Frequently Asked Questions

Q.  What is Community Shares of Colorado?
A.  Community Shares of Colorado is a cooperative federation of more than 100 diverse nonprofit organizations that have come together to strengthen communities through human and financial resources.  Through paycheck deduction contributions and direct gifts, our donors help these organizations fulfill their missions.  Community Shares started as the Alternative Fund in 1986 to fulfill the need of providing financial resources to diverse organizations traditionally excluded from highly promoted fund drives.

Q.  How do charities qualify for Community Shares funding?
A.  Community Shares’ organizations must comply with a number of standards.  They must be based in Colorado; conduct programs on a statewide or regional level and show that they have a demonstrated base of constituency support and involvement.  Funded agencies must be at least one year old; be recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization; submit annual financial information, including the IRS 990 and, if applicable, audits and must be governed by a volunteer board of directors.  An on-site visit is an excellent way to see how an agency spends its money.  Contact information for every agency is included in our brochure.

Q.  What is your administrative fee?
A.  The percentage of workplace donations retained by Community Shares is 15%.  Designations to agencies and to the Shares Fund are affected by this percentage.  We encourage you to call or visit Community Shares or any of our agencies if you have questions or concerns about administrative fees.  We endeavor to keep our overhead low.  Community Shares utilizes volunteers from our member agencies to cooperatively manage and govern Community Shares.

Q.  What is the difference between designating the Shares Fund and designating Community Shares?
A.  Contributions designated to the Shares Fund are distributed to participating agencies.  Contributions designated to Community Shares are used to pay for our campaign/program costs.  Any excess from the Community Shares designation is added to the Shares Fund for distribution to participating agencies.

Q.  How is the Shares Fund distributed?
A.  The Shares Fund is distributed inversely to the amount of designations an agency receives.  That is, the agencies with the lowest amount of direct designations will receive the largest proportional amount of the Shares Fund.  This is an attempt to see that the smaller, less well-known agencies receive adequate funding.

Q.  What if our employees don’t like some of your agencies?
A.  Community Shares is a diverse community of organizations.  Not everyone is going to personally support all the causes represented by any given umbrella organization.  Our fund is structured so that you may contribute to all of the organizations or pick and choose specific agencies.  No on has to give to a cause they do not support.  We highly encourage donors to designate the agency or agencies they care about most.

Q.  Why should I give through Community Shares instead of directly to the agency?
A.  We do not want to discourage you from giving to agencies directly.  Payroll contributions are another way for you to support your community.  Payroll contributions work for many people because:  1) it’s an easy system that works; 2) it may allow you to give more money because it is spread over a year’s time.  One reason our agencies like payroll contribution campaigns is because they are a low-cost way to educate and inform the community at-large and to recruit donors and volunteers.  You support this concept by contributing through Community Shares.