Regional Partnerships

The Big Picture

With the intent to increase impact and establish deep-rooted connections throughout the entire state, El Pomar created Regional Partnerships to help communities identify and address local needs. The program convenes community leaders into 11 regional councils that advise El Pomar's Trustees and recommend grants to address the greatest needs within their regions. 

The Details

Regional council members come from a diverse range of backgrounds and represent the business, nonprofit and public sectors. Each council member comes to El Pomar with an established record of community engagement and the ability to provide firsthand information about the needs in their region— they offer the kind of insights that can only come from living, working and volunteering at a local level. Each council provides direct grant recommendations to El Pomar’s Trustees, with the potential for a combined annual impact of more than $2 million across the state. Since the program was established in 2003, Regional Partnerships has increased El Pomar’s funding to rural Colorado by more than 109 percent.

Regional Partnerships has improved El Pomar’s ability to effectively serve all Colorado communities through four programmatic strengths:

• The relationships. Regional Partnerships connects local community leaders who share a desire to improve their communities. Through these relationships, El Pomar is able to more effectively invest in local communities across the state. Additionally, through events such as El Pomar’s annual Statewide Meeting, regional council members from across the state connect with and learn from each other on their approaches to supporting creative solutions to community issues.
• The commitment of the program to encourage local solutions. The program allows regional councils freedom in their processes, recommendations and overall strategy. The regional structure also encourages council members to think beyond their local community and work across county lines to find regional solutions.
• The Foundation’s ability to convene. Regional Partnerships builds trust by bringing key leaders and organizations to the table to facilitate meaningful connections. 
• The presence of Trustees and staff in the regions. Fellows, staff and Trustees have enthusiasm and a deep commitment to regularly traveling to the region. This aids in relationship building and their understanding of the region.

As Regional Partnerships looks ahead, it will continue to leverage these strengths to improve its ability to support the development of sustainable solutions to community issues through our strategic partnership with local leaders.