Building Resilience and Belonging: Supporting Jewish Life in Greater Denver

Since its founding more than 30 years ago, Rose Community Foundation continues to honor its roots by supporting Greater Denver’s vibrant Jewish community, along with the region’s diverse community at large. That commitment includes investing in a vibrant, engaged, safe and joy-filled Jewish community.

In 2025, this work continued to celebrate Jewish life, strengthen Jewish organizations, and remain deeply responsive as Greater Denver’s Jewish communities navigated how to sustain joy, connection and resilience amid the heightened challenges following the October 7, 2023, attack.

Why Our Support Matters Now

These challenges became painfully close to home last summer, when an individual threw an incendiary device at a group participating in a peaceful Run for Their Lives walk on Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall. In response to this violent act of antisemitism, Rose Community Foundation issued rapid-response grants to Jewish Family Service of Colorado and the Boulder Jewish Community Center (JCC) to support mental health support, community-healing programs and enhanced security for Jewish events.

“In a year defined by the unimaginable, the Boulder JCC became a sanctuary of strength where our community could grieve, work towards healing, and find hope together following the June 1 Pearl Street attack,” said Executive Director Jonathan Lev. “This vital work would not have been possible without the unwavering support of Rose Community Foundation, which stood by us in our darkest moments. We are profoundly grateful for their partnership, which allowed us to turn our collective grief into a powerful and lasting commitment to communal resilience.”

Jewish Giving Circles Meet the Moment

While safety, security and combatting antisemitism remain priorities, the Foundation’s parallel commitment to a resilient and joy-filled Jewish community is reflected in both its grantmaking and collaborative philanthropy.

Each year, Roots and Branches Foundation, a giving circle of Rose Community Foundation, brings together Jewish young adults to learn about community issues, explore Jewish values and practice strategic philanthropy. The 2024-2025 cohort centered its grantmaking focus on a powerful theme: Jewish Joy.

Together, participants collectively chose to support organizations and initiatives that create meaningful opportunities for young Jewish adults to connect, celebrate and build community through experiences rooted in Jewish joy.

“From Rose Youth Foundation to Roots & Branches, Rose Community Foundation has been formative for me in my Jewish identity, Jewish values, and engagement in the Denver community,” said Samantha Hea Marks, a member of the 2024-2025 cohort. “I’m so grateful for the opportunity to participate in this cohort at this moment and to be part of a group of engaged Jewish young professionals seeking to support the organizations in our community that promote Jewish joy.”

Annual Grantmaking Supports the Jewish Nonprofit Ecosystem and Jewish Community

Alongside this collaborative grantmaking, Rose Community Foundation also supports local Jewish organizations through direct grantmaking. In 2025, the Foundation awarded more than $4 million to 76 organizations strengthening the local Jewish nonprofit ecosystem across Greater Denver.

One of those initiatives is BeWell which draws on Jewish tradition, culture and community to address growing mental health needs. With youth mental health concerns on the rise, BeWell has launched a local Resiliency Roundtable with Foundation support. The Resiliency Roundtable brings together educators, clinicians and community leaders to build local capacity and equip them with tools to help young people thrive. The Resiliency Roundtable brings together educators, clinicians and community leaders to build local capacity and equip them with tools to help young people thrive.

“Rooted in Jewish values, this initiative will foster collaboration, deliver clinically informed education and training, and share evidence-based best practices to address growing mental health needs,” says Executive Director Sara Allen. “Denver and Boulder will join a national network of more than 20 other local Resiliency Roundtables – supported by BeWell at Jewish Federations of North America – with deep commitments to building resilience and strengthening communal well-being.”

Another grantee, Valley Beit Midrash (VBM), engages communities through Torah learning, social action and leadership development. VBM works to inspire and activate Jewish people across Greater Denver – particularly young people and individuals from historically underrepresented communities, to bring Jewish values into leadership roles. With Foundation support, VBM has launched its Colorado Jews for Justice initiative and expanded its impact throughout Greater Denver.

“This support has allowed us to build meaningful partnerships both within the Jewish community and with allies beyond it, while creating warm, inclusive spaces and programs open to all,” says Alix Cramer, VBM’s operations director. “With this growth, we’ve been able to expand our team and program offerings, including Jewish learning events, book talks, panel discussions, volunteer initiatives, rallies, fellowships and community gatherings that inspire learning and action. We look forward to building on this momentum and deepening our impact in the years ahead.”

The Foundation also supported CU Boulder Hillel’s Jewish Herd: Leadership and Community initiative – a student-centered program that combines an internship program with community building and educational and social justice experiences. The initiative aims to ensure Jewish students graduate with a stronger connection to Jewish life and the confidence and skills to lead with Jewish values in their personal and professional lives.

“It fills a critical gap in the local Jewish ecosystem – students are often far from family or prior communities, and Hillel may be their only ongoing connection to Jewish life,” said Executive Director Elyana Funk. “Our unique model – blending leadership, peer connection, learning and celebration – ensures that students see Jewish identity not as a box to check but as a source of belonging, purpose and growth.”

These investments reflect the Foundation’s commitment to strengthening Jewish life in Greater Denver and its pride in partnering with the organizations doing the work on the ground to foster resilience, cultivate leadership and ensure individuals and families can thrive amid growing challenges.