The Community Foundation serving Southwest Colorado is turning 25 in 2025 and it has a lot to celebrate.
If the 2024 Colorado Gives Day was any indication, as it approaches its Silver Jubilee anniversary and a quarter century of building funding – and opportunity – through contributions, by and for the community, the foundation’s future is bright.
The foundation has supported Southwest Colorado Gives Day – recognized on Dec. 10 this year – as a regional champion since 2017.
That means the foundation has led the effort to strengthen Southwest Colorado online giving via a region-specific platform it spearheaded – swcogives.org – to make it easier for donors to find and give to local organizations.
The foundation, this year, also led marketing and professional development efforts for over 150 participating nonprofits in Archuleta, La Plata and Montezuma counties to plan and build their fundraising campaigns.
And it’s been working.
In 2023, SW CO Gives Day donors contributed $662,600 across the foundation’s five-county region. In 2024, the foundation set a $750,000 goal. Going into Giving Tuesday, the previous week, it had only $280,000 in donations.
With almost $500,000 to raise in one week, foundation staff members were a tad nervous. Unnecessarily so, it appears. On Dec. 11, the foundation issued a press release heralding $894,000 in donations to participating nonprofits, an increase in 26% over 2023.
As of this writing, that figure has increased to $920,987 from 2,470 donors making 4,468 donations.
Briggen Wrinkle, foundation executive director, said local giving has grown every year since the foundation started serving as regional champion and 2024 is the biggest increase they’ve seen so far.
As the foundation supports nonprofits that respond to a variety of needs unmet by the public and private sectors, they provide a critical matchmaking role in our region connecting donors with local organizations with missions that support education, health care, human services, the arts and much more.
Foundation staff members are quick to emphasize that Southwest Colorado Gives is not just one day, rather the platform provides a safe, easy to use online giving platform year-round. For those seeking a tax-deduction for charitable contributions, donations must be made at swcogives.org by Dec. 31.
