The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Town awards $130,000 in grants
By Kendra Walker
During their November 7 meeting, the Mt. Crested Butte town council agreed to award $130,000 in Community Service Grants to local community organizations. The grants will fund various initiatives, including general operations, teacher support, Nordic programming, mental health therapy scholarships and youth leadership programming.
The town council and the town of Mt. Crested Butte started the Community Service Grants program last year in order streamline funding requests the town receives from local nonprofits throughout the year and provide consistency during the town’s budgeting cycle. “Groups would approach Council for funds at any point during the year, making it difficult to keep track of who asked for what and when those funds were to be dispersed,” explained town clerk Tiffany O’Connell. “By creating an application process, we deal with all Community Service Grants at the same time of year.”
The Community Service Grants are separate from the town’s Admissions Tax Grants, which provide support for marketing, fundraising and events taking place in Mt. Crested Butte. The Community Service Grant can be utilized for operational business expenses.
This fall, the town opened an application period for Community Service Grants as part of its budget planning process for 2024. The council received 11 applications, for a total of $164,733.92 requested funds. The council spent the fall reviewing the applications, asking questions from the applicants and deciding on total funding amounts to award.
The council agreed to reduce each applicant’s funding request by approximately 20% to achieve a budget of $130,000. The following local nonprofits received funds from the town of Mt. Crested Butte for 2024:
Adaptive Sports of Crested Butte: $15,000 for general operating expenses.
Crested Butte Community School PTA: $10,000 for its teacher and parent support program.
Crested Butte Nordic Council: $23,788.92 for the Masters and CB Nordic Team programs.
Crested Butte State of Mind: $15,000 for its therapy scholarship program.
Crested Butte Mountain Biking Bike Association: $25,000 for general operating expenses.
Gunnison Country Food Pantry: $8,000 for general operating expenses.
Gunnison County Substance Abuse Prevention Project: $5,000 for its youth leadership and wellness programming.
Living Journeys: $25,000 for general operating expenses.
St. Mary’s Garage: $2,000 for general operating expenses.
Trailhead Children’s Museum: $13,445 for its scholarship and subsidy program.
West Elk Hockey Association: $22,500 for general expenses.
