Since the first Community Action Grants were awarded in 1993, our Branch has given out 96 grants totaling $79,350. We are pleased to continue this tradition annually.
Today, the Longmont Branch of the American Association of University Women offers one or more Community Action Grants to local projects that help break down barriers among people of all ages, ethnic origins and gender. In general, $2,500 or more is available in grant monies each year and may be divided among several applicants.
Qualifying projects should:
- Promote education and equity for women and girls
- Be nonpolitical
- Benefit the public
- Respond to a community need
- Fall within the geographical boundary of the St. Vrain Valley School District
Application forms and procedures are posted on the Longmont Community Foundation website by mid-March with deadline of mid-April.
For information, contact Sue Hughes, 720-979-3542, or Sherry Cross, 303-772-0732
Congratulation to our four outstanding 2025 Community Action Grant Recipients
A Way Forward was awarded $1,000 for training for mentors to help teenage girls distinguish between caring and supportive vs. controlling and manipulative relationships. This grant will support the purchase of the Hazelden Betty Ford evidence-based Safe Dates program in English and Spanish and Hazelden 2-day virtual training for mentors. Safe Dates equips young people with the tools needed to develop important life skills such as managing feeling and communicating in a healthy way, with a focus on prevention. It is highly engaging and interactive, reflecting the issues today’s teens face. This program also provides support to family members. Supporting healthy relationships can help reduce teen dating violence and prevent its harmful, long-lasting effects on individuals, their families, and their communities.
Forward Steps, a part of Guardian Scholars Programs, was awarded $1,000 for mentoring and other assistance for women entering post-secondary education or the work force from foster care. This program serves current and former foster youth ages 18-26. It provides financial support for such needs as housing and childcare and mentoring to assist in obtaining scholarships, academics, day-to-day issues, and crisis management. In addition, Guardian Scholars provides expert career and post-secondary coaching, college prep courses, and relationship and social support network building. Mentors employ a multiculturally competent, trauma informed, targeted 1:1 and small group approach, crucial to building rapport and engaging Scholars who previously thought that postsecondary education and a fulfilling career were not an option for them.
Open Door ESL was awarded $1,000 in support of their High School Equivalency (HSE) Testing Center which tests for their classes in Spanish. Open Door provides a Testing Center, housed at Calvary Church, which offers students the ability to take the HSE tests on paper, which many students prefer. Open Door is the only Testing Center in North Metro Denver that offers paper tests and as a result draws students from around Colorado. Open Door’s Center can accommodate up to 50 students each test day and the demand is always greater. Upon passing 5 course tests, students receive their diploma from the Colorado Department of Education. This grant will provide for one additional testing day to help meet the demand.
TinkerMill was awarded $1,000 to support classes focused on developing STEM skills in 30 female high school students using all female instructors. This one year “STEM Skills Development for the Next Generation of Female Engineers” project is focused on leveraging existing resources to invest in the future. Fifteen 11th grade and fifteen 12th grade female high school students will take weekly classes during the academic year. The 11th graders will receive hands-on instruction to complete four projects in each of the areas of rapid prototyping, electronics and robotics, machine shop, and welding. The 12th graders will receive hands-on instruction, but will focus on a single project each in the fall and spring semesters. The goal is to help increase the number of women in STEM careers by fostering interests and passions at a young age and providing nurturing support.
Congratulations to our three 2024 Community Action Grant recipients, receiving a total of $3,600 to support their programs.
Recipients from Brύjula Comunitaria Caro Neri and Iris Preito along with Debbie Unruh from Pearl Promise (L-R) gave branch members a moving understanding of how this year’s grants wil help build financial well-being skills in Latino women and self-sufficiency in single mothers in their two nonprofits.
“I want to thank everyone for helping me and my classmates to have the opportunity of this wonderful program. It is my goal to give back to this program by becoming a teacher and help others achieve their goals.” ~ 2024 Open Door graduate, Dunia
2024 Grant Recipients
Brύjula Comunitaria, an empowerment group of women representing the Latino community, was awarded $1,300 to support the Mindful Finances: Workshop for the Financial Well-Being of Latin Women workshop. The main objective of this workshop is to address the intersectionality of financial education and mental well-being among Brújula members by providing education, and support and resources with the goal of empowering participants to make informed financial decisions. This initiative will be supported by Brújula’s multifaceted array of skills and competencies crucial to its overall mission of fostering community engagement and addressing challenges surrounding social and economic justice.
Details about Brύjula Comunitaria programming and the community it serves can be found on their website.
Open Door was awarded $1,000 for continued expansion of its English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. This expansion is supported by a new challenge – a drastic increase of young people, both Spanish-speaking and native English-speaking students ages 16-24 needing services. The increase in this age group, prevalent throughout the community, is a result of the number of young people who dropped out of high school since the COVID pandemic. Needs such as learning academic English, and working on high school equivalency preparation and the associated testing are significant in this age group.
Details about Open Door programming and their educational programs can be found on their website.
PEARL Promise was awarded $1,300 to add an intensive career development component to its mentorship program. This program is crafted specifically to assist single mothers working toward self-sufficiency through the creation of workshops and one-on-one intensive case management with the purpose of moving its clients off government funding and more towards self-sufficiency with a clearly defined career path. The workshops and case management process will focus on resume building, interviewing skills, and the creation of individualized case plans with the goal of furthering clients’ education to include certification programs and GED courses.
Details about PEARL Promise programming and their community focus can be found on their website.
CONGRATULATIONS!
to the 2023 grant and scholarship recipients
From left to right: Rylie Nelson representing El Comité de Longmont; Anastasia Ware from Open Door; CSU undergrad student Ashley Livingston; former Open Door student Sarahi Gutierrez; and Ashley Flynn from Forward Steps; Not able to be with us was Mohika Nagpal, medical student at the University of Michigan.
“Never forget that you are strong, capable, and deserve to achieve each and every one of your dreams. There will always be challenges and difficulties, but these are what make us stronger.”
~ Former Open Door student, Sarahi Gutierrez
2023 Grant Recipients
El Comité was awarded $1,000 to support the expansion of English as a Second Language classes to include a 3rd class on Friday evenings. As the number of students wanting this educational opportunity increased significantly over the past year, so did the waitlist. This grant will help El Comité retain a talented instructor, reduce the waitlist more quickly, and provide an alternative class time for students who can not attend the other classes being offered.
Details about El Comité programming and community focus can be found on their website.
Forward Steps received a $1,000 grant to work with teenage students at the Longmont Youth Center. Their individualized career decision-making program, Realizing Aptitudes, focuses on identifying aptitudes, strengths assessment, and career exploration and planning. It promotes student self-discovery supported by personalized coaching, This program will supplement the Youth Center’s ASPIRE and CU Pre-Collegiate programs for career and postsecondary readiness making a real difference for all participating students.
More information can be found on the Forward Steps website.
Open Door was awarded a $1,000 grant for the purchase of student materials to support their locally-designed, standards based curriculum for the adult English-learning and career and college readiness programs. curriculum. Open Door is expecting at least 100 new students this year. This grant will help offset the $25+ cost of materials provided to each student, making the programs offered more affordable and attainable for interested students.
It was our great pleasure to hear from one of Open Door’s former students, Sarahi Gutierrez, at the Spring Fling. Click on her name to read her moving remarks on learning English and the value of the Open Door programs.