Gary Community Ventures

We're excited to announce requests for grant proposals in two areas: 1) Accelerating Outcomes for Multilingual Learners in Secondary Schools, and 2) Increasing Family Affordability through Tax Credits. We look forward to partnering with organizations that have a focus in these areas and a commitment to advancing the promise and potential of kids and families from low-income backgrounds and BIPOC communities. We highly encourage organizations new to Gary and BIPOC-led organizations doing work aligned to the proposal focus areas to consider applying. Proposals are due on Aug. 30. Click the included link for more details and to communicate with our team directly about these opportunities.

Now in year three, the Dearfield Fund For Black Wealth has been able to provide downpayment assistance to more than 190 first-time Black and African American homebuyers. These are 4 powerful stories from that growing group.

There are just two days left to apply for the next Early Career Cohort of our Piton Fellowship and join exceptional leaders like Amadou Dieng, a Piton alum who was a driving force behind a rare moment of political unity this spring. Currently serving as a Manager of Policy & Advocacy with Colorado Succeeds, Amadou testified this past legislative session in support of HB24-1364, which passed unanimously out of Colorado's house and senate before being signed into law. The bill creates a study to help our state better understand both the cost and saving opportunities associated with providing more opportunities for K-12 students to attain college credit, industry credentials and work-based learning experiences before they graduate. It will also create a data system to make education and workforce information and needs more accessible to learners, families, businesses and decision-makers statewide. This was a culmination of work for Amadou that began when he was a student himself. In 2022, he was appointed to serve as the student representative on the Secondary, Postsecondary and Work-Based Learning Integration Task Force by the Colorado Department of Education, which was charged with developing and recommend policies like the very one he just helped pass. Outside of his policy work, Amadou is supporting the next generation of leadership on the Youth Empowerment Committee with the African Leadership Group, where he has facilitated a youth development program for the last five years. With folks like Amadou at the helm, we think the future of leadership in Colorado looks incredibly bright. Are you an early career Metro Denver leader like Amadou with approximately 2-5 years of experience? Interested in empowering yourself and your community? Want to build social capital alongside a diverse network of peers deeply committed to advancing justice, racial equity and inclusion? Know someone who fits that description? We're now accepting applications and nominations for the Piton Fellowship's Early Career Cohort through July 21! Learn more and apply here: https://lnkd.in/gZ8hAREe

"Most of our kids come here for sports, but we create a culture that helps kids see that their true calling is to give back to the community." Narcy Jackson has a growing movement in Northeast Denver. The name on the door is ATHLETICS & BEYOND. Start in the lobby with the mural of the Pan-African flag, the Mexican flag and A&B’s logo and mission – to create well-rounded individuals who are prepared for success in all areas of life. Pass through a hallway with portraits of A&B alumni — college and pro athletes, Denver firefighters, marketing creatives, business owners — into the community room that Narcy says is the heart of what A&B does. Read a book donated by an alum, grab a bite to eat or pull the tables aside for a community event. Continue on to the gym, where you'll find the boxing ring, basketball court, tumbling area, free weights, open space for drills, cardio machines and batting cage. Standing in virtually any spot, you’ll see trophies, medals and the only Dr. Dish basketball shooting machine and VertiMax vertical jump and speed training system within 25 miles of Denver. It's an exceptional space. Even more exceptional, Jackson says, are the kids, alumni, parents, coaches, mentors and community members who fill it on a daily basis. When our team at Gary launched My Spark Denver, which provides $1,000 debit cards to help more kids and families access afterschool and extracurricular activities, A&B swiftly became one of the most popular providers out of hundreds of options. Now, A&B is starting to outgrow its space. Ultimately, it's a good problem to have. Standing alongside Program Director Kyle Reese, mentors like Paul Jefferson, AliJah Jackson, Ezekiel Bishop, Justin Adams, Josh “Mode” Ford, Adrian Cook, coaches like Everette Elliston and JC Martinez, alumni like Jervae Robinson, Ammon Johnson, Rashon Johnson, Josh Spicely, Jordon Vaden and Amani N. Jackson, as well as board members like Ali Jackson, Michelle McGee. MBA, Bradley Florentin, Greg (Roc) Pollard, M.A.Ed. and Jerald Foster — just to name a few — Narcy can't think of a better group to help him address that space problem. As with all things A&B, there's also an invaluable learning opportunity to be seized along the way. "We’re planning to start a capital campaign so we can buy a permanent home," Jackson said. "We want our kids and community to see that when you own something instead of renting, then you have true assets. You need to own something in order to control your destiny." As part of our CO.created community storytelling project, we sat down with Narcy to learn about the history of A&B as well as their inspiring plans for the future. Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/g3wp34Kf

