FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Bohemian Foundation is awarding nearly $500,000 in grants to 29 local nonprofit organizations. Since its inception in 2002, the Bohemian Foundation’s Pharos Fund has awarded more than $8 million to a wide variety of eligible and deserving nonprofit agencies in the Fort Collins area.
As the responsive grantmaking program of the Bohemian Foundation, the Pharos Fund supports efforts that empower people to help themselves, focus on causes versus symptoms, and demonstrate inclusion of social and cultural differences. Pharos Fund grants are awarded in three goal areas to: encourage and enable youth to become productive members of society, encourage organizations to work together, and serve as a catalyst for public awareness. Grants provide for program support, general operating, capital expense, equipment purchase and technical assistance.
Some of the 29 programs funded in the fall 2008 grantmaking cycle include:
Fort Collins Youth Broadcasting program, engaging and empowering Poudre School District high school students through handson operation and production of the KLIK online radio station.
Homelessness Prevention Initiative’s Rental Assistance program, offering emergency relief for families in acute danger of becoming homeless.
The Garden of Eatin’ at the Gardens on Spring Creek, a demonstration fruit and vegetable garden used to teach and promote sustainable cultivation techniques.
CSU’s Environmental Learning Center Latino Science Outreach and Science Guide projects, sharing community science opportunities and information with underserved Latino audiences.
Food Bank for Larimer County’s Food Share program, offering the only free directservice, freshfood pantry to the area’s hungry.
“The fastest growing segment of our hungry population is the working poor, and over half of the individuals served at the Food Bank’s Food Share pantry are either children or the elderly,” said grant recipient and Food Bank for Larimer County Executive Director Amy Pezzani. “Bohemian’s Pharos Fund provides direct support to the Food Share pantry, which feeds more than 24,000 Larimer County residents annually, offering a helping hand and fostering hope.”
The Pharos Fund is named for one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World – the Great Lighthouse of Alexandria located on the island of Pharos. The name Pharos Fund expresses Bohemian Foundation’s desire to search for innovative solutions and to serve as a beacon of hope.
“We are proud to support these organizations that are reaching out to make a difference,” said Becky Cramer, grants manager of Bohemian Foundation. “And we’re lucky to live in a caring community where people are dedicated to helping others. They inspire us to be a part of the solution.”
Bohemian Foundation is a private family foundation that works to create imaginative ways to connect fellow citizens and organizations to make the community a better place to live. Pharos Fund grant requests are considered twice a year. The next application deadline is February 5, 2009, and decision notification and program funding will occur in May. For more information about the Bohemian Foundation's Pharos Fund, contact Becky Cramer at (970) 4824642, or visit www.bohemianfoundation.org.