Eastern Plains Nonprofits Receive Rural Philanthropy Days Grants from The Colorado Trust

Media contact: Julian Kesner, The Colorado Trust, 303-539-3147

DENVER, COLO.—The Colorado Trust, a foundation dedicated to creating fair and equal opportunities for Coloradans to lead healthy lives, announced it has granted $25,000 to five rural nonprofit organizations in eastern Colorado as part of the June 2016 Rural Philanthropy Days.

Rural Philanthropy Days (RPD) connects funders with nonprofit organizations and government officials that serve rural Colorado. The biannual three-day event was created in 1991 by the Community Resource Center (CRC) and the Anschutz Family Foundation to strengthen nonprofit-funder relations and address critical needs in rural Colorado communities.

The June 2016 iteration of RPD, which took place in Haxtun and Holyoke, Colo., convened nonprofit representatives from Cheyenne, Kit Carson, Lincoln, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington and Yuma counties. Grants of $5,000 were awarded by The Trust to each of the following organizations:

• Akron Balanced Child Development Center (Akron): The only child care facility in Akron, the center serves children from birth to age 12. The grant will help pay for the center’s first computers, to be used primarily by older children.
• Bethel Community Center (Arriba): This is the only event space available for 40 miles in any direction, and is considered a vital community hub. The grant will help cover the cost of much-needed building renovations.
• Melissa Memorial Hospital Foundation (Holyoke): The grant will help strengthen the hospital’s community outreach and development program to reach more Spanish-speaking households, and better support Holyoke’s Latino population.
• Prairie Family Center, Inc. (Burlington): The center will use the funding to support their Healthier Living Program, a 16-week curriculum focused on self-management of chronic health issues, as well as physical and social/emotional health.
• Rural Communities Resource Center (Yuma): The grant will help support and expand the center’s Estrellas program, which offers youth leadership development, opportunities and resources.

Since 2010, The Trust has provided more than $360,000 in grants to rural Colorado nonprofit organizations through RPD. In addition, The Trust also provides support to CRC for the statewide RPD program. For more information about RPD, visit the CRC website.

About The Colorado Trust
The Colorado Trust is a foundation dedicated to achieving health equity—ending inequalities that affect racial, ethnic, low-income and other vulnerable populations, so that everyone can achieve good health. The Trust believes all Coloradans should have fair and equal opportunities to lead healthy, productive lives regardless of race, ethnicity, income or where we live. The Trust focuses on policies and information related to advancing health equity, as well as projects that address health equity in partnership with communities throughout Colorado. For more information, visit www.coloradotrust.org.