Nikki Giron is a multitude of incredible things as a human. We're incredibly proud that one of those things is now Piton Fellow. What are some of those other things, you ask? The list includes professional vocalist, social media manager, saxophonist, digital marketing producer, pianist, local mortgage expert with Motto Mortgage & wemlo®, jazz aficionado, creative, power lifter, community leader, antiquer, Colorado native, gamer, University of Colorado Denver Business School graduate, and cat person — just to name a few. Hearing Nikki report that becoming a member of the latest Early Career Cohort helped her become an even more well-rounded person was perhaps the biggest compliment she could have paid our Piton Fellowship. What's more? We were introduced to Nikki through another Piton alum, Timmale Dotson, which continues to illustrate the powerful network Piton Fellows are creating all on their own. Are you an early career Metro Denver leader like Nikki with approximately 2-5 years of experience? Interested in harnessing your voice and developing your leadership skills? Want to build social capital alongside a diverse network of peers deeply committed to advancing justice, racial equity and inclusion? Know someone who fits that description? We're now accepting applications and nominations for the Piton Fellowship's Early Career Cohort through July 21! Learn more and apply here: https://lnkd.in/gZ8hAREe #pitonfellowship #fellowship #professionaldevelopment #youngleaders #diverseleaders #newvoices #wellrounded #womenleaders #socialcapital #denverleaders

Thanks to a Tech Hub Phase 2 Implementation grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce, our friends and partners at Elevate Quantum have unlocked $127M in federal and state funding to grow Colorado's quantum technology workforce. This award followed an extensive application and review process, which our team at Gary was proud to play a role in funding, with Julie Stone and Jill Hawley leading the way. By 2030, Elevate Quantum reports this funding will help create more than 10,000 high-paying, stable quantum jobs, many of which can be accessed with highly accessible credential programs like the ones offered by Front Range Community College. This will offer exciting new pathways towards greater economic mobility for Colorado families, and we're excited to be a part of the broad and diverse group of business, policy and philanthropic leaders pushing this work forward. #quantumtechnology #quantum #quantumcomputing #quantumfuture #workforcetraining #workforcedevelopment #inclusiveworkforce #techhubs #EDA #techleadership

"Asset holders, the system isn't set in stone. We control the capital, and with it, the power to reshape how wealth is shared."  "Every investment conversation can be a chance to push for equity. Why don't you take a tiny sliver of your equity and start sharing with people creating economic value? This could be the key to a new American economic landscape where everyone has a stake in wealth building." Our Santhosh Ramdoss was able to deliver that powerful call-to-action at this year's Aspen Ideas Festival, as he shared the stage with visionary leaders Dara Eskridge of Invest STL, Kristy Williams Fercho of Wells Fargo, and Damien Dwin of Lafayette Square. Special thanks to moderators and partners Ida Rademacher and Joanna Smith-Ramani for their thoughtful provocations and elevation of this topic to a main stage at Aspen Ideas. Thanks as well to The Aspen Institute and The Aspen Institute Financial Security Program for bringing the conversation of generational wealth for all to the stage. #futureofwealth #racialwealthgap #generationalwealth #aspenideasfestival #aspenideas

Very exciting to see MyFriendBen recognized in this Bipartisan Policy Center report recognizing national efforts to fully activate tax credits!

"There's something going on here that we can't ignore." Our own Elise Henson appeared on Early Learning Ventures' What's Up Wednesday broadcast last week to talk about the origin story of MyFriendBen. A couple years ago, Elise explains, our team started talking to 100 families with lower household incomes. We heard about things that were going well in their lives as well as challenges they were coming up against. We weren't thinking about access to public benefits at that time, Elise recounts, but it started coming up over, over and over again in these conversations. "They told us, 'I'm not sure what supports are out there. It takes me so long to research any one of them, and to make my way through the government jargon on these websites. Oh, and by the way, there's like 50 of these websites.' So we started developing a public benefits screener capable of not only aggregating a laundry list of public benefits and tax credits in one place, but of telling users which ones they were eligible for in just 6 minutes. And because this screener was born out of growing relationships with those 100 families, Elise explains, we were able to pilot it, improve it and launch it in partnership with the very community it's aiming to support. Thanks again to the ELV team for creating the space for this conversation! You can watch Elise's full interview here: https://lnkd.in/g7rBnRYg #publicbenefits #economicmobility #taxcredits #benefits #socialsafetynet

"What could be, should be." The words of our founder Sam Gary have been echoing through our hearts and minds this week as Mile High United Way announced its Community Champion awards for 2024. While we were honored to be named one of the six Community Champions this year, we were humbled to hear this ongoing award honoring excellence in Metro Denver philanthropy will now be named the "Gary Community Innovation in Philanthropy Award". Throughout their lives and careers, Sam and Nancy Gary have frequently, successfully and quietly worked across sectors and lines of difference to address some of our community's biggest problems in brave and new ways — rarely (if ever) raising their hands to take credit. It's been a beautiful thing to watch, and their ethos of collaboration, attentiveness, fearlessness, accountability and humility is baked into the DNA of Gary Community Ventures. While we work hard to preserve that same level of humility our founders have brought to this work, we're finding it increasingly important to recognize unsung heroes like Sam and Nancy — and the many who have and will follow in their footsteps — as we believe it gives us invaluable opportunities to learn from their daring work and promote the deep power of partnerships. We're so thrilled to be honored by our longtime partners at Mile High United Way this year, alongside Lockton Companies West Series, BMO, BOK Financial, KPMG US and Bonnie Gross of Xcel Energy. Here's to the work that's been done, and the work ahead.