Going the Distance with India Wood

Over the course of 10 days in May, local naturalist and writer, India Wood, embarked on a diagonal hike across the Denver metro region. She had already hiked the first known “X” through Colorado from 2020-2022, traversing 1,500 miles of farms, ranches, and forests across the state. This time around, she wanted to see where much of Colorado’s population lives and works along the front range – by foot. Given that she was going to walk through each of SCFD’s seven counties, Wood decided to raise awareness of the district as she walked. So, she set off on her journey from Parker to Boulder armed with an SCFD banner for her backpack and a pocketful of SCFD stickers to share with residents along the way.

Wood’s first encounter with the SCFD began in an unlikely place: a cattle ranch in northwestern Colorado....

Engage with Us

Know an organization that’s right for SCFD?

Eligibility applications for organizations new to SCFD are now open. Please share with other organizations who you’d like to see join our family. Eligibility applications will close on September 11, 2024 at 4:00 p.m. You may find a tutorial for the application here. Only new organizations seeking eligibility are required to complete this, currently funded organizations are exempt.

Free Days/Events

Organizations from across the metro area provide hundreds of free days and free programs each year made possible, in part, by funding from SCFD. Some organizations are free every day such as Broomfield Veterans Museum, Foothills Art Center, Colorado Music Hall of Fame, The Aurora History Museum, Depot Art Gallery, and the Louisville History Museum. Here are a few free days on tap for August:

• City of Lafayette Arts & Cultural Resources Department (Picnic on the Plaza) – August 8, 15
• Denver Museum of Nature & Science – August 21
• Roshni (Open Mic & Mingle) – August 23
• The Art Garage (Open Studio) – August 23
• Denver Botanic Gardens – August 28

Get to know our County Cultural Councils

SCFD’s County Cultural Councils make funding recommendations for annual SCFD funds in each of the district’s partner counties. All members are local volunteers appointed by the county’s commissioners or city councils. Learn more here.

SCFD Board of Directors News

A board of directors governs the SCFD with representation from district member counties Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson and four governor's appointees. The board oversees district funding and ensures the district is running the way voters intended. The board meets eight times a year and all meetings are open to the public.

• The next meeting of the SCFD Board of Directors, featuring presentations from Tier II organizations, will be held at 1:00 p.m. on August 22, 2024 at Lighthouse Writers Workshop. Get information for joining meetings.

Take CCI’s Strategic Planning Survey

Colorado Creative Industries is creating its next strategic plan, and needs your input on what’s working well, what’s needed, and what big ideas should be considered. Join a public conversation and help shape our statewide priorities.

How’s Colorado’s arts and culture sector doing today? What are our biggest needs and opportunities? How can Colorado Creative Industries support the statewide arts, culture and creative industries ecosystem? Take the survey by August 8, 2024.

Leadership Veteran Program Accepting Applications

LV is a comprehensive 9-month nonprofit program. It unites the veteran-serving community through education, peer collaboration, and engagement with prominent community leaders. Hosted in person at the University of Denver, LV features presentations from DU faculty, nonprofit sector experts, and leaders from the business, veteran, and nonprofit communities. Leadership Veteran empowers organizations with the best practices they need to thrive in supporting veterans.

This program is ideal for:

• Those currently working or volunteering at a veteran-serving organization
• Individuals interested in pursuing a career in veteran services

We actively seek diverse voices and innovative veteran service solutions.

LV sessions offer cutting-edge instruction in current topics relevant to the veteran nonprofit sector, including:

• Fundraising
• Event planning
• Strategic planning
• Volunteer management
• Financial management
• Social media strategy
• Media relations
• Board governance

The program kicks off with an overnight retreat on October 4-5, 2024 in Florissant, CO. Following the retreat, full-day sessions will be held at the University of Denver on the first Friday of each month from November 2024 to June 2025.

Session Dates:

• 2024: October 4-5, November 1, December 6
• 2025: January 3, February 7, March 7, April 4, May 2, June 6

Apply by August 12 at LeadershipVeteran.org.

We Fund Culture

Thanks to the voters and residents of the seven-county metro area, SCFD has come a long way in its more than 35 years of existence. SCFD is the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, a tax collected and distributed to more than 300 cultural organizations in our seven-county Denver metro region including Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson counties. Just one penny on every $10 spent in the district creates vibrancy for us individually and collectively.

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!