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Summit County rallies behind nonprofits this holiday season

The Summit Foundation's Philanthropy Award winners for 2016. The winners recieved their awards in mid-November.
Joe Kusumoto / Special to the Daily |

Summit Foundation Grant Awards for Fall 2016

ARTS & CULTURE: $168,600 AWARDED

Breckenridge Backstage Theatre

Breckenridge Music Festival

Lake Dillon Theatre Company

National Repertory Orchestra

Summit Concert Band

Alpenglow Chamber Music Festivals

Summit County Arts Council

Summit Fine Arts for Youth

Summit Youth Orchestra

National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum

BRIGHT FUTURES: $468,700 AWARDED

After Prom Committee Summit High School

Beaver Ponds Environmental Education Center

Breckenridge Montessori

Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center

Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Denver – Summit County Child Care Community Outreach Specialist

Colorado Mountain College Foundation

Early Childhood Options

Easter Seals Colorado

Education Foundation of the Summit

Grand Beginnings

High Country Soccer Association

Junior Achievement-Rocky Mountain

Keystone Science School

Lake Dillon Preschool

Park County Public Library

SOS Outreach

South Park Early Childhood Park County School District RE2

Summit County Mountain Mentors

Summit County Preschool

Summit Rugby

Summit School District-Preschool Program

The National Inventors Hall of Fame

The Peak School

Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts

YouthEntity

ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP: $58,500 AWARDED

Colorado Mountain Club

Colorado Trail Foundation

Continental Divide Land Trust

Friends of the Dillon Ranger District

High Country Conservation Center

Mountain Area Land Trust

Vail Pass Task Force

HEALTHY AND SAFE COMMUNITIES: $386,500 AWARDED

Advocates for Victims of Assault

Advocates of Lake County

Bethany Immigration Services

CASA of the Continental Divide

Family & Intercultural Resource Center

Friends of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center

Horizons Specialized Services

Lake County Community Fund

Mind Springs Health

Mountain Family Center

Outdoor Mindset

Rocky Mountain Rural Health

South Park Seniors

Summit Community Care Clinic

Summit County Coroner’s Office

Summit Rotary Charitable Fund

Wounded Heroes Family Adventures

It’s the season of giving, and many Summit nonprofits have benefited from more than a million dollars worth of donations and grants.

The Summit Foundation represents one of the biggest donors in the county, having given out $25.9 million in grants since 1986. For 2016, the organization was able to give more out than in previous years to local nonprofits according to Elisabeth Lawrence, the foundation’s events and marketing manager.

“We continue to grow every year,” Lawrence said. “We did go over budget, which is a good thing.”



Applications for the fall giving cycle were due in mid-October, and the foundation subsequently distributed $1.08 million. The foundation focused on organizations helping working families and supporting school-age children.

“We continue to grow every year. ”Elisabeth LawrenceEvents and marketing manager for The Summit Foundation

Lawrence said that The Summit Foundation does its homework, reviewing applications and visiting the nonprofits that have applied. Generally, 80 percent get funded.



“We know that we’re doing our due diligence,” she said.

The Summit Foundation pairs with Vail Resort’s EpicPromise program, which helps to fund grants. This year, EpicPromise helped to support six grants for early childhood programs.

“It in turn supports their employees who have families here,” Lawrence said.

Across all of its resort properties, EpicPromise donated $7.6 million.

Locals supporting The Summit Foundation are in turn supporting the nonprofits that are given grants by the foundation. Colorado Gives Day was held on Dec. 6 and is the biggest day of giving in the state. Because of the $1 Million Incentive Fund, made possible by FirstBank and the Community First Foundation, every donation receives a portion of the funds to ensure that each registered nonprofit receives a boost.

Statewide, $33.8 million was raised on Colorado Gives Day. The Summit Foundation received $55,000 in donations, and the Family and Intercultural Resource center received more than $24,000.

The end of the year is important to FIRC, which helped to organize Adopt an Angel for the first time this year. The organization also works on the Summit County Cares fundraiser. This year, the goal is to raise $50,000 by New Year’s Eve. On Dec. 21, a special event was put together to raise $10,000. The fundraiser provides funds to workers in need of emergency assistance in Summit.

Anita Overmyer, the development director at FIRC, said that the organization was able to raise $2,500 from individual donations collected at City Market, an additional $2,500 from online donations as well as $5,000 from Ivan Stanley Fine Home Builders and Alpine Bank. As of Dec. 22, Summit County Cares was $15,000 away from its final goal.

For a full list of grants awarded by The Summit Foundation, visit summitdaily.com.


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