Human Service and Educational Organizations Get 68 Percent of Grants SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO – The Telluride Foundation Board of Directors awarded $1,049,670 in Community Grants to 82 regional nonprofits at the end of the calendar year, bringing the total dollar amount of grants over the course of the entire year up to just over $2.2 million.

Human-service and educational organizations were the big winners, pulling in a combined total of 68 percent of the grants.

“Thanks to the continued generosity of our donors and the leadership of the Board of Directors, the Telluride Foundation is able to increase by 5 percent the total dollar amount distributed in Community Grants over last year, and 25 percent over 2007,” said Joanne Corzine-Brown, co-chair of the Telluride Foundation. “We are one of a very few foundations in the country that were able to increase grants given during this current recession. We are extremely grateful to these generous donors who support the vital work that our community nonprofits and organizations do for all of us.”

In its 2009 annual Community Granting cycle, the Foundation received 91 applications seeking $1,476,793, and awarded grants to 82 of the 91 groups that applied, in amounts ranging from $1,500 to $45,000.

Human-service organizations pulled in 28 percent of the grants; 22 percent went to early childhood development; 18 percent to education; 17 percent to arts/culture; 8 percent to the environment/animals, and 7 percent to athletic groups.

Organizations receiving grants are headquartered in Telluride, Ouray, Ridgway, Norwood, Nucla and Naturita, and serve people who either live or work in San Miguel County.  A complete online searchable database of all grants can be found at http://www.telluridefoundation.org/index.php?page=grant-recipient-directory.

“This year, the Grants Committee seriously deliberated over each application in light of the economy, and the Committee was hesitant to fund new or emerging programs, new staff or new equipment,” said George Parker, committee chairman. “We considered how the need for core and essential services might increase due to the economy, and prioritized these services over programs that could be implemented in the future when the economy improves.”  Parker added, “Human service and education programs were two of the essential services that the Grants Committee chose to emphasize with its funding this year.”

In addition to its annual Community Grant awards, the Foundation continues to expand the funding and reach of such initiative-based granting programs as the Local Healthcare Initiative, Bright Futures Early Childhood Development Fund, the family emergency Good Neighbor Fund, the Immigrant Integration Initiative – One Telluride, and the Special Initiatives Grant Program.

Community Grant award recommendations are drafted by the seven-member Grants Committee, all from the Foundation’s Board of Directors, after evaluating grant requests against a rigorous set of criteria. The slate of recommendations goes to the full Board for review and final approval. The Grants Committee is comprised of Chairman George Parker, Harmon Brown, Allan Gerstle, Melanie Montoya, Brian O’Neill, Trisha Maxon, and Susan Saint James, and their recommendations were reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors at its Dec. 30 meeting. The Foundation’s next round of local grants will be announced in December of 2010, with applications due October 29, 2010.

The Foundation will host two pre-grant meetings later this month, to help organizations flesh out ideas and for networking with one another individuals; questions will be taken about the grant process.

The next meetings will be held Wednesday, Jan. 20, 4-5:30 p.m., at the Dove Creek Community Center (403 W. Seventh St., and Thursday, Jan. 21, 4-5:30 p.m., at the Naturita Elementary School.

The Telluride Foundation exists to create a stronger Telluride community through the cultivation and promotion of philanthropy. It is a nonprofit, apolitical community foundation that provides year-round support for local organizations involved in arts, education, athletics, charitable causes, land conservation and other community-based efforts through technical assistance, education and grant making. As a grant maker, the Foundation awards grants to qualified applicants that serve the people living and/or working in the Telluride region for the purpose of enhancing the quality of life within the region. For more information on the Telluride Foundation, visit www.telluridefoundation.org.