West End Pay It Forward Trust Awards $12,500 in Grants to Local Organizations
In Partnership with Citizen’s State Bank, WEPIFT Concludes its Second Annual Community Grant Cycle
NATURITA, Colo. – (December 9th, 2020) – The West End Pay It Forward Trust recently awarded seven local organizations a total of $12,500 to support their charitable and community focused programs in the West End. This was WEPIFT’s second annual award of Community Grants. These grant funds are from the interest it earns on its endowment as well as from a contribution from Citizen’s State Bank of Ouray-Montrose County Branch.
As the result of generous donations and a growing endowment, WEPIFT working in partnership with the Citizen’s State Bank offers an annual Community Grant to support organizations’ efforts that are focused on the West End communities of Nucla, Naturita, Bedrock, and Paradox. This year, grants were given to the following organizations:
EcoAction Partners received $500 for their energy saving program in the West End. This grant funding will support EcoAction Partners’ facilitation of energy saving programming for businesses and income qualified residents.
The San Miguel Resource Center received $2,000 in support of domestic violence victim services and youth prevention education in the West End.
The Pinhead Institute was awarded $2,500 to help fund the West End and Paradox robotics teams to participate in the 2020 FIRST Lego League season, a program that has had huge success in the schools in the past.
The Center for Mental Health received $1,000 to help pay for free and sliding fee scale services for West End residents who are uninsured, homeless, or have low incomes.
The West End Economic Development Corporation (WEEDC) received $2,500 (from the Resiliency Grant fund) for the Twin Ponds project. This grant will help the development of a recreation area located in town limits that provides a safe, handicap-accessible location for swimming, fishing, and picnicking.
The Paradox Valley School received $2,500 to help fund its ‘Learning Landscape’, an outdoor educational area which will divide the schoolyard into multiple ecological systems that students and community members can interact with and utilize.
Finally, though Angel Baskets did not apply for a Community Grant, the WEPIFT Board has awarded Angel Baskets a $1,500 grant in support of their excellent work in the region. The Board would like to thank Angel Baskets for their efforts by contributing to their mission in the West End.
The West End Pay It Forward Trust accepts applications for Community Grants on an annual basis. However, it also awards grants through its Resiliency fund on a quarterly basis. The Resiliency Grants are made possible through a $400,000 donation from Tri State, which was given following the closure of the power plant. The next deadline for the Resiliency Grant applications is on December 31st.
WEPIFT was created in 2013 with the mission to improve the West End communities now and for future generations. Its purpose is to create and grow a permanent, locally controlled endowment fund to support community and economic development projects. Interest generated from the endowment supports community projects and charitable causes. WEPIFT policy states that it will use 5% of the total endowment each year for grants to the community. Starting with only $400 in July of 2015, the WEPIFT board has now raised over $590,000 to date.
WEPIFT will continue raising funds for its endowment so that it can keep providing an increasing amount of support to the community for many years to come. To make that possible, the Trust hopes to increase the number of donors who give monthly. Currently, WEPIFT is collecting approximately $700/month from donors who pledge a monthly donation through Citizens State Bank of Naturita or their primary bank. Donations of $10 per month make a huge difference! WEPIFT is a simple and lasting way for residents of the West End to make a difference in their community by paying it forward to help the community now and for future generations.
Currently, WEPIFT’s board includes Jane Thompson, Paul Koski, Sara Bachman, Hank Nelson, Alexander Price, Sarah Carlisle, Carla Reams, Doylene Garvey, and Kendra Ballard. If you are interested in learning more about WEPIFT, please contact westendpift@gmail.com, look for us on Facebook, or visit westendpayitforward.org.