West End Pay It Forward Trust Announces Resiliency Grant Opportunity
MEDIA CONTACTS
Contacts: westendpift@gmail.com
Sara Bachman; 970.865.2440; sara@bachmanlawllc.com
Jane Thompson; 970.428.7179; jane@nntcwireless.com
West End Pay It Forward Trust Announces Resiliency Grant Opportunity
Tri-State Donation to Help Community Move Forward
Naturita, CO -July 1, 2020- The West End Pay It Forward Trust (WEPIFT), a local endowment fund supporting community development in the West End of Montrose County, Colo., has recently received a generous $500,000 donation from Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc.
As Tri-State shifts some operations outside of the Nucla-Naturita region, this contribution to support economic and community development in the West End recognizes the hardship that the closure of the power plant causes, acknowledges the numerous years of teamwork the cooperative association and the West End community have shared, and supports efforts to ensure the community remains vibrant for the future.
"The WEPIFT board appreciates the confidence that Tri-State has in us to administer the $500,000 in funds that it is donating to our community. We would all much rather see the plant and the mine stay open and those jobs stay in our area, but since we know that is not going to happen, we can hopefully use these funds to help our communities move forward,” said Jane Thompson, WEPIFT president. “A lot of work went into their decision to have the WEPIFT be the group to administer these funds, and after seven years of growing this board and our endowment, we are very confident that WEPIFT can represent our West End community’s best interests as we collectively move into an uncertain future."
“While we have ended our power plant operations in the region, our desire to continue a legacy of support and continue as a member of the Nucla-Naturita community remains strong,” said Duane Highley, Tri-State CEO. “We believe that our work with WEPIFT offers us the best opportunity to ensure that this funding effort goes to provide the best support possible for many years to come.”
The West End Pay It Forward Trust will deploy this $500,000 donation by investing $100,000 into the Trust’s long-term endowment and by distributing the remaining $400,000 over the next five years by providing resiliency grants to nonprofits and community organizations within the West End.
The goal of these resiliency grants is to facilitate economic development and resiliency, and to promote the overall well-being of the community. Grant applications that demonstrate longevity, collaboration, resiliency, promise and innovation as well as applications that leverage other funds and focus on community and economic development will be prioritized. For more information on the specifics of the WEPIFT resiliency grants, please visit www.westendpayitforward.org.
WEPIFT was created in 2013 with the mission to fund improvement projects for 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 grants for community projects and charitable causes. Starting with only $400 in July of 2015, the WEPIFT board has now raised more than $90,000, not including Tri-State’s donation.
Thanks to the generosity of Tri-State, WEPIFT can now not only distribute five years of resiliency grants, but also can provide substantial community grants every year from the endowment fund. WEPIFT’s endowment fund is a professionally managed fund at the Telluride Foundation. The Telluride Foundation has provided technical and financial assistance to WEPIFT since its inception.
As part of the agreement with Tri-State, the Telluride Foundation has committed to continue supporting the West End community with grants, programs and initiatives, and resources in an amount at least equal to the grants enabled by Tri-State funds.
Currently, WEPIFT’s board includes Jane Thompson, Susan Rice, Paul Koski, Sara Bachman, Hank Nelson and Alexander Price.
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 this 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.
If you are interested in learning more about WEPIFT or joining the board, please contact westendpift@gmail.com, look for us on Facebook, or visit westendpayitforward.org. The board also invites anyone interested to attend their meetings on the second Tuesday of every month at 5:00 p.m., at the Naturita Community Library; meetings are currently being held as video-calls due to COVID-19. Please email the address above if you are interested in attending.