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Peak Education & Consulting in the News
Rural Philanthropy Days (Nov. 21, 2008)
Rural Philanthropy Days occurs June 17-19, 2009 and will bring more than 400 participants to Crested Butte
Mountain Resort in Mt. Crested Butte. Prior to Rural Philanthropy Days’ inception in the early 1990s,
just 3% of grant dollars from Colorado’s private foundations were awarded outside of the Front Range.
Since then, grantmakers have increased their funding of rural nonprofit organizations by 300%. Rural
Philanthropy Days is held twice annually, rotating between eight rural regions of Colorado. Nonprofits
play an important role in improving the quality of life for residents of these rural counties, providing
myriad community services from food for the hungry to cultural entertainment to transportation for the
elderly. More than 1,200 nonprofit organizations operate within the seven counties represented in the
Western Slope region. The region last hosted Rural Philanthropy Days in 2005 in Telluride, attended by more
than 350 representatives from foundations, nonprofits, government agencies and businesses. Both long-
and short-term grant money flowed to the region as a result of this event, including a $105,000 grant from
the Colorado Health Foundation for Hospice and Palliative Care of the Gunnison Valley’s new palliative
care program. We expect at least 400 attendees at 2009 Western Slope Rural Philanthropy Days, including
50 representatives from private and governmental funders. The three-day event includes capacity-building
trainings, presentations and discussions with funders about the region’s current needs, and networking
opportunities. The event culminates in “Funder Roundtables,” at which nonprofit representatives discuss
projects with grantors and receive immediate indication about whether they would welcome a funding proposal
for the project. A steering committee representing business, government and nonprofit sectors of all seven
counties has begun planning the 2009 Western Slope Rural Philanthropy Days. Gunnison Valley residents
serving on the steering committee include:
- Pam Montgomery (Event Co-Chair representing Community Foundation of the Gunnison Valley)
- Amy Schellenberger (Event Coordinator)
- Brian Krill (Hospitality Committee Chair representing Peak Education and Consulting, LLC)
- Elizabeth Bond (Hospitality Committee representing Crested Butte Music Festival)
- Glo Cunningham (Hospitality Committee representing Crested Butte Mountain Heritage Museum)
- Paul Duba (Marketing Committee representing Literacy Action Program)
- Paul Edwards (Program Committee representing Gunnison Arts Center)
- Maryo Ewell (Program Committee representing Community and Arts Development)
- Ella Fahrlander (Fundraising Committee Co-Chair representing Adaptive Sports Center)
- Ann Johnson (Fundraising Committee Co-Chair representing Crested Butte Land Trust)
- Christi Matthews (Marketing Committee representing Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce)
- Don Wills (Program Committee representing Gunnison Area Restorative Practices)
- Janice Wellborn (Western State College)