If you are a nonprofit in the Golden area and would like to be included in our voting for next year,
please reach out to us during the open nomination period each January.
Jeffco Prosperity Partners (JPP) is a nonprofit, community-based organization that helps Jeffco families break the cycle of poverty and become self-sufficient. JPP works to change policies that make it hard for low-income and underserved families to access quality education, health care, and livable-wage employment opportunities. The JPP Program combines a two-generation approach with personalized coaching to stabilize families and create pathways to economic freedom. They collaborate with more than 60 community partners to provide wrap-around support services in five key areas: education, employment, financial literacy, mental health and wellness, and social capital.
Some ways JPP uses donations:
· $25- Gives Relief: Provides emergency assistance for diapers or gas in times of need. Families should not have to choose between paying a utility bill and getting groceries for their house.
· $50- Gives Confidence: Provides tutoring services to ensure on-time graduation or the confidence to pass that one class standing in the way of completing a degree.
· $75- Gives Comfort: Provides a family with utilities, such as electricity and water, alleviating financial stress and ensuring they have a safe and comfortable living environment.
· $100- Gives Education: Provides new school clothing and school supplies for kids. We understand that as parents, buying new clothes and school supplies is an annual expense.
· $250- Gives Wellness: Provides JPP youth with extracurricular activities like summer camp or joining a club sports team. As the cost of living rises, families often sacrifice extra activities for their children.
· $500- Gives Education: Provides car maintenance such as winter tires, brakes, and other safety requirements to ensure individuals can maintain employment or get a child to school on time.
· $1,000- Gives Security: Provides rental assistance to ensure that no family will ever lose their house due to an unexpected crisis like the loss of a job, a sick child, or a life circumstance that any one of us could face.
· Donations also support celebrations and events for JPP families, such as Job Searching & Shopping, Back to School Bash, Fall Pumpkin Patch, Thanksgiving & Gratitude, Gingerbread House Contest, High School Graduation Celebration and more.
In 2024 we sponsored the City of Golden's dedicated Community Resource & Housing Navigator who assists people experiencing a housing crisis by helping them navigate resources. The Navigator works with all unhoused individuals in Golden, most of whom are local residents who have lost their housing, to connect them with services, help them get vital documents, connect them with housing and employment opportunities, and provide access to resources they're eligible for but may not know about. As of 2024 the program had gotten 80 unhoused people into stable housing over an 18 month period. The Program largely focuses on eviction prevention. https://www.cityofgolden.gov/services/housing_assistance/index.php
Over the course of 2024 we collected RTD bus passes and grocery/gas gift cards, hosted a silent auction and held a boutique shopping event to benefit The Navigator Program, for a total donation of over $1,200.
In 2023 we circled back to Golden Pantry & Thrift (formerly Christian Action Guild) a nonprofit we sponsored in 2019.
Serving the Golden community since 1965, Golden Pantry & Thrift (GPT) is a non-profit organization that provides a sustainable food pantry, financial assistance and several other services to our community members in crisis and/or experiencing hardship. https://goldenpantryandthrift.org/
Between dues from 19 Voting Members and 2 boutique shopping fundraisers, we raised close to $3,000 for GPT. In addition we hosted a March Madness Food Drive, collecting 213 pounds of non-perishable food for their pantry. We also donated hundreds of dollars worth of clothing and items for sale in their thrift shop and adopted two families for the holidays through their Christmas Under the Tree program, donating gifts for three adults, four children, and two family dogs. Some of our members also volunteered at GPT during the USPS Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive and at other times throughout the year to help sort donated food.
Home in Golden is a volunteer-run program that provides many services for people in need. Their Safe Parking Program serves people who have lost their housing and are temporarily living in their car. After a background check and registration review, applicants are allowed to join the program and are given food, clothing, access to showers, and a safe place to park at the First United Methodist Church of Golden. Program participants can also work with a caseworker on job training, job searches, physical and mental health issues, and housing placement. In addition to these services, Home in Golden serves several hot meals a week to community members in need and runs a food pantry. https://goldenfirstumc.org/news-more/home-in-golden/
With 19 Voting Members in 2022 we were able to raise close to $2,000 for Home in Golden. Some of our members also volunteered with Home in Golden, preparing and serving meals and assisting with the Safe Parking program.
Golden United uses public education, civil dialogue, and grassroots organizing to develop and support collaborative solutions for community issues. Some areas of focus for Golden United are affordable housing, homeless assistance, antiracism education/outreach, and community building. https://www.goldenunited.org/
With 22 Voting Members in 2021 we held two silent auctions and several additional fundraisers, including a Wine & Cheese tasting with Cheese Ranch Artisan Deli. Through these efforts we were able to give close to $5,000 to Golden United, which went toward emergency rent/utility assistance for Golden residents during the COVID19 pandemic, and helped sponsor the Celebration of Golden at the Colorado School of Mines, Home in Golden's Safe Parking Program, and other Golden United charitable endeavors.
We also hosted a lemonade and flower stand for Home in Golden and raised $500 to purchase sleeping bags, tents and backpacks for Golden's homeless population.
The Golden Backpack Program was founded in 2008 to provide food to underserved children in Golden, Colorado. In 2020, to meet the additional needs of our community during the COVID pandemic, the Golden Backpack Program expanded their mission, becoming BGoldN. BGoldN serves students just as The Golden Backpack Program did, while continuing to confront food insecurity for people of all ages throughout the community, and also supporting local businesses. https://bgoldn.org/
With 22 Voting Members in 2020 we held two silent auctions and partnered with Cannonball Creek Brewing Company for an additional fundraiser. Through these efforts we were able to give over $5,000 to BGoldN and also volunteered at the Golden Rotary Peach Sale and at some of the BGoldN food distribution days.
Christian Action Guild (CAG), now doing business as Golden Pantry & Thrift, is a non-denominational, non-profit built to serve the needs of those in our community who are experiencing hardship. https://goldenpantryandthrift.org/
With 10 Voting Members in 2019 we were able to give CAG/Golden Pantry & Thrift $690 for their Emergency Fund. We also hosted drives for food, clothing, back-to-school supplies/backpacks, and Santa Shop gifts for their clients. Members also volunteered in various capacities for CAG/Golden Pantry & Thrift throughout the year.
We were not quite a Giving Circle yet in 2018, but we participated in several community-benefiting events such as hosting a food drive, snack bag assembly party and clothing drive for The Action Center, collection and distribution of used books for The Little Library locations around Golden, and we painted Kindness Rocks with You Matter.