Sometimes The Denver Foundation’s place in the puzzle of the community allows us to connect resources with those in need…at a time when it can make the most difference.

Last fall, The Denver Foundation’s staff began to hear the early warning signs. Food pantries were reporting double-digit increases in requests. Donations were either flat or declining. Some food pantries were reporting that former donors had become clients. Rich Lopez, The Denver Foundation’s Board Chair, served as Santa Claus one weekend last December and shared, “for the first time in eight years of doing this, the kids were asking Santa for food.” The need was already huge, and projections for the winter months were dire.

In response, The Denver Founda­tion activated its Critical Needs Fund to provide grants to local food programs. Generous responses poured in. Thirty Denver Foundation donor advisors recommended grants from their funds to support the effort, and numerous other local foundations and individuals responded. Together, they built the fund to more than $550,000.

In early February 2009, the Foundation announced more than 80 grants made to food pantries, soup kitchens, and other organizations that provide food relief in Metro Denver. An interactive map of the grantee organizations is available at www.denverfoundation.org, along with a list of the generous donors to the fund.

One of the grantees was Project Angel Heart, a program that provides nutritional food to people with life-threatening illnesses. “I don’t know what we would have done without this timely help from the Critical Needs Fund,” says Director Erin Pulling.

The connections with Project Angel Heart continue…last summer, The Denver Foundation’s Nonprofit Intern­ship Program placed Jordan Bair, a student at Metro State College, with the organi­zation. Jordan brought energy and enthusiasm to Project Angel Heart, and deepened her learning about the non­profit sector as a potential career path.

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