A BIG thank you for our community members that donated to our COVID Community Relief Fund that helped support the Golden community during the very unprecedented and unpredictable last year. Although the Golden Civic Foundation (Foundation), a 501c3 nonprofit organization, is typically focused on three main program areas – Civic Development, Community & Special Grants, and Business Loan Programs – our small staff and connected Board of Directors has always prioritized the need to be nimble in order to quickly meet the greatest needs of the community while also addressing the longer-term community recovery efforts. This past year has definitely provided one of the Foundation’s greater challenges in our 50-year history.
Throughout the past 12 months, the Foundation has worked creatively and quickly to mitigate the economic and very personal effects caused by the pandemic on the community of Golden. With your important financial support, the Foundation quickly mobilized to provide the following community support:
1. COVID-19 Community Response Fund and Community Grants
This community grant program provided relief to City of Golden community members most critically impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Over the last year, the Foundation has provided more than $80,000 to 10 service organizations to provide critical needs support including rent, mortgage and automotive repair assistance, food scarcity and local restaurant economic stimulation support, mental health programs for Golden students and schools, and morale boosting meals for the Golden Police Department.
2. Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) Drive
As the pandemic exploded onto the scene, the Foundation quickly partnered with local business, Golden Moon Distillery, for hand sanitizer, and the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum to produce and distribute masks to Golden’s frontline critical needs organizations. The Foundation distributed more than 70 sanitizer bottles and 5,700 masks (including donations by the City & County of Denver) to service organizations including the Foodbank of the Rockies, Calvary Church Food Shelf, Christian Action Guild, Neighborhood Rehab Project, Golden Schools Foundation and the BGoldN Food Program; Assisted Living Facilities including Lewis Court, Canyon Gate, Accel Acute Care & Rehab, and Golden Pond; and, Public-Facing City Staff including the City of Golden Fire & Police, Golden History Museum, Parks & Recreation and Public Works.
3. COVID-19 Emergency Relief Loan Program
The goal of the emergency loan program was to keep small, Golden businesses and non-profit organizations solvent during the pandemic. To date, the Foundation has provided 10 qualifying organizations with zero interest, no payment loans over the last year.
4. BGoldN Food Support for Residents and Business Opportunity for Local Restaurants
The Foundation was part of a small leadership group that came together at the beginning of the shutdowns in mid-March 2020 to brainstorm and support the creation of BGoldN, a win-win partnership aimed at helping community members struggling with access to food, as well as helping local restaurants stay afloat by providing paid-for meals.
For more than 50 years, the Foundation has been a trusted community catalyst, responding to immediate needs and anticipating future challenges. We remain committed to this role now more than ever and thank our community of Golden for your part in helping us to fund the good things happening in the city.
