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$36.1 million raised on Colorado Gives Day!

Marla J. Williams, president and CEO, Community First Foundation Thank you, Colorado! I appreciate the opportunity to reflect on another year of extraordinary giving. As you know, earlier this week on Colorado Gives Day  people from across our state and around the country opened their hearts to give. Their generosity resulted in $36,129,285 million in donations to 2,309 Colorado nonprofit organizations. This record-breaking amount surpassed last year’s Colorado Gives Day total, which raised an impressive $33.8 million. Since its debut in 2010, Colorado Gives Day has raised more than $181 million for Colorado nonprofits. One thing is clear: generous donors and the nonprofits that inspire them are the heart of Colorado Gives Day. Although Community First Foundation provides the giving platform, participating nonprofits have taken ownership of this event and spread the word far and wide, which is the main Colorado Gives Day success story. Through your efforts every year, mo
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Giving eCards and Kid-Friendly Profiles Help Include Kids in Giving

By Dana Rinderknecht, Director of Online Giving Last year, Community First Foundation expanded our online giving platform to include a site especially for Kids – KidsforColoradoGives.org. All donations through this site are made with ColoradoGives Giving eCards. These are electronic gift cards that can be purchased on ColoradoGives.org and used to donate to nonprofits featured on either ColoradoGives.org or KidsforColoradoGives.org. We especially recommend purchasing several eCards and sending them to your favorite kid or kids. The kids can then go to KidsforColoradoGives.org and check out kid-friendly profiles to choose nonprofits to support. Along with introducing the new ColoradoGives website this year, we asked nonprofit to create kid-friendly profiles on KidsforColoradoGives.org to forward our goal of introducing the younger generation to giving. Each participating nonprofit answered four key questions and added at least one photo and one video to help kids understand how
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One for the History Books

Kayla Arnesen, Director of Strategic Communications August 15th. It is a Big Day . Plenty of historical events have happened on August 15. In 1947, India became independent from British rule. In 1969, the Woodstock Music & Art Fair opened its doors to participants and spectators. In 1973, US involvement in Vietnam ended. Today, we’re adding one more observance to the list: the redesigned ColoradoGives.org is launched and ready for visitors! The new, improved giving website is designed to make online giving easier and more fun! Of course, ColoradoGives.org will continue to provide comprehensive, objective and up-to-date information about Colorado nonprofits. But now, it also features fresh photos and graphics, improved functionality and donor-inspired navigation. If you are a parent or grandparent, get together with the kiddos you care about and visit KidsforColoradoGives.org . The website is a kid-friendly component of ColoradoGives.org that connects the next g
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Donor-Advised Funds: What You Need to Know Before Colorado Gives Day!

Vickie Wilson, Vice President of Development Donor-advised funds have rapidly grown into an $8 billion market. As year-end fast approaches, some of your donors may want to consider establishing a fund. Community First Foundation encourages you to learn the facts about how donor-advised funds work and how they can best serve your donors and support your organization. Donor-advised funds were introduced back in the 1930s as a tool for community foundations to increase philanthropy, but it was not until 1969 that Congress and the IRS legally formalized their structure. By the early 1990’s, commercial providers such as Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, and Vanguard Charitable had entered the market.  Since then, donor-advised funds have grown in visibility and popularity to become one of the country’s fastest growing philanthropic vehicles. For community foundations, donor-advised funds serve to engage donors and nurture greater charitable activity in the community. Donor-ad
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How ColoradoGives.org Users Are Kind of Like Wonder Woman

Lisa Lujan, Online Giving Coordinator I have a confession: I really liked Wonder Woman when I was growing up. Not the super cool Wonder Woman you see now, I’m talking the spinning, stiletto wearing, cheesy music, 1970s Wonder Woman T.V. series starring Lynda Carter. My brother, sister and I would run home to watch it, big 1970s glasses and all. Then we would pretend that just like Diana Prince – Wonder Woman’s alias – we too could fight injustice with our lasso of truth, shield bracelets and boomerang-like tiara. One of the best parts about Wonder Woman is she’s reliable. She’s there to help human kind no matter what. In that way, ColoradoGives.org and its users are kind of like Wonder Woman. For the last 10 years, ColoradoGives.org has served as the online giving resource for givers and do-ers throughout our great state. Just like the way Wonder Woman uses her powers for the good of humanity, ColoradoGives.org serves as a resource to fuel the power of community for the
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The 12th Man

Bryce Wilkinson, Senior Online Giving Specialist The crowd could sense the opportunity, and they rose to their feet to chant and clap in unison. The 11 players out on the pitch heard their supporters and felt the energy, the power. That boost sent them forward, and soon the ball was in the back of the net, triggering deafening celebration. The crowd, the 12th man, had done their part in the stadium. Dick's Sporting Goods Park is home to the Colorado Rapids soccer team. Before I started attending soccer matches, I was skeptical of this notion of the 12th man. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, it is the idea that the crowd, through its support and energy, can act as another player on the pitch – a 12th man – for the team. Since becoming a supporter, I’ve witnessed the role the crowd plays and they can truly be a deciding factor. The 12th man is more critical than the term might imply. Without them, the stadium, no matter how nice, is dull and empty. Without them, th
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10 Years of Giving Where You Live

Angela Bevacqua, Senior Communications Specialist Give Where You Live. I love this catchy phrase because it distills a compelling message into just four short words. We use this message to get people thinking about their communities and what they love about them. At Community First Foundation we’re celebrating the 10th Anniversary of local giving through ColoradoGives.org . This online giving website has facilitated more than $200 million in donations in the last ten years. Nonprofits in every county of the state have benefitted from Coloradans heeding the call, “Give where you live.” Learning about the troubles around the world can be overwhelming. But I know I can do something in my own small world, in my own small way. For me that means teaching English as a Second Language and donating to arts and environmental organizations in my town. My favorite arts organizations are those that open a window to other cultures and perspectives through theater and film. As part of o
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