Grantee Profiles

Over its nearly 75 year history, the Boettcher Foundation has awarded grants to numerous forward-thinking organizations that continue to make an impact across our state.

Here we highlight a few of them. Come back often as we update this page to learn more about grantee organizations.

La Puente, Alamosa, CO

La Puente is a social services organization that serves a myriad of needs. What began as a homeless shelter keeps reinventing itself to meet the ever-changing challenges of its community. Today La Puente owns and operates multiple buildings to provide a food bank, thrift store, coffee shop, a shelter for victims of domestic abuse as well as individuals and families in need, after-school and summer-school programs, and more.

Funds from the Boettcher Foundation, along with other donor funds, helped renovate structural elements of the buildings including new heating, plumbing, electrical, walls and flooring—plus a new, modern kitchen for the Food Bank.

Learn more about La Puente on their website.

The Denver Zoo, Denver, CO

The Boettcher Foundation and the Denver Zoo have a long history together, from the Foundation’s early gift to the Pachyderm Habitat to a gift for building the Welcome Center. Our most recent award is in support of the Zoo’s innovative new “Asian Tropics” exhibit. The Boettcher funds will help create a ground-breaking biomass gasification system that will convert over 90% of the zoo’s animal waste and consumer trash into energy to heat and cool the 11 buildings in Asian Tropics, as well as its 750,000 gallon water features.

That means our funding will lead to happy, healthy Asian elephants, Indian rhinos, Malayan tapirs, flying foxes and white-cheeked gibbons.  Not to mention the millions of Denver zoo visitors who will be inspired and educated by the Asian Tropics exhibit!

Learn more about the Denver Zoo here.

Third Street Center, Carbondale, CO

Take one abandoned elementary school, occupy it with approximately 20 nonprofit groups serving people in 7 counties, then layer in 400,000 men, women and children who will be served, and you have the perfect recipe for Third Street Center. Founded in 2008, Third Street Center provides its nonprofit tenants with a number of direct benefits including increased visibility, stability, affordability, enhanced networking and collaboration.

Funds from the Boettcher Foundation provided the “last mile” $40,000 challenge grant to help The Third Street Center reach its total project goal of $4.8 million.

Learn how Third Street Center is promoting inspiration, sustainability and exchange.