderful work of the nonprofits we fund, I am less comfortable being in a public spotlight of a camera, having always shied away from the limelight. Leading our Community Foundation is more of a behind-the-scenes, supportive kind of job.
So I took a deep breath when I was asked to be interviewed on camera by the CMU communications team putting together a video tribute for my colleague and friend, Dan Sharp. I pulled myself and some thoughts together to share at the CMU Alumni Awards dinner (small and low key this year as we are coming out of COVID) about this man who is deeply committed to child hunger in our community and providing healthy and nourishing foods to the children of D51.
It is easier for me to say here - in written reflections - how well-deserved the CMU Alumni of the Year recognition is for both Dan Sharp and Robert Bray. These men lead very different organizations but they share a deep passion for basic needs and a commitment to their community. Dan works in the area of hunger and food insecurity; Robert's philanthropic passion is housing.
Both men share something else in common in that they are actively involved in the work of our Community Foundation. In addition to his own job designing innovative programs to address hunger for the 52% of school children in our district who are eligible for free or reduced price breakfast and lunch, and increasing the quality and nutrition of snack and cafeteria offerings, Dan has been a leader and a linch pin in the Mesa County Hunger Alliance as we develop and implement a comprehensive action plan to end hunger. Our foundation has received several generous grants from the Colorado Health Foundation to facilitate the local planning process, one that has garnered statewide attention; Dan is very much part of the vision and success of our local efforts.
The Bray name is synonymous with real estate and housing in this community. Several years ago, Robert approached our Community Foundation about his ideas to start the Bray Cares Foundation and partner with us to provide grantmaking administration and investment services. It has been a pleasure to work with Robert, his son Kevin, and President Lynn Thompson as they become grantmaking pros, reviewing proposals and awarding grants in the area of homeless and affordable housing needs and nonprofit solutions here in Mesa County.
Hooray and congratulations to this year's CMU Distinguished Alums! And hooray and thank you for ALL our partners, donors, and friends who work with and through our Community Foundation to pursue their philanthropic interests and make this community better for all.
-- Anne Wenzel
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