Donations to a Southwest Colorado Foundation More Than Double During Pandemic

1

00:00:00,390 --> 00:00:03,010

If the pandemic had a

silver lining at all,

2

00:00:03,010 --> 00:00:04,980

it could be found in the generosity

3

00:00:04,980 --> 00:00:06,760

of donors whose contributions

4

00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:10,040

to the Community Foundation

serving Southwest Colorado

5

00:00:10,040 --> 00:00:12,180

helped support small businesses,

6

00:00:12,180 --> 00:00:15,610

nonprofits, and education in 2020.

7

00:00:15,610 --> 00:00:17,140

You're watching the Local News Network,

8

00:00:17,140 --> 00:00:19,650

brought to you by Tafoya

Barrett and Associates

9

00:00:19,650 --> 00:00:21,670

and Fast Signs of Durango.

10

00:00:21,670 --> 00:00:23,580

I'm Wendy Graham Settle.

11

00:00:23,580 --> 00:00:26,610

While the pandemic devastated

the region's economy,

12

00:00:26,610 --> 00:00:29,160

the Community Foundation

serving Southwest Colorado

13

00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:32,300

reports that the amount of

money it was able to give

14

00:00:32,300 --> 00:00:34,590

to small businesses, nonprofits,

15

00:00:34,590 --> 00:00:39,090

and educational organizations

more than doubled in 2020.

16

00:00:39,090 --> 00:00:42,390

Well, we gave away $4 million last year.

17

00:00:42,390 --> 00:00:44,950

It's double what we typically do,

18

00:00:44,950 --> 00:00:48,010

and a lot of it went to non-profits

19

00:00:48,010 --> 00:00:50,540

who were struggling through the COVID-19.

20

00:00:50,540 --> 00:00:53,050

So 2.2 million was granted

21

00:00:53,050 --> 00:00:55,440

from the Community Foundation nonprofits

22

00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:57,863

or from the Community

Foundation to nonprofits,

23

00:00:58,890 --> 00:01:01,690

30% of which was from CERF.

24

00:01:01,690 --> 00:01:03,440

So what that means is that people

25

00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:05,000

were very generous to CERF,

26

00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:06,980

but they were also very generous.

27

00:01:06,980 --> 00:01:10,790

And so we were giving from

all different pipelines

28

00:01:10,790 --> 00:01:12,380

to make sure our nonprofits

29

00:01:12,380 --> 00:01:14,360

got what they needed to stay stable.

30

00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:17,220

CERF is the Community

Emergency Relief Fund

31

00:01:17,220 --> 00:01:20,280

that the foundation administers

to support individuals

32

00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:22,810

and organizations affected by emergencies

33

00:01:22,810 --> 00:01:25,620

in the five county region nine area.

34

00:01:25,620 --> 00:01:27,600

Last year, Wrinkle said the foundation

35

00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:30,550

wanted to establish a

creative giving strategy

36

00:01:30,550 --> 00:01:32,610

that would support small businesses

37

00:01:32,610 --> 00:01:35,400

while at the same time benefit nonprofits,

38

00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:38,950

particularly those that

address food security.

39

00:01:38,950 --> 00:01:40,210

So one of the things that we think

40

00:01:40,210 --> 00:01:42,280

is so important at the

Community Foundation

41

00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:45,040

is really doing programs

that are sustainable

42

00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:47,240

and really feed the business,

43

00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:49,810

as well as the nonprofits,

as well as the members.

44

00:01:49,810 --> 00:01:52,600

So with this food for purchasing program,

45

00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:55,520

we are paying the farmers

who are local businesses

46

00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:58,930

and making sure that they

plant and grow what we need.

47

00:01:58,930 --> 00:02:02,320

They will then give it to, or

they will buy it from them,

48

00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:04,690

and they will give it to the food pantries

49

00:02:04,690 --> 00:02:07,160

who will then in turn make

sure that all of our members,

50

00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:08,920

all the people who are food insecure,

51

00:02:08,920 --> 00:02:12,510

have fresh fruits and

vegetables in their food boxes.

52

00:02:12,510 --> 00:02:14,850

This is the kind of programming

that's so important to us

53

00:02:14,850 --> 00:02:19,850

because it's really 360 degree

benefiting the community,

54

00:02:21,170 --> 00:02:24,570

benefiting the small farmers

and the small businesses,

55

00:02:24,570 --> 00:02:26,660

as well as the nonprofits,

as well as our members

56

00:02:26,660 --> 00:02:28,610

who are in so much need during COVID.

57

00:02:28,610 --> 00:02:31,280

This past winter the

foundation also purchased

58

00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:32,770

bread from local bakeries

59

00:02:32,770 --> 00:02:35,140

and dairy and meat products

from local providers

60

00:02:35,140 --> 00:02:37,250

to give to area food pantries.

61

00:02:37,250 --> 00:02:39,870

It also purchased $37,000 worth

62

00:02:39,870 --> 00:02:42,710

of $50 gift cards from area restaurants

63

00:02:42,710 --> 00:02:44,380

to give to stressed out employees

64

00:02:44,380 --> 00:02:46,770

at Durango School District 9-R.

65

00:02:46,770 --> 00:02:48,930

In addition, cultural arts organizations

66

00:02:48,930 --> 00:02:51,380

received $50,000 from revenues

67

00:02:51,380 --> 00:02:53,230

raised from the foundation's virtual

68

00:02:53,230 --> 00:02:56,550

Concerts in the Park series last summer.

69

00:02:56,550 --> 00:02:58,310

You can support small businesses

70

00:02:58,310 --> 00:03:01,690

and nonprofits that the

pandemic continues to impact

71

00:03:01,690 --> 00:03:03,720

by making a donation to the foundation

72

00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:08,090

through its website at

swcommunityfoundation.org.

73

00:03:08,090 --> 00:03:10,000

Thanks for watching

the Local News Network,

74

00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,250

serving Montezuma County,

Durango, Pagosa Springs,

75

00:03:13,250 --> 00:03:15,630

Telluride, and Farmington, New Mexico.

76

00:03:15,630 --> 00:03:16,953

I'm Wendy Graham Settle.

‍