Dear friends of CRC: CRC values and actively promotes collaboration as a key nonprofit best practice, and this year we have been focused on doing more to walk our talk in this area. While we have a rich history of collaborating on programmatic activities, we are excited to be embarking on a new level of partnership - sharing staff with two of our nonprofit partners. Starting in September, CRC will be part of two job-sharing arrangements, one with Metro Volunteers and one with the Colorado Rural Health Center. These arrangements have allowed us to better leverage our resources by extending the "buying power" of our budget for staff. In total, CRC welcomes three new staff members this month. Kara Penn, previously a contracted consultant for CRC, joins us as a Consultant/Trainer. As part of our job-sharing arrangements, we welcome Kristen York as Marketing and Development Coordinator and Jennifer Jones as Financial Coordinator. Please see below for more information about these three very talented additions to our staff. We will keep you posted about our experiences in broadening our collaborative activities so others can learn from our successes and challenges. In the meantime, if you would like to learn more about how you can leverage your organization's resources through collaboration, contact us today! Thanks for reading, Sarah Fischler and Kelleen Zubick Interim Co-Directors |
| Meet Our New Staff |
 Kara Penn, MBA, MPP is an experienced manager, facilitator and consultant, and an enthusiastic native of Colorado. Kara received her Master of Business Administration degree from MIT Sloan School of Management, with a focus on non-profit management and sustainable business. She also holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, and her Bachelor of Arts in English and Psychology from the Colorado College. Kara's areas of expertise include non-profit management, facilitation, conflict negotiation, program planning and evaluation, community engagement strategies, sustainability and environmental systems thinking, and visioning and strategic planning. |
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Kristen York - A Colorado native, Kristen was recruited for gymnastics and attended the University of Arizona. Receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, Kristen remained in Tucson working for the Every Voice in Action Foundation. After deciding to return to Colorado and wanting to remain in the nonprofit sector, Kristen committed to a year of service through the Citizen Action AmeriCorps program with Metro Volunteers. Upon completing her term of service Kristen was hired on to the Metro Volunteers Staff as the Marketing & Communications Manager. Providing Marketing support to both organizations, Kristen is responsible for website maintenance, newsletters, producing training guides, and collateral materials. |
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| Jennifer Jones is the Finance Coordinator at the Colorado Rural Health Center and the Accountant for CRC. For both organizations, Jennifer is responsible for the general accounting functions, ensuring that the organizations' financials are correctly stated under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, and assisting with the implementation of procedures to allow for proper internal controls. She earned her Bachelor's Degree in Accounting at the University of Tulsa in Tulsa, OK and later earned her designation as a CPA. Jennifer has worked for several years as a for-profit Staff Accountant and briefly worked as an auditor. In her free time, she enjoys volunteering and traveling and is an avid hockey fan. | |
| Search Underway for New CRC Executive Director |
The search for a new Executive Director for CRC is underway! We are looking for a creative, energetic, and entrepreneurial leader to take CRC into its next stage of evolution. Key job responsibilities will include overall leadership and management of the organization, fundraising, and external relations. A proven track record of success in these areas, a strong understanding of nonprofit capacity building, and a demonstrated commitment to CRC's articulated values for inclusiveness, accessibility, collaboration, and social justice are required. Click here for the full job description and instructions to apply. CRC will be accepting applications for this position through September 20, 2009. |
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New Colorado Common Grant Report Released! |
The Colorado Common Grant Report Revision Committee is proud to announce the release of a revised Colorado Common Grant Report (CGR). Over the past year, over sixty leaders in Colorado's nonprofit and foundation communities joined together in an extensive process to revise the CGR so it dovetails with the Common Grant Application (CGA) and supports nonprofit best practices for reporting on grant awards. The revised CGR's questions are designed to elicit key information about a nonprofit's experiences during the grant period, and the forms follow deliberately streamlined flow to complement the CGA. Revisions to the CGR will save nonprofits time and effort related to creating different reports for multiple funders, while affording grant makers and grant seekers the convenience of working from a common set of questions that reinforce solid nonprofit practices. Additionally, the revised CGR brings two main enhancements designed to simplify the user experience- a dedicated website ( www.coloradocommongrantforms.org) and a User's Guide. The User's Guide adds clarity to the application process and is especially valuable for less experienced grant writers and those new to the CGA and CGR. Currently, more than 90 of Colorado's funders accept the CGR, CGA, or both, with more joining the group each week. An updated list of funders accepting the CGA and CGR is available at www.coloradocommongrantforms.org. If you would like to learn more about the revised CGR and how your organization can develop a strong CGR template, consider attending a low-cost informational session outlining major changes in the CGR. These sessions are being offered around Colorado through a collaboration between the Community Resource Center, the Colorado Nonprofit Association, and JVA Consulting. Please visit www.coloradocommongrantforms.org for the complete list of planned informational session dates and locations statewide. |
| The Reading List |
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Want to learn more about grant writing, grant management, and foundations? Check out these resources:
CRC's Grant Seeking Clinic - want to learn about grantwriting or improve your grantwriting skills? Sign up for this two and a half day class. |
| Upcoming Events |
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Rural Philanthropy Days (RPD), a program of the Community Resource Center, offers a powerful opportunity for Colorado's funding community to interact with the nonprofit organizations in rural Colorado. The conference allows nonprofit representatives and funders to learn from one another and collaborate on needed projects through an interactive conference agenda. It is a place where funders and nonprofits begin relationships that lead to successful grant proposals and more resources for rural Colorado. REGISTER NOW!
For the first time, the can't-miss nonprofit event of the year will be two full days of professional development and networking opportunities! New features of 2009 include roundtable discussion sessions, Consultants' Corner and networking dinners around town on the evening of October 29. For more information and registration, click here.
