Overview of Proposals
For those who have been part of Impact100 in the past, you may notice that this year’s finalists’ proposals look a little different. Last summer, a group of Impact100 members engaged in a series of conversations with local nonprofits, including Impact100 award winners and applicants, to identify ways to create a more equitable granting process. In response, the board of Impact100 and the leadership of the Grants Committee revised the RFP and proposal requirements based on the principles of trust-based philanthropy. Trust-based philanthropy reimagines the relationships among donors, nonprofits and communities, empowering organizations to determine how to use funds to best meet the needs of their constituents. It allows for a true partnership among donors, nonprofits, and communities. Trust-based philanthropy respects the knowledge and experience of those who work directly with the population being served while being mindful of the responsibility the organizations have to its donors. In the spirit of trust based philanthropy, we have moved away from requiring that the grant be used for a specific project; rather, we have asked applicants to define how the grant will support the core mission of the organization to achieve its desired impact. The grant could be used to strengthen or expand existing programs, to add a new program, or in any other way an organization believes will transform its ability to serve its constituents.
Organizations that apply for this grant must have two years’ 990’s, primarily serve constituents in the Denver metro area, and provide services that fit within this year’s three focus areas (Economic Opportunity and Self-Sufficiency, Health and Wellness, and Social Services). The 38-member Grants Committee reviewed more than 47 proposals for their transformational impact and sustainability and assessed the organizations’ commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, engagement of their constituents, and ability to evaluate the impact of their work. Semi-finalists received a written evaluation, as well as a site visit. The following three organizations have been selected as finalists:
Colorado Safe Parking Initiative (CSPI)
Organization Overview
Colorado Safe Parking Initiative was founded in 2020 to support people experiencing homelessness who are living in their vehicles and provide them resources to get into housing as quickly as possible. CSPI was built on the belief that with prompt intervention, most people living in their vehicles can transition back to employment and achieve housing, self-sufficiency, and other goals, without falling deeper into homelessness. To accomplish this, CSPI creates legal parking locations, known as SafeLots, that provide safety, sanitation, and case management services throughout the Denver metro area. With 13 SafeLots in 5 counties, CSPI currently serves individuals in 110 vehicles.
Proposal Description
CSPI intends to use the Impact100 grant to invest in its fund development efforts to ensure the sustainability and future growth of the SafeLot program. As a very young organization that began providing human services programming at the start of COVID, CSPI has been reliant on local government grant contracts for roughly 2/3 of its funding base. The need for SafeLot programming continues to grow, and CSPI urgently needs to diversify and grow its private funding base in order to meet the ongoing and quickly increasing need. CSPI intends to hire a Development Manager who will be responsible for crafting a multi-pronged plan for increasing and diversifying privately sourced revenue streams that will ultimately diminish CSPI’s current heavy reliance on local and government dollars. Given CSPI’s limited capacity, and the challenge of recruiting talented development staff, CSPI will engage the firm Philanthropy Expert to perform a search for highly qualified candidates and manage the interview and selection processes. The consultant will also support the successful candidate in ramping up the CSPI development function.
Hope
Communities
Organization Overview
Hope Communities, founded in 1980, works to strengthen communities and provides pathways to economic and personal opportunity through affordable housing, educational programs, and support services. Hope Communities believes everyone should have a safe place to call home and the resources they need to achieve self-sufficiency, family well-being, and economic mobility. Hope’s clients, many of whom are people of color or in marginalized communities, deal with challenges such as intergenerational poverty, sustained trauma, racial discrimination, previous incarceration, mental illness, substance misuse, limiting disabilities, or the effects of forcible displacement (as with refugees, asylees, and humanitarian parolees). Hope Communities is committed to equity along with client-informed, holistic, and culturally appropriate service models to counter these societal challenges.
Proposal Description
Hope Communities is requesting $100,000 to create a mobile office space that would enable them to respond quickly to ever-changing community needs. Through the purchase of an RV or Sprinter van, Hope Communities would be able to serve the ever-expanding population of individuals who need services but are not located in an area where Hope Communitiescurrently has permanent office spaces. Specifically, this mobile office will provide a more permanent space for Hope Communities’ community navigators in the North Denver/Montbello/Thornton area. The influx of Afghan refugees, along with refugees from other countries, has substantially increased the number of individuals and families Hope Communities serves. Having a safe, secure and permanent space where the community navigators can meet with clients would allow the navigators to best fulfill their mission of providing resources to communities that Hope Communities is currently unable to serve.
Prodigy
Ventures
Organization Overview
Founded in 2015, Prodigy Ventures recruits, trains and mentors young adults who are disconnected from traditional school and work structures through a 12-month internship program. Through personal development and hands-on learning in a Prodigy enterprise, young adults build a foundation of mindsets and skills for sustainable lives and economic mobility and to go forth and enrich their city. Prodigy provides technical and applied skills through a Pre-Apprenticeship Intensive, which consists of a series of personal and professional development modules. Youth who complete Pre-Apprenticeship are offered a year-long paid apprenticeship in Prodigy’s craft coffee houses. Apprenticeship is characterized by deep work and deep learning in a culture of healing. Apprentices receive on average 1,000 hours of professional development while earning an average of $21/hour.
Proposal Description
Prodigy Ventures is requesting $100,000 to develop a Next Gen Leaders Program (NGLP) that will extend opportunities for those who have completed the initial apprentice program. Elements of this program include further certifications in the hospitality industry via a program offered by the University of Denver and management skills training and experience working at other food and coffeehouses within Denver. The NGLP is a paid opportunity for apprentice
graduates and other young adults in Denver to build next-level skills in an accelerated timeline, with skilled trainers, and within a supportive, culturally responsive environment. The NGLP includes Train the Trainer, Shift Lead Mindsets, Spiritual Hospitality 2.0, Manager on Duty, Transition to Workforce and Advanced Credentialing. The NGLP combines technical skill training with a heavy emphasis on transferable workplace skills, such as advanced communication, self-direction, innovative problem-solving and developing others. NGLeaders will be promoted and supported into Shift Lead, Manager on Duty, and Educator Intern roles at Prodigy’s coffeehouses, with the goal of positioning entry-level workers to become managers in their next workplace roles.