The Denver Reparations Fund gives $77,000 in 1st round of grantmaking


February 13, 2023

The Denver Reparations Fund, a new fund at The Denver Foundation, is pleased to announce the grantees from its first cycle of grantmaking. The Denver Reparation Fund awarded a total of $77,000 to eight Black-led nonprofits. 

  • Community Outreach Service Center Inc. (COSC) are people working together to build a better community. Since 1988, COSC has helped thousands of people experiencing homelessness, returning citizens, and marginalized individuals find hope through employment, housing, peer support, and basic needs resources to build community wealth. 
  • Denver African Art Collections – Denver Center for African Art (DAAC) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to inspire and educate by providing an opportunity to experience the beauty, power, and diversity of African arts and cultures, and to initiate conversations to expand the way we see ourselves, others, and the possibilities for a more connected and empathic world. 
  • Denver Black Reparations Council Inc. The mission of the Denver Black Reparations Council (DBRC) is to provide grants that are focused on rebuilding the institutions, religions, languages, and traditions within the Black Community of Denver and Colorado that were destroyed during the enslavement of African and African descendant people. 
  • From the Heart Foundation is a community organization whose purpose is to uplift fallen humanity; one man, one woman, and one child at a time through purposeful programming and community events. 
  • FrontLine Farming is a food justice and farmer advocacy organization that believes good food should be for all people and that farmers deserve living wages. They develop asset-based and data-driven solutions that are community derived. FLF funnels money, resources, and time into the communities they serve and the farmers who grow the food. 
  • HOPE Center Inc is an institution for early childhood education and adults with disabilities, founded in 1962 with six children and two teachers. HOPE Center is a strong community advocate for education equity and equality in the communities we serve, including northeast Denver and Park Hill. 
  • Urban Symbiosis is a community that’s growing just as large and vibrant as its produce and message. They are focused on building a fair ecosystem and food system that cultivates long-lasting community relationships through a wide variety of resources, events, and healthy locally grown food. 
  • Youth Seen is an organization that works with our communities and stands as a leader in the local Colorado area and beyond, and establishes partnerships with groups who specifically tailor their resources, education, and outreach to the youth and young BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities. 

Denver Black Reparations Council (DBRC) and Reparations Circle Denver (RCD) are working together to effect reparative change. RCD is a giving circle in Denver accepting new members; DBRC deploys funds raised by RCD and housed in the Denver Reparations Fund to provide reparative funding for the Black communities of Colorado.   

You can read more about this effort on our blog. 

If you are a donor who is interested in giving to the Reparations Fund, you can give at this link. 

If you are a Black-led nonprofit seeking funding, the next grant cycle is now open. The deadline to apply is March 15, 2013. You can learn more about this funding opportunity on our website.