Contributed by Martinique Davis

October 22, 2009

Retrived from http://telluridewatch.com/pages/full_story/push?article-The+Telluride+Foundation+Brings+-1M+to+Western+Colorado%20&id=4102055

Department of Health and Human Service’s Strengthening Communities Fund Has Two-Year Plan for Four Counties “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” – Chinese Proverb

WESTERN COLORADO – The Telluride Foundation was one of 35 nationwide grantees to receive American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Stimulus funding from Department of Health and Human Service’s Strengthening Communities Fund, which over the course of two years will feed nearly $1 million into communities in the counties of Dolores, Montrose, Montezuma, and the West End of San Miguel.

“The purpose of this grant money is not to fund direct services but to create new grassroots enterprises,” explains Paul Major, president and CEO of the Telluride Foundation. The purpose of the Strengthening Communities Fund is to improve the ability of nonprofit organizations to promote the economic recovery of people with low incomes, by helping low-income individuals secure and retain employment, earn higher wages, obtain better-quality jobs, and gain greater access to state and Federal benefits and tax credits. “We will work to make this a breakthrough opportunity for our neighbors to the west to create new and sustainable enterprises, products, services and jobs,” Major said.

The overarching goal is to build the capacity of nonprofit organizations in the area to address broad economic recovery issues present in their distressed communities. Long affected by the boom-and-bust cycles of resource extraction (uranium, oil and gas), now exacerbated by declines in tourism and in farm prices, the targeted area of Montrose, San Miguel, Dolores and Montezuma counties are economically distressed. Dolores County has Colorado’s highest unemployment rate, and each county’s poverty and unemployment rates exceed the state’s.

“This will be a tremendous opportunity for the region to define and guide what their economic recovery will look like,” Major said.

In partnership with JVA Consulting and the National Center for Social Entrepreneurs, the recently awarded grant funding will enable the Telluride Foundation and its partners to build the capacity of over 60 community based organizations to not only address broad economic recovery issues, but also to become job creators through development of social enterprises.

The two-part process will include a technical assistance and training phase, during which time the Telluride Foundation will “throw a wide net” to organizations with a nonprofit 501c3 status as well as faith-based organizations and other community groups who have ideas about creating jobs, products, or services that could create economic stability in their communities. The training program will focus on how organizations can develop their ideas into working realities that have social benefits for their community.

JVA Consulting (www.jvaconsulting.com) will provide much of the training and technical assistance for the program. The Colorado-based research and consulting firm has a 21-year track record working to advance the effectiveness and sustainability of nonprofit organizations in Colorado and across the country, working with hundreds of organizations annually. A study of JVA’s work with 126 faith-based and community organizations found that all increased their organizational capacity and on average experienced a 25 percent growth in revenues.

The National Center for Social Entrepreneurs, which will also partner in the training process, has an over 25-year history of providing training, consulting and technical assistance to nonprofits for the purpose of creating mission-driven new business ventures. As a 501c3 nonprofit organization, NCSE has helped nonprofit organizations launch hundreds of successful social enterprises in urban, suburban and rural communities across the country.

Following the training period the Telluride Foundation will embark upon a round of granting, selecting some of the projects for implementation. There will be two rounds of training and granting over the two-year program period. Major says that although the program hasn’t hit the ground just yet, he anticipates there will be a major ramping-up effort initiated towards the end of November. There will be volunteers stationed in the target communities, to provide guidance and information about the program prior to the training phase.

Major explains that this new program will offer opportunities the Telluride Foundation has never been able to offer before. “When we do grant-making in the West end, historically all of those grants have been to alleviate suffering – like helping a childcare center meet payroll. But with that kind of grant, there is no systemic change. That’s what this is about: Systemic change.”

By giving communities like Norwood, Egnar, Naturita, Nucla, Paradox, Dolores, Dove Creek and the unincorporated areas of western Montezuma County the tools to drive their own economic stability, the program will in essence help “feed” these communities for a lifetime, rather than just a day.

The Telluride Foundation exists to create a stronger Telluride community through the promotion and support 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 working in the Telluride area for the purpose of enhancing the quality of life within the region. For more information on the Telluride Foundation, visit www.telluridefoundation.org.