As summer blooms all around, the Community Foundation continues to sprinkle love across the region. In celebration of our 25th anniversary, we are providing unsolicited grants to nonprofits serving a different sector each quarter of the year.
For quarter one, we granted to nonprofits addressing essential needs in our communities across five counties, ten towns, and two sovereign nations.
This quarter, we focused on nonprofits serving middle and high school youth by providing enrichment opportunities and supporting better mental health. While much has been done to remediate the impact of Covid-19 on the wellbeing of young people, there is still work to be done to ensure that all youth have access to opportunities that help them grow and thrive. With a one-to-one match, we were able to grant a total of $50,000.
The nonprofits receiving SPUR grants for the second quarter are as follows:
Cortez/Mancos | School Community Youth Collaborative
The School Community Youth Collaborative (SCYC) promotes positive behaviors that reduce substance abuse and violence among youth in Montezuma County. Funding will be used to support their Youth Leadership Council at Cortez High School and fifth-day enrichment activities for Mancos middle schoolers.
Ute Mountain Ute | Youth Workforce Training
The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe proposes a culturally rooted workforce development program for middle and high school youth, hosted at the Pottery and Nuchu Market. This initiative blends workforce readiness with cultural preservation by training youth in artisan skills, retail operations, and entrepreneurial practices within a real business environment rooted in tribal tradition.
Dolores/Mancos | Dolores Rotary Club
Dolores Rotary Club takes students from Dolores and Mancos to the RYLA conference in Colorado Springs every June. The conference helps students develop interest in essential leadership skills, which develops strong future leaders for rural communities. Funding will allow them to bring at least four additional students to the 2026 event.
Durango | Four Corners Rainbow Youth Center
The Four Corners Rainbow Youth Center (RYC) was founded to create a supportive community for LQBTQ+ youth in Durango. RYC has recently requested support to increase their counseling capacity to meet the growing need for LGBTQ+ youth in our area.
Ignacio/Southern Ute | Boys and Girls Club of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe
The Southern Ute Boys & Girls Club serves youth of the Southern Ute Reservation and Ignacio. Funding will go towards offsetting the cost to provide scholarships to any youth who have a financial barrier to participate in after school and summer programming.
Bayfield | Stillwater Music
Stillwater Music is committed to ensuring that every child, regardless of financial barriers, has access to quality music education. Funding will provide scholarships to help Bayfield families cover the cost of tuition and instrument rental fees.
Dove Creek | Students Tackling Unhealthy Decisions
Students Tackling Unhealthy Decisions (STUD) works to prevent substance use and abuse among youth in Dove Creek by giving them the skills to be able to make healthy decisions. Funding will help provide safe, healthy alternative activities for teens and raise awareness about substance abuse and the dangers of impaired driving.
Rico | Karma Tutors Impact Fund
The Karma Tutors Impact Fund’s (KTIF) objective is to champion educational equity by providing free individualized tutoring services to students in underserved youth in Dolores County, whose academic success will contribute to a healthier, more diverse future. Funding will support their general operations.
Silverton | Silverton Youth Center
Silverton Youth Center (SYC) is the only program that exists in Silverton to provide safe, structured activities for middle and high school students. Funding will help cover programmatic costs to maintain SYC’s accessibility to all youth, regardless of financial barriers. Funding will support their programming.
Pagosa Springs | San Juan Mountain Association/Audubon Rockies
SJMA and Audubon of the Rockies are partnering with the Pagosa Springs Community Initiative to develop a Fly Fishing/River Restoration afterschool program for middle school students in Pagosa Springs. Funds will support the purchase of materials and general operations.
Southwest Colorado | Fort Lewis College Athletics
Funding will provide all area-youth access to any home FLC Athletics event free of charge (excluding postseason). This opportunity will provide firsthand collegiate experience while demonstrating pathways to higher education for area youth to aspire to.
Quarterly funding will focus on a different aspect of community need for each granting cycle, and the grants are unsolicited. We look forward to sharing updates on quarterly granting throughout the year. Quarter three grants will go towards arts and culture nonprofits with a performing arts venue for local talent.
If you would like to support the Community Foundation’s SPUR Fund with a donation or learn more about how you can partner with us create a canopy of support for local nonprofits, Donate Here.
