Welcome to Heart of Colorado

Rural Philanthropy Days (RPD) brings together grantseekers and grantmakers to meet the needs of rural communities. The program, unique to Colorado, began in the early 1990s with the first edition of the Colorado Grants Guide. In researching the Guide, the Community Resource Center discovered that only 3% of the funds granted by Colorado's private foundations were awarded outside the Front Range. RPD became the bridge to connect the foundations with rural nonprofits, and provide a marketplace for networking, building relationships, and educating each other on needs and service in the region.

In 1997, a partnership between the Anschutz Family Foundation (AFF) and the Community Resource Center (CRC) was forged to advance the RPD program. Many other foundations from across Colorado have since joined to assist in making RPD a great success in the eight regions across the state.

The Heart of Colorado RPD region is comprised of five counties: Chaffee, Custer, Fremont, Park, and Teller. The Heart of Colorado hosts its Rural Philanthropy Days every four years. 2012 finds Salida in Chaffee County hosting the event along the beautiful Arkansas River.  Between events, nonprofit organizations continue to work together to interact with Colorado's funding community -- learning from each other, and collaborating on essential projects. Between events, these ongoing activities are overseen by a Leadership Team comprised of volunteer representatives from each of the five counties.

The Heart of Colorado RPD is grateful to all of our sponsors, without whom the September 2012 event could not take place.

Upcoming Rural Philanthropy Days Event