DENVER, August 20, 2025— The Boettcher Foundation is proud to announce the 10 recipients of its latest round of Leadership Practitioner Catalyst Grants. These funds will provide capacity-building support to community nonprofits that participate in Boettcher’s Leadership Practitioners Collaborative, which unites program directors and leaders across the state with a goal to create a more inclusive and accessible leadership ecosystem in Colorado.
Each grantee will implement an innovative project to address a strategic initiative in their respective organization. The collaborative convenes quarterly to connect practitioners, share ideas, and provide ongoing engagement and professional development opportunities.
“We created the Leadership Practitioner Catalyst Grants because leadership doesn’t happen in isolation,” said Garrett Mayberry, grants program officer. “It is nurtured by the people who train, mentor, and inspire others. By supporting them, we’re helping leadership thrive in multiple organizations serving different communities.”
Below is a summary of the organizations and projects awarded in the 2025 cycle:
- Asian Chamber Foundation of Colorado – The foundation is launching its inaugural program, supporting their mission of providing opportunities and resources for the Asian American and Pacific Islander community focused on higher education and career development. (Denver Metro)
- Colorado Changemakers Collective – The collective provides resources for mental health, housing assistance, utility assistance, disaster relief resources, youth enrichment programs, and educational resource awareness all to strengthen the community. The grant will be used to fund executive leadership development. (Denver Metro)
- Colorado Springs Hispanic Chamber Education Foundation – The education foundation empowers, encourages, and equips emerging Latino and Latina leaders through the creation of the Adelante Leadership Institute, which will address the underrepresentation of the Latino community in roles across various public and private sectors. (El Paso)
- Colorado Young Leaders (CYL) – CYL develops a sense of purpose, passion and community in high school leaders across the state through leadership exploration, programming and service adventures. Grant support will help CYL to develop a blueprint for Youth Leadership Expansion. (Statewide)
- Downtown Denver Partnership – Downtown Denver Partnership is building a beautiful, thriving, and economically competitive center city, creating a place where people want to explore, live, work and do business; the grant will support a leadership program impact evaluation. (Denver)
- Ednium – Ednium partners with public school alumni across the Metro Area to change the way cities educate and reinvest in their homegrown talent. This evaluation will examine program impact for alumni. (Denver Metro)
- Regional Institute for Health & Environmental Leadership (RIHEL) – RIHEL provides leadership training and strengthens the relationships among health professionals, environment professionals, the academic community, and the public and private sectors. The grant will support the completion of a feasibility study and program redesign effort. (Statewide)
- Rocky Mountain Partnership – Rocky Mountain Partnership will use their grant to enhance their Civic Influencer Fellowship, a 9-month experience that empowers young leaders ages 16–24 to develop civic leadership skills while contributing to eliminating policy barriers and supporting their peers in achieving critical Cradle to Career™ milestones by 2030. (Denver Metro)
- The Urban Leaders Fellowship – This funding goes towards an impact evaluation of the paid summer fellowship for professionals who come from various backgrounds, professions, ideologies, and experiences with a sincere commitment to transforming communities through people and partnerships. (Statewide)
- Women’s Community Leadership Initiative – This grant will fund a program evaluation of this transformative initiative, which is dedicated to empowering women from low-to-moderate income backgrounds in the Pikes Peak region. (El Paso)
Please subscribe to our newsletter or check our website for information on the Catalyst Grant cycles.
About the Boettcher Foundation:
The Boettcher Foundation believes in the promise of Colorado and the potential of Coloradans. We invest in people, programs, and organizations across the state to create a foundation for community building and transformational impact.
