Giving Network
The Giving Network engages philanthropists in the Aspen, CO, region about pressing community issues and needs through collaborative learning. By pooling funds and resources, we make impactful grants to regional nonprofits who serve to catalyze change.
Mission
Through collaborative learning, the Giving Network provides a forum for philanthropists to learn about critical community needs, discuss opportunities, and decide where to grant pooled membership funds.
Vision
The Giving Network envisions a region where committed philanthropists are actively engaged in learning about and supporting the local nonprofit sector to address the critical needs from Aspen to Parachute.
Learn, Discuss, Decide
High-Impact Philanthropy
We are a group of committed philanthropists in the Aspen region who are interested in making a difference by supporting the work of nonprofit organizations (501(c)(3)) serving our community from Aspen to Parachute, CO.
Giving Network members meet several times a year to learn from experts and practitioners who are dedicated to finding solutions for the region’s most pressing issues and needs. Members listen, review data, discuss the challenges and seek to identify promising solutions through peer conversations and collaborative learning.
Founded in 2016 and hosted by the Aspen Community Foundation with the generous support of Laura and Gary Lauder, the Giving Network provides a unique opportunity for philanthropists to pool funds and allocate large grants that have meaningful impact (over $500,000 annually).
Since our inception, over $3,100,000 in Giving Network investments have advanced health and human services outcomes by supporting youth and families, social-emotional well-being, and nonprofits supporting basic needs.
Giving Network Grants
We are an independent group of philanthropists who lean on the support and expertise of the Aspen Community Foundation. Our grant process is exclusively run by Giving Network members, who score and vote on outcomes.
Applications for 2025 Giving Network Grants will open on January 10, 2025, and close on February 20, 2025.
Organizational Criteria
In 2025, the Giving Network is looking for organizations that serve our region and can demonstrate a need to fund a program or service that supports any pressing community issue or need, especially enhancements or new services that better support our community. We want to see you take your organization to the next level of sustainable operations. How can we help fund this next step for you?
For information on the current 2025 grant cycle, please review our granting timeline breakdown.
2024 Grantees
Giving Network awarded $575,250 to 15 local nonprofits, filling gaps and needs in the Roaring Fork community. In 2024, Giving Network funded the following nonprofits:
- Harvest for Hunger
- Alpine Legal Services
- English In Action
- Stepping Stones
- Raising A Reader
- RESPONSE
- Challenge Aspen
- FocusedKids
- CASA of the Ninth
- Valley Settlement
- Aspen Valley Land Trust
- Aspen Youth Center
- Pathfinders
- The Meeting Place
- Early Learning Center of Aspen
Join the Giving Network
Contact Ramona Bruland, the Giving Network Chair, at ramona@giving-network.org or call Ramona at c.970-497-6775. Giving Network membership starts at $5,000 annually, with additional giving levels available.
Resources
2024 Giving Network Members
Pam Alexander
Sonya Auvray
Kalah Espinoza and David Agger
Jill and Paul Aschkenasy
Tasia Bade
Jennifer Moses and Ron Beller
Meredith Berman
Jody and Jeffrey Black
Elizabeth Bohart
Julia Pirrung and Bob Bridger
Courtney and Michael Brown
Robin and Neal Buchalter
Glenn Bucksbaum
Diana Bulman
Lauren and David Chazen
Kate and Ryan Craft
John Cresap
Susan Crown and William Kunkler
Megan DiSabatino
Tony DiLucia
Heather and Todd duBoef
Minnie Dubiliere
Gail and Alfred Engelberg
Laurel Gilbert and Bruce Etkin
Jaimie and David Field
Kristen and Andrew Firman
Vanessa Obregon and Edgar Farah
Carla and George Frampton
Anna and Matt Freedman
Barbara and Karl Friedman
Dale Genet
Lynn Nicols and Jim Gilchrist
Rachel and Ephraim Gildor
Barbara Gold
Ramona Bruland and Michael Goldberg
Andi and Jim Gordon
Lisie and Michael Gottdenker
Jerry and Glenda Greenwald
Jane and Allen Grossman
Amanda and Brett Hirsh
Jackie Merrill and Jay Hughes
Laura and Mike Kaplan
Robin and Jeffrey Kaplan
Christine Karnes
Laura and Gary Lauder
Melony and Adam Lewis
Susan and Fred Lodge
Katherine Lorenz
Morgan Fixel and Duncan Mendelson
Martha and Adam Metz
Sissy and Brent Miller
Wendy Mitchell
Ellen-Jane and Ben Moss
Marcie and Robert Musser
Esther and Craig Navias
Helen and Wally Obermeyer
Laurie Crown and Rick Ortega
Casey and Michael Patak
Laura and Michael Paulus
Susan Espinoza and Marc Piatkowski
Sarah Broughton and John Rowland
Stephen Sander
Kirsten and Chad Schmit
Rick and Zibby Schwartz
Jen and Paul Sciarra
Marina and Oliver Sharpe
Hillary Helsing and Scott Simon
Lesley and Tommy Slatkin
Katya and Zach Sternberg
Jacqueline Neuwirth and Stephen Swire
