What You Need to Know: Boulder Community Foundation and Niwot's Marshall Fire Fundraising effort

The community’s “Small Town Big Heart” fundraising campaign is well underway, and administered by the Community Foundation Boulder County and the statewide organization, Colorado Gives. With this arrangement, an experienced third-party is taking on the work and the responsibility of ensuring that any funds raised benefit individuals and families who are directly impacted by the fire.

There is a lot of effort behind this service. Donations are made and tracked through the jointly administered website: coloradogives.org/NiwotSmallTownBigHeartMarshallFires. Any monies raised through the site are added to other funds coming from concerned individuals and groups throughout the state. The monies are then donated in ways that relieve suffering from the fires.

“We have a robust team of volunteers assisting the foundation with tracking every contribution made to the Wildfire Fund. We review each donation to ensure our information is accurate and each donor is acknowledged.” said Sara Carrasco-Wyant of the Community Foundation.

She further explained that the funds aren’t currently invested, but are liquid. If there is a decision to invest them, any earnings would add to the balance within the fund and the amount that could be used to support fire victims.

Funds in the Foundation’s general Wildfire Fund are administered with the input of a 16-person advisory committee which included Edwina Salazaar, former Executive Director of the Our Center, Deb Gardner, former Boulder County Commissioner, and Jonathan Lev, Executive Director of the Boulder JCC. The full list of advisors can be found on the Foundation’s website as part of blog updates about the fund.

Together, the group established the following criteria for distributing funds:

· $5.5 million in direct financial assistance to households that were damaged or destroyed (both renters and homeowners; citizens and undocumented)

· $1.5 million in direct financial assistance to workers that lost wages or livelihood equipment (excluding computers)

· $150,000 to United policyholders for insurance policy navigation

· $265,000 to Impact on Education to ensure adequate mental health advocates at the most fire-affected schools in the Boulder Valley School District

· $250,000 to Boulder Jewish Family Service to provide crisis counseling to anyone who needs it in individual and group settings, with trauma-informed practices

· $500,000 in direct assistance to those mobile or manufactured homes with confirmed wind damage within the wildfire and straight-line winds major disaster declaration approved in Boulder County DR4634.

Carasco-Wyant also shared that in addition to the $8.1 million distributed for immediate support, the fund is prioritizing rebuilding and the needs of the most vulnerable survivors of the Marshall Fire. Help includes wrap-around supports such as mental health support and navigation of the recovery process.

To date, Niwot’s portion of monies contributed are more than $62,468 which are part of approximately $38,337,000 donated to the overall fund. As of press time, 21% of this larger fund has been disbursed, said Carasco-Wyant.

Of this group of funds, anything not used as part of what has been established as top tier needs, would be donated to the following efforts:

· Up to $20 million to support rebuilding efforts

· Up to $2.5 million to support unmet basic needs through disaster case management

· Up to $750,000 for mental health supports

· $1 million to support the establishment of recovery navigation

· Up to $1 million to assist with smoke/ash remediation

· Up to $500,000 for social infrastructure / community resiliency (through entities like Marshall Together, Superior Rising and/or their fiscal sponsors)

· Up to $750,000 to support nonprofit organizations assisting with disaster response

· Up to $2 million for debris removal (through Boulder County for underinsured / uninsured)