Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado

The Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado is supporting a wide range of community events, educational conferences and arts festivals across the state of Colorado in August through recent grants to nonprofit organizations.

The events supported by these grants include: music festivals in every region of the state, fundraising events benefiting Latino families and survivors of violence toward women, a festival celebrating Scottish culture and athletics, environmental education programs, an award ceremony honoring the accomplishments of businesswomen in Southern Colorado, an event featuring the country’s foremost historical documentary filmmaker, and more.

“Our grants in support of these community events accomplish a key objective of our philanthropic mission: to support nonprofit organizations in ways that maximize the impact of our grants on their ability to provide valuable services across Colorado. These events represent key fundraising sources for the nonprofit organizations that host them, which means that our grants help generate revenue that supports operations throughout the calendar year,” said Mary Lou Makepeace, executive director of the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado. “The Gay & Lesbian Fund is proud to be backing these events through our philanthropic work, and we encourage our fellow citizens to support these organizations as well by attending these wonderful events.”

The Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado contributed a total of more than $80,000 in recent grants toward these August events:

• The 2006 Youth and Community Performances and the Crestone Music Festival, which will be held August 4-6 in Crestone. For more information about the event, please visit www.crestfest.org.
• The 2006 Fiesta Extravaganza Benefit Gala hosted by the Mi Casa Resource Center for Women on August 5 in Denver. Proceeds from the event support programs that foster self-sufficiency for low-income Latinas and youth throughout Colorado. For more information about the event, please visit www.micasadenver.org.
• The 2006 Colorado Scottish Festival & Rocky Mountain Highland Games on August 5 and 6 in Highlands Ranch. The event celebrates the culture and athletic traditions of Scotland. For more information about the event, please visit www.scottishgames.org.
• The 20th Anniversary Music in the Mountains Festival in the San Juan Mountains of Southwest Colorado throughout the month of August. This year’s three-week festival of classical music will feature 33 concerts performed by world-renowned musicians. For more information about the event, please visit www.musicinthemountains.com.
• The Renaissance Academy’s 2006 Summer Environmental Education Program in Colorado Springs. The series of events and programs inspire families and young people to nurture, respect and preserve the natural world. For more information about the event, please visit www.therenaissanceacademy.org.
• TESSA’s 2006 Pasta in the Park Benefit on August 12 in Colorado Springs, whose proceeds support programs for victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault. For more information about this event, please visit www.tessacs.org.
• The 2006 Jazz in the Sangres Festival on August 11 and 12 in Westcliffe, featuring world-renowned jazz performers. For more information about the event, please visit www.jazzinthesangres.com.
• The 2006 Accolades Luncheon and Business Leader of the Year Award hosted by the Southern Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce on August 15 in Colorado Springs. For more information about the event, please visitwww.scwcc.com.
• The 2006 Burro Birthday Bash hosted by the Western Museum of Mining & Industry on August 19 in Colorado Springs. The family event will feature gold panning challenges, visits with Oro & Nugget, museum tours and an evening music by nationally recognized singer/songwriter Chuck Pyle. For more information about the event, please visit www.wmmi.org.
• The Colorado Planned Giving Round Table’s 2006 Annual Summer Symposium on August 23 in Englewood. This event is one of the largest planned giving conferences in the country, providing a premier educational opportunity for individuals involved in charitable gift planning. For more information about the event, please visit www.cpgr.org.
• The UCCS Reach Your Peak Lecture Series featuring an evening with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns on August 27 in Colorado Springs. For more information about this event, please visit www.uccs.edu/~alumni/index.html.
• The 2006 “Sundays at Six” free concert series in Alamosa hosted by the Alamosa Live Music Association. August concerts will feature The Rifters, Mariachi San Luis and Nosotros. For more information about the events, please visit www.almaonline.org/sundays_six.html.
• The 2006 cityWILD rafting family events at Confluence Park in Denver. For more information about these events, please visit www.citywild.org.
• The Strings in the Mountains Festival of Music “Tuesdays in the Tent” concert series in Steamboat Springs throughout August. For more information about this concert series, please visit www.stringsinthemountains.com.

About the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado
The Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado was established in 1996 as a program to financially support nonprofit organizations that enhance the quality of life in Colorado and promote equality for all people. Since its inception, the fund has awarded more than $16 million to hundreds of nonprofit organizations whose program areas include arts and culture, civic leadership, healthy families and public broadcasting. In addition to providing financial assistance, the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado offers training programs, workshops, technical assistance and public meeting space to strengthen nonprofit organizations’ ability to grow, flourish and succeed. The organization is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. For more information please visit www.gayandlesbianfund.org.

About the Funds
Every year, the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado receives a financial allocation from its parent organization, the Gill Foundation, that must be donated in the form of grants to nonprofit organizations that have an IRS 501(c)(3) status and adhere to a nondiscrimination policy inclusive of sexual orientation. These monies, which typically amount to approximately 18 to 20 percent of the Gill Foundation’s earned investments, are not used for private or political purposes, in accordance with IRS regulations.