Advocacy | Partnership | Impact
Impact Report
2021
Total Funding = $1,903,750
Youth Advocacy Project = $555,000 (20 Organizations)
Environmental Justice Project = $125,000 (8 Organizations)
Behavioral Health in the Schools Initiative = $130,000 (3 Routt County School Districts)
CSFF Discretionary Funding = $124,750
Legacy Fund = $444,000
Capital Fund = $525,000
The Youth Advocacy Project champions community partnerships that create equitable opportunities in health, education, and well-being for youth and families to achieve their optimal potential.
CSFF will launch an Environmental Justice Project in 2023 which advances fair and equitable practices and policies for the benefit of the environment and its inhabitants. While assessing this work, funding was given to organizations that are helping us shape this focus area.
In partnership with UCHealth and the Yampa Valley Medical Center Foundation, Behavioral Health in the Schools Initiative funding was provided to the South Routt, Hayden, and Steamboat Springs School Districts, including the North Routt Community Charter School, to increase wellness outcomes for youth and families.
CSFF Discretionary Funds provide resources to increase capacity building opportunities for organizations. Funding may support systems, trainings, advocacy and governance that enhance the strength, impact and sustainability of an organization.
Legacy and Capital Funding supports organizations of which the founders of the Foundation, Michael and Sara Craig-Scheckman, are personally passionate.
Legacy Funding
- Better Tomorrow
- National Center for Youth Law
- Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School & Camp
- Steamboat Dance Theatre
- Steamboat Mountain School
- Steamboat Orchestra
- Strings Music Festival
- The Nature Conservancy
- Yampa Valley Housing Authority
Capital Investment
- UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center Emergency Department
- South Routt and Hayden School Districts RISE Pathways Grant
- Colorado Mountain College Nursing Simulation Lab
- Integrated Community and Routt County United Way Nonprofit Center
- Perry-Mansfield Julie Harris Theatre Renovation Project
*photo features 2021 graduating class CMC Nursing Program
Highlights
In addition to CSFF traditional funding partnerships, CSFF embraces opportunities to create long-term systemic change by working with others to identify solutions to complex issues. Below are a just a few examples of our efforts in 2021.
Nonprofit Board Leadership Initiative
CSFF is committed to building the capacity of nonprofits and believes enhancing the leadership skills of boards and board members will have a positive impact on the nonprofit sector and the Routt County community overall. During the past year, we enlisted the support of White River Strategy, a social sector consulting and leadership firm, to be a thought partner in helping develop this idea for our community. We held community conversations, convened Executive Directors, and held small group sessions with Board Members to gain perspective about opportunities to strengthen local nonprofit board leadership. In addition, we shared thought provoking articles, offered generative thinking training, and provided guides for board development from resources across the country, which you can access here. We look forward to advancing this initiative for the next several years.
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GIV Fellowship Program
CSFF was honored to participate in the inaugural GIV Fellowship Program managed by YouthRoots in Denver. We were one of eleven foundations across Colorado, and the only funder from a rural part of the state. The GIV Fellowship provides a paid internship opportunity for youth to learn about the philanthropic sector including grantmaking, impact investing, the nonprofit community, community engagement and more. This fellowship opportunity primarily serves youth from communities that are underrepresented in the field of philanthropy, or otherwise marginalized communities. Our GIV Fellows, Tayz Enriquez and Adalid Ponce (pictured with her daughter), are two amazing young local Latina women who gained valuable insights into the philanthropic sector; however, more importantly, they taught us so much about listening to the voice of those with lived experience. We want to thank Tayz and Adalid for their openness and commitment to ensure their successful fellowship at CSFF!
National Center for Youth Law – Youth Justice Initiative
Sara Craig-Scheckman has been passionate about the work at the National Center for Youth Law since her days as a law clerk during Law School. When the opportunity arose to bring their efforts to Colorado CSFF, along with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, provided funding to launch the Youth Justice Initiative (YJI) in Colorado, which is committed to radically transforming our country’s approach to youth justice. Their goal is to prevent youth from coming into contact with the juvenile justice system, and to ensure that when they do, they are met with equitable, community-driven, health-centered supports that achieve the best possible outcomes for themselves, their families, and their communities. Working to uplift youth voices, families and communities, public health expertise, and community-based organizations, they aim to fill the void created by current punitive approaches to juvenile justice. It is their vision to work alongside policy makers, coalition partners, service providers, community leaders, families, and advocates in order to establish equitable, trauma-informed, family-centered justice systems that are aligned with youth development principles. Beyond funding, CSFF is also personally connecting the folks at the National Center for Youth Law to members in our philanthropic network throughout Colorado.
NCYL’s successful California Youth Justice Initiative, featured in the above video, is being replicated here in Colorado by NCYL staff member Frankie Guzman who is highlighted in the video.
If you are interested in learning more about CSFF, our funding partners, community engagement, or our philanthropic philosophy, please give us a call at 970-879-0148; we would be glad to hear from you.