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The Summit Foundation distributes more than $1 million in grants to local nonprofits

The Silverthorne office of the Family and Intercultural Resource Center is one of 58 beneficiaries of The Summit Foundation’s fall 2019 grant cycle, in which more than $1 million was disbursed to local nonprofits.
Summit Daily File Photo

FRISCO — The Summit Foundation, Summit County’s largest local philanthropic organization, has announced the distribution of nearly $1.03 million in grants to 58 local nonprofits during its end-of-year grant cycle.

The Summit Foundation awarded grants based on the contributions the organizations made to one of the foundation’s four “impact areas”: healthy and safe communities, bright futures, arts and culture, and environmental stewardship.

In a news release, foundation officials said the grants will fund a plethora of community projects, including renovations for Francie’s Cabin, ski and snowboard programs for local at-risk youths, child advocacy, disaster relief and support for local theater programming. The grants were made possible by more than 3,000 donations from businesses and individuals, according to the release. 



Five grants also were awarded in partnership with Vail Resorts’ EpicPromise foundation to Breckenridge Montessori, High Country Conservation Center, Lake Dillon Preschool, Summit County Preschool and Timberline Learning Center.

Among the grantees are the Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance and the Family & Intercultural Resource Center.



Wilderness Alliance board member and former chairman Bill Betz said the $10,500 grant his organization received will go toward building a boardwalk across a wetland on the Mesa Cortina trail near the Wildernest neighborhood. Betz said the boardwalk will honor the memory of Beau Schuette, a Mesa Cortina resident who died unexpectedly in 2017. 

Schuette’s family, which Betz said has owned a cabin in Mesa Cortina for over 50 years, also has raised some money on their own to do something to honor his memory.

“This combination of funds will help build a boardwalk across a wet area of the Mesa Cortina trail,” Betz said. “During wet seasons, people try to get around the wet area and wind up creating social trails all around it. That gets messy and degrades the quality of the hiking experience.”

The boardwalk is expected to be built by summer 2021 with a collaboration between the U.S. Forest Service and Rocky Mountain Youth Corps and the Dillon Ranger District supervising.

Family & Intercultural Resource Center Director Brianne Snow said her organization received $107,000 for its mission to help working families in Summit County. Snow said the grant will go a long way toward filling gaps in funding for existing and emerging community needs in three core areas of parenting support, early childhood services and food assistance.

“We couldn’t serve the families that we do without (The Summit Foundation),” Snow said.

The Summit Foundation fall 2019 grantees
  • 10th Mountain Lacrosse
  • Advocates for Victims of Assault
  • Advocates of Lake County
  • After Prom for Summit High School and Snowy Peaks
  • Alpenglow Chamber Music Festivals
  • American Red Cross Colorado Wyoming
  • Bethany Immigration Services
  • Breckenridge Backstage Theatre
  • Breckenridge Montessori*
  • Breckenridge Music
  • Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center
  • Bright Start Learning Center
  • CASA of the Continental Divide
  • Cloud City Conservation Center
  • Colorado Learning Connections
  • Colorado Mountain College Foundation
  • Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance
  • Early Childhood Options
  • Education Foundation of the Summit
  • Family & Intercultural Resource Center
  • Friends of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center
  • Friends of the Dillon Ranger District
  • Full Circle of Lake County
  • Grand Beginnings
  • Grand County Higher Education
  • High Country Conservation Center*
  • High Country Soccer Association
  • Horizons Specialized Services
  • Keystone Science School, Inc.
  • Lake County School District
  • Lake Dillon Preschool*
  • Lake Dillon Theatre Co.
  • Mountain Area Land Trust
  • Mountain Mentors
  • National Alliance on Mental Illness High Country Colorado
  • National Inventors Hall of Fame
  • National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum
  • National Repertory Orchestra
  • NorthWest Colorado Center for Independence
  • Northwest Colorado Health
  • Park County Senior Coalition
  • Project Bike Tech
  • Rocky Mountain Rural Health
  • Rotary Club of Summit County
  • SOS Outreach
  • South Park Early Childhood
  • Summit Community Care Clinic
  • Summit Concert Band
  • Summit County Arts Council
  • Summit County Coroner’s Office
  • Summit County Government
  • Summit County Preschool*
  • Summit Huts Association
  • Summit School District
  • Summit Youth Orchestra
  • The Peak School
  • Timberline Learning Center*
  • TreeTop Child Advocacy Center

* Indicates grants funded in collaboration with Vail Resorts EpicPromise


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