LCF Annual Granting Season is OPEN

All of us at Lyons Community Foundation (LCF) are pleased to announce our 16th Annual Community Support granting season. Each year in August and early September, Lyons-area organizations apply for grants that will support the work they plan to do in the year to come. This year, more than $45,000 will be made available to deserving recipients. 
As the Grants Committee chair for LCF, the beginning of our granting season is an exciting and busy time for me. Recently, I volunteered at a Wednesday night Sandstone Park concert. I spent the evening popping and serving popcorn, collecting donations, chatting with fellow community members, and listening to some amazing live music. I felt proud knowing that an LCF grant to the Town of Lyons had helped make that concert possible. It was a good reminder of why our Community Support Grants are so important to our community, and of how they bring people together. 
Simply put, these grants make life in Lyons better. From the public art we all enjoy as we walk through town, to the work of LEAF and the Lyons food pantry, to the beauty of the Rocky Mountain Botanical Gardens, it’s hard to find a corner of our town that hasn’t been touched by the funding from these grants.

Applications for Community Support Grants are open to government agencies, schools, local nonprofit organizations, and groups/projects that do not have 501(c)3 status but do have a nonprofit sponsoring organization. You can apply online starting August 1st. Submissions are due on September 9, 2023. These grants are typically available only once per year and must be applied for at this time. Electronic submissions are required. Granting information and applications are available at lyonscf.org.

As a community foundation, LCF’s work consists of raising money to support a diverse range of projects and populations in the greater Lyons area. By offering a  centralized source for fundraising, nonprofits are able to focus on their projects and programs, instead of on raising funds. Since LCF’s inception in 2008, over half a million dollars has been distributed in grants to support local initiatives that either build community connectivity, provide human services, invest in our youth, or support local ecology initiatives. 
In 2022, Community Support Grants totaled over $50,000 and were awarded to 17 projects including LEAF (Lyons Emergency Assistance Fund) and the Lyons food pantry, the Town of Lyons Parks and Recreation (Sandstone Concert Series and Parade of Lights), Lyons Arts and Humanities Commission, Lyons Historical Society (Redstone Museum), Lyons Booster Club, Lyons Regional Library, Lyons Creates, St. Vrain Valley Schools, and Rocky Mountain Botanical Gardens. 

LCF welcomes the participation of community members who wish to serve on the Grants Review Committee, which is separate from LCF’s Advisory Board. Grant applications to LCF are reviewed by a committee whose members represent the Lyons community.  Being a grant reviewer is a fun way to learn about some of the exciting efforts going on in Lyons, and aid in the LCF granting.  If you wish to be considered for the Grants Review Committee, please submit the application form that can be accessed on the LCF website, www.lyonscf.org. The commitment for this volunteer opportunity is two evenings in September. Applications to serve on the Grants Review Committee must be submitted by September 4, 2023.
I, for one, am looking forward to reviewing grant applications this year, and to learning about the innovative programs and projects that local organizations are hoping to have funded. 
We will announce the grant recipients for 2023 in November. 

​-Ella Levy