Southeast Colorado Rural Philanthropy Days

Update growing together

www.southeastrpd.org

January 2012

In This Issue:

Leadership Team chair

tells of 2012 plans.

Page 2

Upcoming foundation

grant deadlines

Page 2

October workshop a

success

Page 3

Share your news

Page 3

Recent grants

Page 4

Area non-profits

recognized

Pages 4, 5

Do you know someone

who could benefit from

receiving this newsletter?

Please forward his or her

e-mail address to

teri.erickson@ojc.edu

Workshop to focus on

advanced grant writing

The next workshop opportunity for area non-profit organizations is

scheduled for Feb. 8 and 9.

―Grant Proposals: The Next Step‖ is designed for individuals who have

already written some grant applications but are looking for ways to make their

proposals stand out. Specific components of the workshop will include tips for

writing a successful application, how to write a pre-application letter, searching

for federal grants, reading a request for proposals (RFP) and specifics on putting

together federal grant applications, including a section on the budget and budget

narrative.

The workshops will be taught by Teri Erickson, Director of Resource

Development at Otero Junior College, who has written over $20 million in

successful grant proposals and who has trained hundreds of individuals in grant

writing techniques.

The workshop will be offered twice, in two separate locations. On Feb.

8, the workshop will be from 9 a.m. to noon in Kiowa County at the Senior

Citizens Center, 1300 Main Street, Eads (next door to the Plains Theater). On

Feb. 9, the workshop will be offered from 1-4 p.m. in Huerfano County at the

Spanish Peaks Library, 415 Walsen Ave., Walsenburg. The content of each

workshop will be the same, with

locations chosen to accommodate

individuals living throughout the

eight-county Southeast RPD

region.

The cost to attend each

workshop is $30 if registered

before Feb. 1 and $40 after Feb.

1. Those planning to attend are

asked to e-mail their name, e-mail

address and phone number to

teri.erickson@ojc.edu to secure

their space. Payment may be sent

to: Teri Erickson, Otero Junior

College, 1802 Colorado Ave., La

Junta, CO 81050. Please make

checks payable to Trinidad State

Junior College.

At a Glance

What:

Grant Proposals: The Next Step

When:

Feb. 8 and 9, 2012

Where:

Kiowa County (Feb. 8)

Huerfano County (Feb. 9)

Cost:

$30 before Feb. 1; $40 after Feb. 1

To register or for more information:

Call Teri Erickson at (719) 384-6962

or

e-mail teri.erickson@ojc.edu.

2

Upcoming Grant Deadlines Below is a list of some of the upcoming grant application deadlines for Colorado foundations.

February

Feb. 15 – Colorado Health Foundation

March

March 1 – Adolph Coors Foundation

March 1 – Helen K. & Arthur E. Johnson Foundation

March 9 – Caring for Colorado

March 25 – Animal Assistance Foundation

April

April 1 – Gates Family Foundation

April 30 – Bonfils-Stanton Foundation

April 30 – Herbert E. Parker Charitable Trust

More information on these funders can be found in the Colorado Grants Guide, available at many local

libraries. Always contact a funder before applying to ensure their giving guidelines and grant deadlines have

not changed.

Southeast RPD going strong

In many ways, it’s hard to believe that the 2010 Southeast RPD event was held more than a year ago.

While that event is over, attendees have discovered over the last year that the region’s involvement with

capacity building did not end with our fantastic event.

Soon after RPD, a Leadership Team was formed to help determine the types of educational activities

that would continue until our region is able to host our next Philanthropy Days, in 2014. This group has been

busy assessing need, bringing in speakers and working with non-profits to continue trainings. 2011 was very

successful. Our newsletter was printed quarterly and included information on upcoming trainings, grant

deadlines and, most importantly, shared news from non-profit organizations in our eight counties. We also

hosted workshops on grant writing, budgeting and fundraising.

The Leadership Team is excited for 2012 as well and already has plans to bring in additional trainings

to our region. Our plan is to hold these throughout the region to ensure access to everyone. Our first

workshops are planned for Feb. 8 and 9 and will focus on advanced grant writing (see article on page 1). We

are also planning workshops in conjunction with the Community Resource Center later in the year, with

topics on marketing and grant management.

