Aspen Community Foundation

The holidays are approaching and The Buddy Program is offering custom gingerbread house kits for you to take home and make with your friends and family! ?? Each purchase includes a $100 tax-deductible donation to the Buddy Program in support of our year-round youth mentoring programs. These are perfect for your next family activity or holiday party. ?? Reserve your kit today! https://bit.ly/3AM1NEl

??? ICYMI: The Sopris Sun recently sat down with Giving Network chair, Ramona Bruland. She shared how the Giving Network has adapted to community needs, the importance of this type of giving and what the Giving Network means to her. Read more: https://lnkd.in/girgspZ6

The 2024-2025 Youth In Nature session is in full swing! ???? Students have been working with Farm Collaborative, Aspen Center for Environmental Studies and Glenwood Climbing Guides. As we near the halfway point of this year's session, learn more about this year's cohort here: https://lnkd.in/gv6EDSyy

The Sopris Sun's Giving Guide is live! As we approach giving season, consider using this as a tool to make informed decisions about your end-of-year giving! ?? The guide includes detailed profiles of each nonprofit, highlighting their missions, programs, and areas of impact, along with links to their donation pages for easy contributions. Follow the link below to learn more about the nonprofits that are making a difference in our community. https://lnkd.in/geGiB8Hd

Did you know that collective giving has doubled its impact in seven years? It's expected to double again in the next five years, showing the impact of giving circles. ?? ACF's giving circle, the Giving Network was founded in 2016 and has granted over $3.1 million to local nonprofits and community-serving organizations since. This type of giving is a powerful way to pool individuals’ funds, resources, knowledge, and networks to support the causes you care about in your community. By utilizing this type of giving model, it enables philanthropists to learn and stay connected to the issues affecting your neighbors. https://lnkd.in/gF_TYqjz

AspenOut is looking for high school students to share how to improve the queer experience at their school! ????? They're looking for students to support with planning youth events like queer prom and gay ski week events. By spending a little time talking to the AspenOut team each month, you may be eligible for a $10,000 scholarship upon completion. You do not need to identify as LGBTQIA+ but must be passionate about supporting this community. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gu6TMgvE

FocusedKids is on a mission to partner with schools, families, and community organizations to make healthy brains a priority for children. ?? Through community grantmaking funding, FocusedKids has been able to expand its services and reach more community members in Aspen to Parachute. Keep an eye out for FocusedKids commercials on Rocky Mountain PBS! This new partnership encourages kids and caregivers to take breaks. ??

Are you passionate about enhancing cultural vibrancy in Aspen? Are you a local artist? Applications for Aspen’s Cultural Vibrancy Fellowship are open until November 21st! ?? The fellowship offers funding opportunities to support artists in their creative practice, further their careers or pursue innovative ideas. Adult applicants must be at least 18 years old and reside or work within the Aspen Urban Growth Boundary for at least nine months a year. Youth participants must be between 14-18 years old and either live within the Aspen Urban Growth Boundary or attend the Aspen School District. See guidelines and apply now: https://lnkd.in/gkaGVAdh

The ACF team is growing! Holly (Ponton) Coleman has joined the team as our new Chief Philanthropy Officer. ?? Holly brings years of experience to ACF and is fueled by her passion for guiding foundations, corporations, families, and individuals toward avenues for values-based giving. Her personal mission is to support the movement of funds in ways that result in a deep impact on the intended legacy of the giver, the work of the recipient, and organizations and communities. ?? We're so excited to welcome Holly to our team! Learn more about Holly in our blog post below, and feel free to reach out to her to say hi! https://lnkd.in/g8p7xZkT

We are exploring new ways to expand our philanthropic toolkit and deploy more capital into the community! ?? In partnership with Social Finance, the pilot will allocate low-cost, flexible investment funding to organizations addressing pressing needs in our region. We need your help to better understand the capital needs of organizations serving or interested in expanding to Aspen to Parachute. ?? Please note that completing this survey does not guarantee consideration for financing. Deadline is October 25th. Take the survey now: English: https://lnkd.in/geAs94RP Spanish: https://lnkd.in/gQNcdjDA