Save the Date: Inclusiveness Conference 2009
Co-sponsored by CRC and The Denver Foundation
November 9, 2009
The Tivoli - 900 Auraria Parkway
To learn more about the Inclusiveness Conference, click here. |
| Colorado Nonprofit Leadership and Management Program |
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TAKE ACTION NOW!! CRC is accepting applications for its acclaimed 2010 Colorado Nonprofit Leadership and Management Program. With only eighteen spaces remaining, we encourage newer Executive Directors of Colorado nonprofit organizations with budgets of $600,000 and below to get your application in soon! Scholarships and payment plans are available. Now celebrating its 20th Anniversary, this yearlong Leadership experience offers the Executive Director an exciting opportunity to develop personal-awareness, expand their leadership capabilities, master new nonprofit management techniques, work with a professional coach, and cultivate meaningful peer relations. Interested candidates are encouraged to visit CRC's website at www.crcamerica.org to find detailed program information and an application form. Please call Carol Crawford at 303-623-1540 for further scholarship and application information. |
| Where in Colorado? |
Each month, we feature a photo taken during our travels around Colorado. Last month, we featured this photograph of Bentt's Fort in La Junta. We had four correct guesses, with Abby Landmeier of Western Colorado Suicide Prevention Foundation submitting the first correct guess. Abby wins a copy of CRC's toolkit, Fundraising: Essential Strategies for Fundraising Success During an Economic Downturn.
For this month's "Where in Colorado?" we are inviting guesses on a photo from a different part of Colorado.
The first person to correctly identify the location of this photo by posting it on our blog will receive a free copy of CRC's toolkit, Fundraising: Essential Strategies for Fundraising Success During an Economic Downturn. Need a hint? This location is in one of CRC's 2009 Rural Philanthropy Days regions.
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| Colorado Capital Bank Offers Resources for Nonprofits! |
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From Colorado Capital Bank, proud sponsor of the Colorado Grants Guide:
Colorado Capital Bank believes that as an advisor to your nonprofit, it is our duty to provide your Board, Management, Finance Committee and Staff with the tools to take your organization to the next level. For our nonprofit clients, we offer:
Resource Center: Our network includes industry professionals who can offer services specific to the needs of nonprofits. These include: CPAs, attorneys, insurance companies, software businesses, merchant providers and more.
Speaker's Bureau: At Colorado Capital Bank, we employ the very finest talent in banking and finance today. Our management team is available to speak to your nonprofit on a variety of topics including:
- Strategic Planning
- Prudent Investment Planning
- Charitable Planned Giving Strategies
- Preventing Identity Theft & Fraud
- FDIC Education...Are Your Deposits Fully Insured?
- Account Structuring and Strategies
Philanthropic Support and Outreach: We want to be more than your bank; we want to support your organization! Ask us about our in-kind donations, fiscal support and the community volunteering opportunities we provide.
We also provide our conference rooms (subject to availability) for nonprofit meeting use as well.
Colorado Capital Bank is a proud sponsor of the Community Resource Center, the Colorado Grants Guide and numerous nonprofits in our communities. We currently serve over 130 nonprofit clients and have eight locations in the Colorado region to serve your nonprofit needs: Boulder, Castle Pines, Cherry Creek, Colorado Springs, Denver Tech Center, Eagle Ranch, Edwards and Parker. Please visit us at www.coloradocapitalbank.com to find a location nearest you or call us at 1.800.913.5120!
We invite you to contact us - our job is to ensure the continued growth and strength of your Nonprofit business. We are committed to your success!
Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender. |
| Thank you for reading the E-Line! |
If you have any ideas about future topics that you would like to see covered, please let us know!
Sincerely,
CRC's Staff
Sarah, Kelleen, Carol, Marianne, Lauren, Kara, Kristen, and Jennifer | |
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| Upcoming Events |
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Future RPD Events
Planning for Southwest and
Southeast Rural Philanthropy
Days is getting underway! If you would like to get
DOSP Survey Request
Interested in sharing space and resources with other nonprofits? Tell us more about it and help the Denver Office of Strategic Partnerships and its partners find ways to bring City resources to shared space efforts in the nonprofit community.
Please contact Dace West at dace.west@denvergov.org or 720.944.2839 with any questions. Thank you for your participation!
University of Denver Students Accepting IT Project Proposals
The Women's College of the University of Denver offers a professionally oriented bachelor's degree in Information Technology Studies. A key part of the program is for seniors to design and build an information system for a "real" customer.
for more information and a proposal request form. |
| Hurry and Get Your 2009-2010 Colorado Grants Guide While Supplies Last! |
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Help improve the sustainability of your organization by purchasing a 2009-2010 Colorado Grants Guide, Colorado's premier resource for grantseekers.
Annual Online Subscription: $150
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| Join CRC on Facebook |
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Keep track of CRC's activities and get updates on capacity building tips and tools for your nonprofit organization.
Search "Community Resource Center of Colorado" to join!
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| CRC Has Moved! |
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CRC moved in late May to a great new home in Mile High Chapter of the American Red Cross Building.
Please update your records with our new address:
444 Sherman Street
Suite 102
Denver, CO 80203
All of our other contact information is the same.
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| CRC Staff Contacts |
303.623.1540
www.crcamerica.org
Consulting Services:
Kelleen Zubick,
Kara Penn
Training:
Kara Penn
Rural Activities:
Sarah Fischler
Interim Co-Director
Kelleen Zubick,
Kristen York
Marketing & Development Coordinator
Jennifer Jones,
Financial Coordinator,
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