DEL NORTE — From Sept. 17 to 19, close to 250 nonprofit professionals, grantmakers, community leaders, distinguished speakers, and elected officials united in Del Norte to exchange knowledge and expand professional networks at the San Luis Valley Rural Philanthropy Days conference.

Rural Philanthropy Days (RPD) is a statewide program that promotes excellence in Colorado’s rural communities by providing nonprofit leaders access to resources they need to make a stronger impact. For over 28 years, local communities have worked together to coordinate RPD in partnership with Community Resource Center, Anschutz Family Foundation, and other statewide grantmakers. RPD builds opportunities for important community projects within the San Luis Valley and across the state by strengthening regional relationships, building the skills of the region’s nonprofits, and connecting local organizations with grantmaking organizations. The conference comes to the San Luis Valley every four years, local organizations from Saguache, Mineral, Rio Grande, Alamosa, Conejos, and Costilla counties all participated in the event.

Meeting the needs of rural Colorado communities is what RPD is all about. This year we were lucky to have over 60 grantmaking representatives, as well as a variety of community leaders, distinguished speakers and state and local officials join us in Del Norte for the San Luis Valley RPD conference. San Luis Valley nonprofit professionals in attendance were able to participate in more than 30 professional development opportunities over the 3-day conference.

In addition, the San Luis Valley RPD Conference provided a powerful opportunity for the state’s most influential funders to meet one-on-one with local and regional grantseekers in a series of Funder Roundtable discussions. This exchange helps to break down barriers and ultimately results in stronger partnerships, increased access to resources and the development of long-term relationships.  From 2009 to 2015, core funders of the statewide RPD program awarded over 750 grants which totaled upwards of $22 million to rural nonprofits in the San Luis Valley region.  It was further estimated that the local Steering Committee and conference attendees spent over $80,000 in the San Luis Valley on catering, venues, design, printing, photography and other vendors.

Rural Philanthropy Days is a statewide program of Community Resource Center (CRC). Community Resource Center believes in the power of the nonprofit sector to affect change and support thriving communities. We envision a strong and sustainable nonprofit sector leading our state towards a more just future. Our mission is to create opportunities, tools, and strategies to develop nonprofits and community groups to strengthen Colorado.