Community Shares of Colorado :: Get Involved

Community Shares Wins National "Innovation and Excellence" Award!

This week, Community Shares was the proud recipient of the 2007 Innovation and Excellence Award from the National Alliance for Choice in Giving (NACG) at the National Workplace Giving Summit in Orlando, Florida. NACG is a community of local, state, and national workplace giving federations and funds working together to advance social justice, environmental protection, peace, human welfare and human rights. The mission of NACG is to serve as a voice for charitable choice in the workplace and to increase the capacity of workplace giving organizations.

"Community Shares continues to excel at connecting the generous people of Colorado with the charities and causes they care about most. They are being honored for an impressive string of creative marketing strategies; a web site on the vanguard of the internet; a variety of successful employee involvement programs; and continued double digit growth,” said Matt Howe, Executive Director of the NACG. Receiving this award is an especially meaningful honor because of Community Shares' commitment to inclusive, ethical, and efficient workplace giving campaigns.

Investing your Contributions

When nonprofit organizations talk to donors about how we invest your contributions, it is typically safest to talk only about program costs. However, a key part of running a successful, efficient organization is staying on the cutting edge of business and management trends. Investing $100 to attend a technical assistance training can save thousands of dollars in increased efficiency. While administrative costs are often thought of as taking money away from program funding, they actually help to increase the positive impact of programs and the organization as a whole.

To that end, Community Shares invests in membership to the National Alliance for Choice in Giving. Our NACG membership allows us to share knowledge and best practices with like-minded workplace giving federation across the nation. We have collaborated with members on a shared set of conduct and public accountability standards for workplace giving federations. Community Shares staff also receive leadership development, professional training, and technical assistance through online sessions, a shared online resource library, and an annual conference. Jesse Wolff serves on the Development Committee and Alyssa Kopf is the former chair of the Technology Committee. Participating in these national forums allows the CSC staff to keep pace with industry trends and provide leadership to our fellow NACG members.

Member spotlight

Over the past 14 years, Colorado Youth At Risk (CYAR) has paired over 2,500 kids with adult mentors. Jesse Wolff recently spoke with Hollen Ferrendelli, CYAR Executive Director, on the rewards of mentoring. Click here to listen to their conversation. Read more about CYAR in the Shares Blog.

Partners of the month

Outstanding Member Agency

Pikes Peak Gay and Lesbian Community Center
P.O. Box 607
Colorado Springs, CO 80901
719-471-4429

Since 1978, the Pikes Peak Gay & Lesbian Community Center (PPGLC) has been empowering the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities to achieve social and civil equality through direct support services, discrimination intervention, and public advocacy. In January of this year, PPGLC opened a new, 3,000 square foot location in Colorado Springs to serve more clients. The new space has meeting rooms, a library and drop-in center. They continued an exciting 2007 by holding a fundraiser celebration on February 10, with over 200 guests in attendance.

The Pride Center has been a proud member of Community Shares of Colorado since 2001, and their Executive Director, Ryan Acker, is an active member of the Community Shares Pikes Peak Chapter. Last month the PPGLC hosted the Chapter meeting at their new offices and shared their 2007 successes with the team.

Outstanding Workplace

University of Denver
2199 S. University Blvd.
Denver, CO 80208
303-871-2000

University of Denver coordinated yet another successful giving campaign in 2006. Working with a volunteer committee and led by Adam Barnett, the campaign focused on connecting DU to its community neighbors. The campaign was titled, "Investing in Community Connections" and produced a 22% increase for Community Shares member agencies over 2005. The campaign also introduced an online giving option using Community Shares' electronic giving tool, e-share ™. The campaign met the needs of long-time donors and offered innovative communication and choices to welcome new donors. Our thanks to DU for another inspiring campaign!

Community Events

Save the Date! Community Shares 2007 Summer Event
June 13, 2007 6PM @ Belmar Event Center, Lakewood. More information to come. . .

March 2 - Dairy Gallery Opening
5PM @ the Dairy Center (2590 Walnut St., Boulder) More info

March 3 - Art Students League of Denver Celebrating 20 Years: Mini March Madness
6PM @ Art Students League (200 Grant St., Denver) More info

March 4 - KGNU: Tariq Ali Lecture and Book Signing
7PM @First United Methodist Church (1421 Spruce St., Boulder) More info

March 8 - Eco-cycle's Zero Waste Business Awards Luncheon
11AM @ Boulder Outlook Hotel (800 28th St., Boulder) More info

March 10 - Invest In Kids: Jane-A-thon
7:30AM @ Mary Jane Mountain (Winter Park Ski Resort, Colorado) More info

March 16 - Denver International Program: Fireside on Sudan
7PM @ Craig Hall, University of Denver (2148 S. High St., Denver) More info

March 31 - Trees, Water & People: Riverboat the Rockies
6:30PM @ Fort Collins Lincoln Center (417 W. Magnolia, Fort Collins) More info

Visit our Web Calendar for more opportunities to connect with your community.