"When they give you lined paper, write the other way." - Ray Bradbury |
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The BRIC Fund's First Loan Recipient |
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ULC and The Denver Foundation’s Black Resilience in Colorado (BRIC) Fund announced a partnership in early 2021 to create the Black Resilience in Colorado (BRIC) Loan Fund. The fund was created in recognition of the historic barriers of systemic racism Black nonprofits and the Black communities they serve have faced in accessing low-interest financing. This loan fund offers low-interest loans to support capital projects and/or other improvements for Black-led and serving nonprofits across the seven-county Metro Denver region.
We are thrilled to announce that Athletics & Beyond (A&B) is the first BRIC loan recipient. A&B is a resident-led nonprofit organization based in the Montbello neighborhood that is intrinsically designed to increase and expand the educational trajectories of Denver students at risk of high school and college incompletion. They employ the “Athletics & Beyond (A&B) Student-Athlete Program” as the foundation to produce marketable and successful citizens.
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A&B's mission is to create opportunities through exposure. By using athletics to capture the attention of student-athletes, A&B incorporates robust services that also provide participants with the opportunity to develop life skills, explore alternative careers, and have access to preparatory rigorous academic support. Such services have enabled A&B to engage students academically and dramatically increase the likelihood that marginalized students graduate high school, attend and are prepared for higher education, and obtain the discipline and fortitude to graduate with a post-secondary degree or apprentice program. They are a sports-based youth development & college readiness program that consists of four components: 1) Educational Success, 2) Life Skills Building, 3) Career Options, and 4) Athletic Development. |
Are you a Black-led and Black-serving 501(3)c looking for access to low-interest loans? The BRIC Fund is still accepting applications! Please click here for more information and to access the application.
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The Social Enterprise Foundry Building
Shows Off New Color Gradient Mural
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The Social Enterprise Foundry, one of ULC's properties, is home to three environmentally focused nonprofits, including Blue Star Recyclers, Energy Resource Center, and Mile High Youth Corps; all triple bottom line nonprofits that train, employ, and empower individuals and the community.
When it was time to repaint the building, we wanted something that would reflect the unique nature of the Foundry as well as the neighborhood, so we tapped a unique group to do the job: The Birdseed Collective. The Collective’s goal is to transform the lives of artists, youth, individuals, and communities through visionary art and civic projects and programs. Program Co-Director Anthony Garcia, the lead artist for the project, shared, “to prepare for this job, we went around the neighborhood looking at colors and definitely noticed that houses were painted in colorful but muted tones. We developed a gradient-based on this color scheme that gives the feel of a warehouse but adds an artistic element as well.” Several youth from Birdseed Collective, as well as youth from the community, worked on the project. A celebration is in the works to dedicate the wall art.
ULC acquired the 44,000 square foot warehouse at 953 Decatur Street in Denver’s Sun Valley neighborhood in 2014 with the Calvert Facility Fund and with support from the Denver Economic Development and Opportunity Office (DEDO). ULC paid off the Calvert Impact's $10M loan facility this summer, three years ahead of schedule! This funding source enabled our investment in the Foundry and the Downing Nonprofit Tower in Uptown and the Tramway Nonprofit Center in the Cole Neighborhood. Big thanks to The Colorado Health Foundation, Colorado Trust, Gary Community Investment, and The Denver Foundation, for proving this needed capital resource.
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Partner Spotlight: St. Elizabeth's School |
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St. Elizabeth’s School has been serving Metro Denver for 15 years as an intentionally inclusive school dedicated to equity, belonging, and educational opportunity for all students. Their school community represents the myriad experiences, races, ethnicities, faiths, and family compositions that make up Denver, Colorado. Their fundamental belief is that every family should have affordable and sustainable access to an excellent education for their children. An individualized tuition plan allows St. Elizabeth’s to enroll families from a broad socio-economic spectrum that truly represents the neighborhoods it serves.
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ULC was thrilled to announce that St. Elizabeth’s will be moving into the Centennial Hall building on the former Johnson & Wales Campus in Denver’s Park Hill neighborhood at the end of August. This move will allow them to expand enrollment and offer the opportunity for quality education to more students.
“We are so excited to welcome St. Elizabeth’s to the Park Hill Campus,” said Aaron Miripol, ULC’s President & CEO. “Not only do they offer exceptional education, but they represent a culture that promotes kindness, openness, and inclusivity. All things we want the Park Hill Campus to represent.”
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Click the video above to watch St. Elizabeth's welcome message.
“The move to the Park Hill Campus will be transformative, allowing us to greatly expand opportunities to serve our diverse community. The move will also allow us to grow enrollment while maintaining our commitment to inclusion,” said Adriana Murphy, St. Elizabeth’s Head of School (pictured above). “We are thrilled about the opportunity to vision with our partners and campus neighbors on the creative and mutually beneficial usage of shared spaces. How exciting to be a part of such a vibrant and inclusive collaboration!”
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303 ArtWay Heritage Trail Community Survey |
In January of 2020 Members of the 303 ArtWay Heritage Trail Steering Committee, composed of community leaders from the Northeast Park Hill neighborhood of Denver, met and determined that two community meetings were the best approach to collecting feedback about infrastructure and improvements. Right around the same time, the world was quickly met with the COVID-19 pandemic. By mid-March, communities were strongly advised against large group gatherings. With the health of the community as the top priority, Members of the Steering Committee made the difficult decision to indefinitely postpone the community meetings.
In lieu of the community meetings, the 303 ArtWay Steering Committee met virtually via the first (of many) video conferences. The Committee Members participated in an online priority voting exercise, ranking 15 infrastructure improvements based on their lived experience in Northeast Park Hill. Survey results indicated that increased lighting, improved sidewalks, and retimed crosswalks were the highest priorities.
Following feedback from the Steering Committee, 303 ArtWay decided to gather community-wide feedback via a digital survey. With a deadline to complete the Schematic Corridor Plan by April 3rd, the team had just one week to collect survey responses. Thanks to dedicated community partners, nearly 40 participants completed the survey, providing invaluable feedback for the future of 303 ArtWay. Results from the 2020 Community Priority Survey were included and published in the 303 ArtWay Heritage Trail Corridor Study.
To view the full survey, please click on the picture above! And to learn more about 303 ArtWay Heritage Trail, click here. In addition, there will be a community information meeting on August 19th. See below for more information.
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The Colorado State Land Board's Newest Member |
ULC is proud to announce that Erin Clark, VP of Master Site Development, has been appointed to the Colorado State Land Board. The State Land Board is the second-largest landowner in Colorado and is the largest funder of K-12 education.
The Board consists of five Commissioners representing different political affiliations and parts of the state who are each appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Legislature for four-year terms. Each Commissioner is appointed based on a particular area of expertise. Erin has been named the "Citizen-At-Large" member due to her knowledge of and work with land use law, real estate law, land trusts and ground leases, and leveraging land for public benefit. Congratulations, Erin!
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