Colorado Gives Toolkit
Colorado Gives provides just about any campaign support you need, including templates for emails, social media, print and digital ads, and more! Bookmark the Toolkit for easy access as you work on your campaign.
Better Together.
Colorado Gives Webinars
Your Readiness Checklist | Watch Now
Strategies To Drive Results | Watch Now
How to Make the Toolkit Work for You | Watch Now
Building a Strong Foundation | Watch Now
Southwest Colorado Gives Data & Branding
As a localized regional effort, the Community Foundation provides Southwest-specific badges and graphics to use in your marketing materials. We also have an insightful summary of 2024-2025 metrics covering our five counties. We hope this information is helpful for your year-end fundraising efforts!
“Working Workshops” with the Community Foundation
October 28 | Working Workshop: Crafting Your Year-End Emails
Email is the number one way to earn online donations, and so our time and attention to these communications is essential as we move into the giving season. This is a working workshop with the goal to leave with three quality emails ready to schedule. Join Kim Cassels from the Community Foundation to check this very important to-do off your list.
November 18 Tips & Tricks: Working Workshop for Optimizing Your Donation Landing Page
Whether you’re utilizing the Colorado Gives platform or driving traffic directly to your website, there are multiple methods to ensure your messaging makes it easy to hit the donation button, and your checkout process is seamless and fast. Join us to work on your landing page in real time, and get inspired about the different tools you can use!
About Southwest Colorado Gives Day
As a Regional Champion, the Community Foundation offers participating regional nonprofits collaborative opportunities to connect with peers and potential donors, ensuring a successful online giving initiative. If your nonprofit is not currently enrolled on SwCoGives.org, we encourage you to enroll by October 31. Visit ColoradoGives.org to do so!
What is the ColoradoGives.org… and what is Colorado Gives Day?
ColoradoGives.org is a year-round online giving platform that makes it easy for donors to search for nonprofits and donate online. Hosted by the Colorado Gives Foundation, ColoradoGives.org features thousands of Colorado nonprofit profiles.
Colorado Gives Day, scheduled for December 8, 2026 (Early Giving starts November 1), is an annual giving initiative that celebrates philanthropy statewide and inspires donors to “Give Close to Home to Join the Statewide Movement of Generosity,” through online donations. In 2025, Coloradans gave $56.6 million online through ColoradoGives.org during the Colorado Gives Day campaign.
What is the Community Foundation’s role as a Regional Champion?
As a Regional Champion, the Community Foundation leads the local effort to strengthen online giving in Southwest Colorado on the regional online platform SwCoGives.org, making it easier for local donors to find nonprofits their areas and give locally. We coordinates marketing efforts to promote Colorado Gives Day, as well as provides support and professional development as local nonprofits build their campaigns.
In our 5-county region, we have seen incredible generosity on Colorado Gives Day since the introduction of our Regional Platform, with more than 160 participating nonprofits. Since this regional effort began in 2017, we’ve collectively raised $7.3 million on SwCoGives.org. In 2025, we raised $868,000.
Why should my nonprofit participate in Colorado Gives?
Benefits of participating in Colorado Gives include:
- Access to a free online giving platform
- Inclusion in an additional Southwest Colorado platform, making it easier for donors to find your organization and donate online
- Collaboration with other Southwest Colorado nonprofits
- Local support and professional development opportunities
- Added visibility to your campaign through the Community Foundation’s marketing efforts
- Minimization of operational costs and staff time (Colorado Gives Foundation handles gift processing and receipts)
- Learn more at Why Join.
How do I get started with Colorado Gives?
1. Determine if your nonprofit is eligible by reviewing the Colorado Gives Eligibility Requirements
2. Enrollment for new nonprofits runs throughout the spring, summer, and fall. Complete and submit your Colorado Gives profile for review before mid-October. More info about the review process here.
3. Attend Cohort workshops and events with the Community Foundation serving Southwest Colorado as necessary to ensure your organization’s success.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Colorado Gives Day? Colorado Gives Day is Tuesday, December 8, 2026. Early Giving opens November 1, and gifts made from Nov 1 through Dec 8 all count toward one campaign with one finish line.
Do donations have to go through ColoradoGives.org? Yes. To count toward Colorado Gives Day, prizes, and the Incentive Fund, gifts must be made on ColoradoGives.org: through a nonprofit’s organization page, its Embeddable Donation Form (recommended for websites), or its direct donation link.
Is there an enrollment deadline? No. Active ColoradoGives.org nonprofits don’t need to re-enroll. New nonprofits are encouraged to enroll by October 31 to be ready for the campaign: Nonprofit Enrollment.
How does the $250K Recurring Match work? In November, new monthly gifts are matched. Eligibility is based on the donor’s email address: a donor starting a new monthly gift qualifies, even if they ended one in the past, while increasing an existing monthly gift does not. Last year the match ran out around the start of December, so encourage donors to start early. Details: Monthly Recurring Donation Match.
What are the fees? ColoradoGives.org is free for nonprofits to use year-round. Donors are defaulted to covering fees and can opt out; when they don’t cover them, 2.05% is retained to cover the transaction fee. Details: Transaction Fees.
When are incentives distributed? Colorado Gives Day incentives go out in December.
Can you help with tax questions? Colorado Gives Foundation does not provide tax advice. See Colorado State Tax Credits, Tax Deductibility + Receipts and the ColoradoGives.org Terms of Use.
