Unsolicited Support.

About the SPUR Fund

SPUR stands for Special Projects Uniquely Responsive.

The Community Foundation started the SPUR Fund in 2025, the year we celebrated our 25th anniversary, so we could provide flexible support for timely needs across our region.

Each quarter, we choose a focus area that reaches every part of Southwest Colorado: Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma, and San Juan counties, and the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute sovereign nations. We research and select the organizations that effectively address that need, and provide them with a grant to bolster their services or existing programs. There is no application, so these organizations can spend their time on the work instead of on a proposal.

The last quarter of every year belongs to our elders. SPUR buys gift cards for our senior centers in Pagosa Springs, Bayfield, Ignacio, Durango, Silverton, Cortez, and Dove Creek to give out during the holidays.

The SPUR Fund is possible due to the support of local donors, and the number of quarters we can grant each year is determined by the amount of contributions it receives. Our goal is to provide at least $25,000 in grants every quarter, or $100,000 a year. Partners like the Virga Foundation have helped stretch those dollars, and SPUR sometimes help supplement other Community Foundation grants, such as the Archuleta County Fund.

Any amount donated to the SPUR Fund is deeply appreciated. Your contribution serves our local communities where needs are always present and everchanging.

Donate to SPUR

“For many, it was their first time engaging in traditional craftwork. They left not only with a piece of art but also with a deeper understanding of their cultural legacy and the inspiration to continue learning.”

Dr. Beth Cascaddan, Economic Development, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe

SPUR 2025 | Quarter 2 Grants

“The grant helped support an exciting Summer Adventure Program for over 30, K-5 grade students from Towaoc in June 2026”

Dan Porter, Principal, Kwiyagat Community Academy

SPUR 2026 | Quarter 1 Grants

“Your unrestricted support arrived at a pivotal moment and played an essential role in sustaining arts and culture in one of Colorado’s most remote and economically disadvantaged communities.”

Lisa Branner, Executive Director, Silverton Creative District

SPUR 2025 | Quarter 3 Grants

What Makes SPUR Different

Needs change faster than grant cycles.

While planning for summer 2026, Pagosa Community Initiative heard from 32 families asking for camp scholarships, four times as many as the year before. In 2025, Silverton Creative District lost its town funding and faced a gap that put core programs at risk. Granting every quarter lets us respond within months.

No application helps small organizations.

Many of our grantees run on a few staff members or volunteers. A rural food pantry or a school art program has little time for a proposal, so we do the research and bring the grant to them.

Every community is included.

Each cycle reaches as many communities as possible across all five counties and both sovereign nations, including towns like Rico, Dove Creek, and Silverton, where local funding sources are limited.

Small grants open real doors.

A SPUR-funded pottery program at the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe led two young women to begin careers as potters with the Ute Mountain Indian Trading Company. In Towaoc, more than 30 K-5 students took eight field trips across the region in a single summer.

Flexible dollars go further.

Grantees often pair SPUR with other funding. Kwiyagat Community Academy combined its grant with support from the Colorado Health Foundation and First Nations Development Institute to run a three-week summer program. Dancing Spirit Center for the Arts used its grant to match a Kerr Family Foundation grant for youth programs.

Your gift decides how many quarters we can grant.

Donors made four quarters possible in 2025 and three in 2026. Our goal is all four quarters every year, at $25,000 each. A gift to SPUR today helps us reach that goal for our next grant quarter.

“Your contribution helps us continue in our mission and serve the youth in our community. We are incredibly thankful for your support and compassion for the youth in Dolores County! The 2026 Summer Activities Program was a success thanks to the support from your foundation!”

Dove Creek Recreation Department

SPUR 2026 | Quarter 1 Grants

Past Granting

2025: Total $179,100

Basic Needs | $75,000

Our first SPUR grants went to food pantries, food banks, and shelters meeting basic needs in every corner of the region. Grants supported San Juan Public Health’s food program in Silverton, the Good Samaritan Center serving Cortez and the Ute Mountain Ute community, Mancos Food Share, the Dolores Family Project, Dove Creek Care and Share Food Pantry, Healthy Archuleta in Pagosa Springs, Pine River Shares food assistance in Bayfield and Ignacio/Southern Ute, and Durango’s CEAC, HOWL, Community Compassion Outreach, and Neighbors in Need Alliance.

Youth Mental Health and Enrichment | $51,000

Much has been done to address the effects of the pandemic on young people, and there is still work to do. This quarter supported programs that give middle and high school students a place to lead, create, and get support: School Community Youth Collaborative (Cortez and Mancos), the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe’s youth workforce program at the Pottery and Nuchu Market, Dolores Rotary Club’s RYLA leadership trip, Four Corners Rainbow Youth Center, the Boys and Girls Club of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Stillwater Music in Bayfield, STUD in Dove Creek, Karma Tutors Impact Fund in Rico, Silverton Youth Center, San Juan Mountains Association and Audubon Rockies in Pagosa Springs, and free youth admission to Fort Lewis College Athletics home events.

Arts and Culture | $31,100

This quarter highlighted local talent, with special attention to organizations that run a performance space to promote local artists. Grants went to KSUT Tribal Radio, Dancing Spirit Center for the Arts in Ignacio, the Bayfield High School Thespian Troupe, Merely Players in Durango, Cortez Cultural Center, the Mancos Creative District’s Opera House, Dolores School District’s music and art programs, the Dolores County Window Art Project, Artists of Rico, Silverton Creative District, and Thingamajig Theatre in Pagosa Springs.

Quarter 4 | Holiday Gift Cards for Seniors | $22,000

SPUR purchased gift cards for elders, distributed by senior centers in Pagosa Springs, Bayfield, Ignacio, Durango, Silverton, Cortez, and Dove Creek.

2026: Total Pending

Summer Programs for Working Families | $$39,680

Affordable, full-day summer care is hard to find for working parents across our region. With added support from the Cortez-based Virga Foundation for Montezuma County programs, SPUR funded TeamUp’s summer scholarship partnerships in Bayfield, Durango, Ignacio, and the Southern Ute community; Pagosa Community Initiative’s GET Wild camp; the Dove Creek Community Center’s Summer Activities Program for Youth; ROCK (Reaching Out to Community and Kids) in Dove Creek; Cortez Recreation Center’s Playground Days; Mancos United’s Summer Hub; the Silverton School and Silverton Family Center; and the Kwiyagat Community Academy Adventure Club on the Ute Mountain Ute Nation.

Quarters 2 and 3 | Family Violence Prevention | $25,000

SPUR combined two quarters to support organizations across our five counties and two sovereign nations that prevent family violence and support survivors.

Quarter 4 | Holiday Gift Cards for Seniors | Coming this winter

SPUR will again purchase gift cards for elders, distributed through our senior centers in Pagosa Springs, Bayfield, Ignacio, Durango, Silverton, Cortez, and Dove Creek.

“The Virga Foundation fully supports the innovative efforts of the SPUR Program and is grateful for the opportunity to partner with the Community Foundation serving Southwest Colorado on these efforts.”

Virga Founding Directors Diane Wren & Mike Pfotenhauer

SPUR 2026 | Quarter 1 Grants

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