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News from Rose Community Foundation
May 21, 2008
News Media Contact: Phil Nash 303.398.7444
Rose Youth Foundation Awards $50,000 in Grants
Denver, CO - Rose Youth Foundation, a grantmaking initiative of Rose Community Foundation, has awarded $50,000 in grants to eight projects in five priority areas: supporting teen and college-age involvement in the Jewish community and encouraging personal connections to Judaism; promoting intra- and/or inter-religious acceptance, tolerance and respect for teen and college-age youth; promoting integration and self-sufficiency of refugees and/or asylees; supporting programs that engage and empower high school students to advocate for educational change in public schools; and homelessness. The grants were awarded at a celebration on May 18 for members of Rose Youth Foundation, their families and grant recipients. Since its inception in 2001, Rose Youth Foundation has granted $290,000 to Jewish and other organizations serving the seven-county Denver/Boulder community.
Recently completing its seventh year, this year’s Rose Youth Foundation grantmaking team was a 23-member group of Jewish 9th- through 12th-graders from 13 different schools. The members come from Jewish backgrounds ranging from Orthodox to secular. Meeting since November 2007, the group has studied Jewish philanthropic traditions, strategic philanthropy and community needs. In February, Rose Youth Foundation issued a Request for Proposals, which yielded 33 requests totaling $307,169. In March and April, Rose Youth Foundation’s members reviewed the proposals, made site visits and reached decisions on which projects they would fund.
“The most exciting aspect of working with these young people is watching them act as agents of positive change in the community,” says Rose Community Foundation Senior Program Officer Lisa Farber Miller. “Their choice to focus on strategic philanthropy, through grantmaking that attempts to solve problems, exemplifies the highest level of Jewish giving. These Jewish youth are not only tomorrow’s leaders, they are leaders today.” Lisa Farber Miller staffs Rose Youth Foundation together with Sarah Indyk and Scott Esserman.
Following is a list of the grants Rose Youth Foundation made and descriptions of the projects for which the grant funds will be used. Locations indicate the organization’s headquarters, not necessarily the geographic area served.
Community Talmud Torah (Denver): $2,500 to support a cross-denominational educator training program to give teenagers teaching skills and engage them in educating younger students in supplemental religious schools.
Denver’s Road Home (Denver): $7,500 to support the city’s 10-year plan to end homelessness. Mile High United Way serves as fiscal sponsor.
denversroadhome.org
Hillel of Colorado (Denver): $7,000 to support Comedy for a Cure, a Jewish comedy evening and mitzvah day, and the Teva/Nature program to engage college students in shared Jewish experiences through outdoor activities.
hillelcolorado.org
Jewish Family Service of Colorado (Denver): $7,500 to support the Citizenship Training Program, which provides refugees with the formal education, tutoring, advocacy and support needed to become citizens of the United States.
jewishfamilyervice.org
Lutheran Family Services of Colorado (Denver): $5,000 to support the Women’s Craft Initiative and the Women’s Empowerment Program’s childcare service, which enable refugee women to participate in job training.
lfsco.org
Project VOYCE (Denver): $8,500 to support the Student Leadership Team, which will advocate for meaningful improvements in Denver Public Schools.
projectvoyce.org
Rocky Mountain Survivors Center (Denver): $7,500 to support an English language acquisition program for refugee survivors of severe trauma.
rmscdenver.org
Seeking Common Ground (Denver): $4,500 to support a year-long program for Denver participants in the Building Bridges for Peace Program, a leadership development and peacebuilding initiative for American, Israeli and Palestinian teens.
s-c-g.org
Jewish youth who will be in grades 9 through 12 in the upcoming academic year, and who are interested in learning more about Rose Youth Foundation, can visit Rose Youth Foundation’s website: rcfdenver.org/RYF, or contact Sarah Indyk at 303.398.7416.