Each of our nonprofit grantees are selected after careful consideration from our grant review committee to ensure they meet the specific criteria set out in the Get Grounded Foundation process. You can learn more about our 2020 grantee process here, or read on below for comments and information directly from our 2020 grantees.
A Precious Child
A Precious Child assists children and families facing difficult life challenges such as abuse and neglect, crisis situations and poverty. It works with more than 440 Agency Partners throughout eight Denver metro counties to identify children and families in the most need of their services. Funds will help A Precious Child’s Empowerment Center develop an individualized take-home kit for parents of children up to 12-years-old containing age-appropriate resources to help them support their child’s social-emotional development.
“The donations we receive help us do more to support disadvantaged children in Colorado – we envision a future where every child grows up to be a secure, self-reliant, contributing member of their community.”
Augustana Arts
Lives enriched and transformed through encounters with the arts, Augustana Arts gathers community, supports the arts, and delights the spirit through performance, education and engagement. Funds will be used to launch City Strums the newest addition to Augustana Arts youth music education program, including instrument and music acquisition, and outreach to schools and community centers serving low-income children.
“We are so grateful to the Get Grounded Foundation for their support. With these funds we will be able to expand our Music Encounters program to include weekly lessons in ukulele – in addition to violin and percussion – giving underprivileged children in the Denver area another avenue in which to grow and succeed both musically and academically.”
Children’s Farms of America
Children’s Farms of America is dedicated to helping local neighborhoods establish small-scale farms where kids learn to grow and sell healthy food. Funds will be used to implement gardening and nutritional education programming, in the Montbello neighborhood, that is consistent with COVID-19 restrictions as well as a spring break and summer wellness camp for children experiencing hunger.
“We are so thrilled to have this support from the Get Grounded Foundation. This support means we can work with children and teens as they grow food for their community. Never in our lifetime has there been a more compelling reason for young people to learn about where their food comes from and how to grow enough food to sustain their family and others.”
CMDance
CMDance strives to build healthy, thriving communities through world-class arts education programs that bring the global culture of both solo and partnered vernacular dancing to youth and adults. Funds will be used to produce digital dance instruction for in-school programs.
“We are very excited to be launching our online learning series this year! With the funding from the Get Grounded Foundation we have been able to make the necessary shift in programming from the physical classroom to the digital space. Our instructors have been working hard creating curricula for the year based on ballet, vintage jazz, samba, and other dances. We are honored to be able to serve over 1,000 children this school year and look forward to continuing this program for years to come.”
Denver City Lax
Denver City Lax creates opportunities for youth in underserved neighborhoods by providing access to lacrosse and then engaging participants in year-round lacrosse training, academic guidance and enrichment experiences. Funds will be used for two, five-week sessions for three age groups: elementary, middle and high school students for help with reading, writing, problem solving/financial literacy programs — combined with lacrosse training.
“We’re fortunate to be part of a caring community, and there is no better example than the concerned individuals running GroundFloor Media and CenterTable that head up the Get Grounded Foundation. Their recent contribution to Denver City Lax has allowed us to both expand and enhance our programming in a Covid environment when philanthropy is especially vital to the success of non-profits working with at-risk kids. They are making a difference to our community and we’re proud to partner with them.”
Developmental FX
Developmental FX works to transform the lives of children and families affected by neurodevelopmental disorders so they can live to their fullest potential. The mission of Developmental FX is to prepare children with developmental differences for a bright future of engaged belonging by equipping them, their families, therapists and teachers via innovative programs in Colorado and around the world. Funds will provide seed funding to expand the program to serve 60 children ages 6-15 and their families with in-home visits and other touch points with their caregivers and teachers over the course of a year.
Extended Hands of Hope
Extended Hands of Hope offers safe housing and supportive services to sex trafficking survivors, empowering them to move forward with hope and dignity. “Simply Good” is EHH’s social enterprise consisting of homemade bath and body scrubs created by youth survivors of trafficking. Simply Good exists to provide job training skills, empower trafficking survivors, and act as a sustainable revenue source for the organization. Funds will support the Simply Good social enterprise program including material costs, packaging and marketing of the products and promotion.
Food for Thought
Food for Thought Denver strives to eliminate weekend hunger for children in the Denver area by providing food Powersacks. Doing so allows them to contribute more positively to their school environment and the communities in which they live, regardless of economic and social class. They believe that no child should go hungry. Funds will be used to purchase food to fill the Food for Thought bags for the more than 10,000 students to take home every Friday.
Hunger Free Colorado
Hunger Free Colorado leads efforts to connect families and individuals to food resources and fuel change in systems, policies and social views, so no Coloradan goes hungry. Hunger Free Colorado brings a unified, statewide voice to the issue and solutions surrounding hunger, with a goal to ensure all Coloradans have access to affordable, nutritious food. Funds will be used to connect families in high-need immigrant communities, through the outreach work of promotoras, with child nutrition programs.
“Having access to adequate, nutritious food in childhood provides a foundation for better performance in school and a healthier life into adulthood. We are so grateful for support from the Get Grounded Foundation to ensure the wellbeing of Colorado children today and for the future.”
PlatteForum
PlatteForum was founded in 2002 to provide opportunities for learning through the arts to Denver’s most vulnerable youth and expand public access to programming high in artistic excellence. The in-depth, curriculum-based arts education experiences meet state educational standards and are provided over an extended period of time to allow for long-term relationships between youth, staff and professional artists. Funds will be used to support Literacy Through the Arts, which are professional artist-led workshops that blend art, writing and literary skills to engage K-8 youth participants.
STAR Institute
STAR Institute’s mission is to improve quality of life across the lifespan by promoting sensory health and wellness; generating research that helps us understand sensory processing; treatment that pioneers best-practice interventions throughout the lifespan; and education that shares what we know with practitioners, educators, advocates and parents. Funds will be used to support low-income children 3-15 years of age who have sensory processing challenges, and their families in therapeutic groups.
Tennyson Center for Children
Foster Together recently joined Tennyson as one of its programs, allowing the organization to provide a wider range of supports and services to foster families, especially in light of escalating community needs with COVID-19. In just a few short years, Foster Together has built an inspiring base of support and assisted 170 foster families with 250 children in solidifying their relationships and in helping families maintain stability and permanence.