Funding Change: Community First Foundation establishes LGBT special interest fund

It’s been a whirlwind of a year for Colorado’s LGBT residents. With our state’s same-sex marriage ban hanging in legal limbo and record-setting turnouts at Denver’s PrideFest, the momentum is clearly on our side.

Still, the work to achieve full equality and affirmation for our community is not finished.

Recognizing a need to fund efforts to secure an equal and just future for the LGBT community, the Community First Foundation has established a field-of-interest fund to help address the needs of Colorado’s LGBT community.

The Community First Foundation has been working to build a stronger Colorado community by uniting interested donors with nonprofit programs since 1975. The foundation has granted funds to worthy causes such as women’s shelters and clinics for the uninsured. Much of their money is raised during their annual Colorado Gives Day, which garnered an impressive $20.9 million dollars last year.

And the new Community First Foundation’s LGBT special interest effort, called The Liberty Community Fund of Colorado, is no less ambitious.

“There was no place for people to donate to, essentially, an LGBT clearinghouse,” says Dr. Christopher Ott, a member of The Liberty Fund of Colorado’s steering committee, on the need for this fund. “People who wanted to donate to LGBT causes had to pick and choose foundations.”

With the Liberty Community Fund, those interested in donating to LGBT causes can fund a rich variety of services and efforts with one tax deductible contribution — and no amount is too big or too small.

“We will be funding social service organizations to mental health services,” adds Dr. Ott. “Our mission is pretty broad [and] basically includes any group or advocate looking after the well-being of LGBT people.”

Although the organization is still in its infancy, the fund advisory board, which is comprised of community members sought out by the Liberty Community Fund, is gearing up to issue its first call for funding proposals. Having met their fundraising goal of $100,000 last year, the fund looks forward to distributing $30,000 to worthy organizations this first go around. However, this “first go around” is definitely not a trial run; the Liberty Community Fund is ready to stand by LGBT Coloradans for the long haul. The determined fund hopes to raise $50,000 this year to match what is donated and continue to strengthen its future.

“We have already put half of our endowment away,” says Kayla Arnesen, director of strategic communications for the Community First Foundation. “This won’t be a flash in the pan.”

To learn more about the Liberty Community Fund of Colorado, or to make a tax-deductible donation, please visit:
communityfirstfoundation.org/liberty-community-fund.cfm.