We are looking forward to the coming year and hope you will join us for our activities so we can all

work together to strengthen Southeast Colorado’s non-profit organizations.

—Dee Quick

Southeast Leadership Team Chair

Southeast RPD is on Facebook! Want more ways to stay connected to Southeast RPD? Visit our new Facebook page and be sure

to ―like‖ us. Connect to our new page under Southeast Colorado Rural Philanthropy Days.

3

Share Your News!

Did your non-profit organization just complete a big project or get an important grant? Do you have

a new employee or other exciting news? We’d like to share your success stories with other attendees of

Southeast Rural Philanthropy Days in our quarterly newsletter. Information and photos, when applicable,

should be submitted to Teri Erickson at teri.erickson@ojc.edu.

Please include your contact name and phone number in case follow-up is required. Items will run in

future issues of this newsletter on a space-available basis. The newsletter is printed quarterly. Issues and

their deadlines are:

January issue — Jan. 10 deadline

April issue — April 10 deadline

July issue — July 10 deadline

October issue — Oct. 10 deadline

Region hosts workshops on

budgeting, fund raising

Representatives of several southeastern Colorado non-profit organizations

gathered at Otero Junior College in La Junta in October to participate in a full day of

workshops designed to assist the

organizations with better operational

practices.

In the morning, Jennie Miller

of Energy Outreach Colorado

presented a session on budgeting that

allowed attendees to learn more

about the process of general

budgeting for a non-profit, as well as

to garner some understanding of how

to budget for a specific project.

In the afternoon, Johnnie DeLeon and Kristina

Lofing from Otero County non-profit InspirationField

shared their insights on fund raising, including some unique

ideas for bringing in extra funding and tips on how to run a

capital campaign.

Both workshops were part of a series of capacity-

building activities offered within the southeast region by the

Leadership Team. Additional workshops are planned for

2012. Information on topics, dates and presenters will be

made available through this newsletter, separate e-mails and

on Facebook. For more information, or to suggest topics for

future workshops, please contact Regional Manager Teri

Erickson at teri.erickson@ojc.edu or (719) 384-6962.

Jennie Miller

Workshop attendees learn about budgeting

4

Recent grant awards

Below is a list of recent grant awards made in the region.

Bent County

Kountry Kids Learning Center, $20,000 from the Temple Hoyne Buell Foundation for childcare assistance

to low-income families and for general operating support.

Bent County HealthCare Rehabilitation Center, $44,000 from the Colorado Health Foundation to support a

new wellness center.

Prairie View Village, $2,500 from the Quick Foundation for the second annual ―Me and My Shadow‖

intergenerational event between pre-teen youth and elders.

Bent County HealthCare Center, $75,000 from the Colorado Department of Public Health and

Environment Hospital Preparedness to install a new emergency generator.

Otero County

Koshare Indian Museum, Inc., $10,000 from the El Pomar Foundation to support the Koshare Indian

Dancers program; $7,500 from the Anschutz Family Foundation for general operating support; and $750

from the Fox Family Foundation to purchase a new hatch cover for the roof. The hatch cover is used to

protect the dancers who use the roof to enter and exit the Kiva during winter shows.

Multi-County

Crowley County and Canyons and Plains, $270,825 from the Colorado Department of Transportation for a

Phase 2 Wayfinding project. This project will provide interpretive wayfinding kiosks for local

communities in 15 key locations in the region along Highway 50, Highway 287, Highway 96, Highway 71,

Highway 160, Highway 109, Highway 101 and Highway 350 in Baca, Bent, Crowley, Kiowa, Otero and

Prowers Counties. To share news of recent grants received by your organization, please e-mail the amount of the award, name of the

foundation and brief description of what the funds will be used for to: teri.erickson@ojc.edu. Lists are printed in the

quarterly issues of this newsletter. Deadlines to submit information are Jan. 10, April 10, July 10 and Oct. 10.

