The Community Foundation Serving Southwest Colorado coordinated $1.82 million in charitable giving in the region in 2019, down almost half from 2018’s contributions.
Giving to nonprofits and residents shrank in 2019 from $3.17 million in 2018, when the foundation coordinated giving related to the impacts of the 416 Fire and charitable giving related to alleviating the stress on people affected by the 416 Fire, which burned 54,000 acres north of Durango.
The Community Foundation diverted $1.27 million from philanthropists to nonprofits, including the Be Frank Foundation in Bayfield, the La Plata County Humane Society and Manna soup kitchen in Durango, according to a news release from the Community Foundation.
Almost $500,000 in donations went to support operations at local nonprofits, like Bear Smart; $58,500 went to higher education institutions to support students; and $35,032 was raised through programs, including the summer concert series in Durango and Pagosa Springs, and was donated to nonprofits.
Grants were disbursed across the five-county region, including La Plata, Archuleta, Montezuma, Dolores and San Juan counties. Education, human services, and arts and culture organizations were the top beneficiaries, according to the release.
The Community Foundation serves, in part, as an intermediary between philanthropists and nonprofit organizations, facilitating charitable giving at the request of donors.
“Philanthropists in our region rely on the Community Foundation to be a knowledgeable and insightful resource to ensure grantmaking is effective and giving is impactful,” Briggen Wrinkle, executive director of the Community Foundation, wrote in the release.
bhauff@durangoherald.com
