It was just announced that the 2022 Northwest Rural Philanthropy Days conference will be hosted by Hayden and Steamboat Springs in Routt County from September 13 – 15, 2022. The announcement about the location of the conference came in late October after community leaders were successful in their pitch to host the event in Routt County.
Rural Philanthropy Days (RPD) is a statewide program that provides nonprofit leaders the resources they need to lead effective and sustainable organizations. RPD conferences convene nonprofits, funders and local governments to share ideas and develop collaborative opportunities to build the capacity of local organizations and communities to address regional issues.
The Community Resource Center, along with committees of local volunteers, coordinate RPD conferences in eight rural regions throughout Colorado. The Northwest (NW) region consists of Grand, Jackson, Moffat, Routt, and Rio Blanco counties. RPD conferences are hosted in each rural region every four years, with the location varying depending on the interest of host communities each cycle. The conference would have been slated for 2021, but was delayed by one-year due to the impacts of COVID-19.
“This is an opportunity to bring together many different partners, non-profits, businesses, governments and funders to talk about solutions to the challenges many communities are addressing in Northwest Colorado,” said Joe Haines, Executive Director for Yampatika and NW RPD event co-chair. “In addition to problem solving, this conference offers professional development, networking and an opportunity to highlight the great work being done by hardworking people to support their local communities in NW Colorado.”
For over three decades, local communities have worked together to coordinate RPD in partnership with Community Resource Center and Colorado’s philanthropic community. “RPD builds opportunities for important community projects in rural regions across the state by strengthening regional relationships, building the skills of the region’s nonprofits, and connecting local organizations with grantmaking organizations,” said Maria Fabula, Community Resource Center CEO.
The relationships built between local organizations and statewide funders help to break down barriers and ultimately result in stronger partnerships, increased access to resources and the development of long-term relationships. Fabula shared that “RPD is a grassroots effort to bridge the resource gap between rural and Front Range communities. It exposes funders and nonprofits alike to the unique challenges, as well as opportunities for partnership, that each diverse rural region of Colorado faces – and because of this ultimately more grant awards are being made to our rural communities to support their critical work. The last time an RPD conference was held in the Northwest region was 2017; and from 2016 to 2017 we saw funding to local organizations increase by 58%. The 12 core funders of RPD alone gave more than $62,000,000 directly to Northwest nonprofits from 2009 – 2019.”
Routt County nonprofit leaders and community members continue to generate momentum and express enthusiasm around bringing RPD to Routt County. Joe Haines of Yampatika has been selected to serve as a Northwest RPD conference co-chair, and was a part of the team that proposed Hayden and Steamboat to host the event. He will lead a regional steering committee to begin planning for the conference beginning in January. Recruitment has begun for the 20+ member regional conference Steering Committee, local nonprofit leaders, government officials, and community leaders are encouraged to consider serving on the 9-month committee which will shape the event in September.
Community Resource Center (CRC) creates opportunities, tools and strategies to develop nonprofits and community groups to strengthen Colorado. We are a mission driven nonprofit that offers a continuum of services throughout the state of Colorado.
HOPEWEST PRESS RELEASE | Special to the Herald Times