Tri-County Family Care Center Named El Pomar Finalist Rocky Ford-based nonprofit Tri-County Family Care Center was a finalist in the Human Services

category of El Pomar Foundation’s 2011 Awards for Excellence. The Awards for Excellence Selection

Commission, a statewide panel of community leaders, selected 21 of the state’s highest performing nonprofits

as finalists for their outstanding work and commitment to the community. From that pool of finalists, seven

organizations were selected as winners and were honored during a presentation on Sept. 19 in Black Hawk.

―I am very appreciative to be recognized for this award,‖ said Executive Director Sarah Dillon. ―It is

wonderful that El Pomar Foundation is honoring our organization and

we are one of the top three like nonprofits in the state. It is great to be

recognized for all of our hard work.‖

Rachel Wallace, Awards for Excellence Selection Commission

member, presented the organization with a certificate on Sept. 30.

Awards for Excellence, a program directed by Colorado Springs

-based El Pomar Foundation, annually recognizes the state’s highest

performing nonprofit organizations. Since its inception in 1989, the

program has awarded more than $4.8 million in grants to more than 400

different nonprofit organizations throughout the state.

El Pomar Foundation is one of the largest and oldest private foundations in the Rocky Mountain West.

It contributes approximately $20 million annually through grants and Community Stewardship Programs to

support Colorado nonprofit organizations involved in health, human services, education, arts and humanities,

and civic and community initiatives. Spencer and Julie Penrose founded El Pomar in 1937.

5

Canyons & Plains Receives Tourism Award

at Colorado Tourism Conference In seven movie theaters in Southeast Colorado, in the minutes following the previews and just before the feature movie begins, theater goers see a public service announcement (PSA) featuring a historic site within Southeast Colorado. The PSAs are part of a multi-year program by Canyons & Plains of Southeast Colorado Regional Heritage Task Force (Canyons & Plains) to attract new visitors to the Canyons and Plains of Southeast Colorado.

In September, Canyons & Plains was

awarded the Outstanding Community

Tourism Initiative Award, in recognition of

the PSAs, at the Governor’s Colorado

Tourism Conference in Loveland.

The six two-minute PSAs highlight

Camp Amache National Historic Landmark,

Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site,

Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site,

Boggsville National Historic District,

Comanche National Grassland and Historic

Theaters in Southeast Colorado.

Additionally, the project produced a 10-

minute video overview which ties together

the six PSAs to tell one cohesive story of the region.

Through the PSAs, Canyons & Plains provides information about heritage sites in the region to a

captive audience that may not otherwise visit these travel destinations but are both essential to the

development of preservation and stewardship ethics throughout this broad region.

Canyons & Plains is a six-county organization located in Southeast Colorado representing the counties

of Baca, Bent, Crowley, Kiowa, Otero and Prowers. The mission of Canyons & Plains is to provide education

and assistance to the public on the unique historical and cultural assets of Southeast Colorado through

education, collaboration and support across the region.

Copies of the PSAs are available for both viewing and distribution. For additional information, contact

Pamela Denahy, Canyons & Plains Chairperson, at (719) 384-5991 or LaJuntaEvents@gmail.com. For more

information on Canyons & Plains visit www.SEColoradoHeritage.com.

Members of Canyons & Plains are pictured with Governor John Hickenlooper after receiving the Outstanding Community Tourism Initiative Award at the Governor’s Colorado Tourism Conference in Loveland. Pictured from left to right are Judy Walden, Kelli Hepler, Jeanne Fenter, Governor Hickenlooper, Pamela Denahy and Laneha Everett.

Tip for grant writing success

Be thorough. Make sure that your grant application is telling the complete story of your organization, even if

you are only seeking funding for a small portion of it. The Colorado Common Grant Application is set up to

allow non-profit organizations to tell about their history and other programs before elaborating on the

project for which funding is sought. Make sure to show the connection between the program for which you

are seeking grant funds and the rest of your programming. Don’t assume that a funder — even one that has

funded your organization previously — will know what you are trying to say without explanation.