Past Technical Assistance Grantees - The Denver Foundation

"Through the TA grant we were able to hire a facilitator for one of our board retreats. The topic was how board members can help raise money for the organization. The insights learned were:

1. Each board member must contribute money each year. Even if it is a very small amount. Some board members do not have a great deal of discretionary income but they can contribute according to their means; even if it is $5 per year.

2. All board members have contacts. Through our facilitator our board members were able to link the various associations they have in the work place, at church, in the neighborhoods in which they live, places they shop, relatives, friends from high school and college, parents from their children's sports team and the parents of the friends of their children, to new potential donors and new board members." Tony Uva, Executive Director

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Bennie E. Goodwin After School Academic Program

Bluff Lake Nature Center
“The Denver Foundation’s Technical Assistance grant allowed us to hire a consultant to develop a special event, and further diversify our funding stream. We now have a signature annual event that helps our members and supporters participate further in the work of Bluff Lake Nature Center.” Glenn Fee, Executive Director
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Boulder County RSVP Board, Inc.
"We have greatly appreciated being funded multiple times by The Denver Foundation's technical assistance fund. Over the last few years, this funding has supported RSVP as it doubled its staff and budget.

We used the funding to hire consultants that assisted us in:
     1. refining our mission and objectives
     2. establishing agency and board committees
     3. developing a three-year strategic plan

We were able to breathe new life into our organization with the support of The Denver Foundation. As a result of working with Richard Male and Associates in 2007 and 2008, RSVP has "greened" our programs, acquired larger office space and has increased its capacity to serve seniors and adults with disabilities." Maureen Ewing, Executive Director
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CityWILD

Denver Asset Building Coalition
"We believe the technical assistance grant enabled the Denver Asset Building Coalition to develop a strategic plan that refined our focus, honed our programs and launched us to a new level of achievement with regard to the impact we have as an anti-poverty resource for the low-income community." John Russell, Program Director
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Denver Young Artists Orchestra

Environmental Learning for Kids

FrontRange Earth Force

Grand Design, Inc.
"- The application process and format are very well spelled out and easy to follow; although telephone contact information is available for assistance, we never had to made a telephone call or send an email seeking further information or clarification.

- Very good information is also provided on the deadlines as well as the timelines for approval/disapproval, so organizations do not have to do a lot of follow-up to get a status on their application for assistance. In our case, the approval as well as the check, granting the assistance arrived within the stated timeframe indicated.

- Great instructions and timelines were also provided for the final report that's due back to the Denver Foundation after the technical assistance is provided; sufficient time is allow to complete the work required before the report is due. This is a very good and well defined process--keep up the good work.

We requested technical assistance to complete a Five Year Strategic Plan; we now have a roadmap and strategy for success which will enhance the programs and entertainment we provide to the community." LC Williams, Treasurer

Great Education Colorado Fund

HealthBridge Alliance
"We had an excellent experience and received invaluable help with creating a new, more rigorous program evaluation model. The lesson learned I would share is that you also need to make sure to have a plan in place to find resources to continue the work that you laid out. In our case, it has been very challenging to have the resources and time to enter the data for analysis." Dace West, Executive Director
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Hep C Connection

Intercambio de Comunidades
"It's good to focus on what your organization does well, but it's also important to focus on areas that need improvement, and technical assistance can ensure that those improvements happen and that you create a system to ensure that they continue to happen." Lee Shainis, Executive Director

Kent Denver Country Day School

Little Voice Productions
"The Denver Foundation funded the majority of the strategic planning that we went through in the summer of 2006. We desperately needed to realign and build our processes and needed outside guidance. Our board was disengaged and disconnected with nearly every facet of our organization. Without The Denver Foundation's technical assistance grant, we wouldn't have been able to accomplish what we did with the insight, efficiency and resulting plan that we ended up with. The Denver Foundation's process was fast and easy - I wish all applications were this way! They are truly a supporter of the nonprofit community and we are blessed to have them on our team." Julie Speer Hunniford, Executive Director
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Mountain Chamber Music Society
"The Mountain Chamber Music Society derived great benefit from our technical assistance grant. We concentrated on Board Development and Budgeting, and learned a great deal. It helped us solidify our vision, and truly enabled us to begin the work to achieve our mission." Laura Schulkind, Executive Director
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Padres & Jovenes Unidos

Parenting Place

PHAMALY - Physically Handicapped Actors and Musical Artists League

Reach Out and Read

Rocky Mountain Arts Association

Seeds for the Future

St. Paul's United Methodist Church

TEENS, Inc.
"The strategic plan that the TA grant from The Denver Foundation allowed us to complete has become the backbone of our organization. It was great to involve the larger community and stakeholders in the process so we could see what the actual perceptions were about TEENS, Inc. The process culminated in an all day retreat involving the board and the staff. The staff gave in depth updates to the board about their programs and really presented a sense of where we are and where we need to go. The board took that information and created the plan with long range goals and a time frame to meet the objectives. The work has not ended there. The board of directors went through "making the ask" training and pulls out the strategic plan each board meeting to review it. The review of the objectives and follow through are the most important aspects of this process." Stephen LeFaiver, Executive Director
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Turnabout, Inc.

WINGS Foundation, Inc.
"I would say that one of the important lessons we learned is to ask for assistance even if you're not sure you'd receive it. Our agency knew that we needed a strategic plan yet we also felt that hiring a facilitator to help us come up with that was out of our budget. Once we discovered that The Denver Foundation offers TA grant to help with this we felt like we had the same advantage and capabilities that larger, higher-budget nonprofits have. We are now using the steps generated in our strategic plan and feel like we have an organized path toward the future that is also realistic for us." Anne Guarnera, Executive Director
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The YESS Institute
"We see the TA grant assistance as a necessary leveraging tool to elevate our agency up to the next organizational level pushing through the glass ceiling." Carlo Kriekels, Co-Founder & Executive Director
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Young Voices of Colorado