History

Inception of the Fund

In November 1988, the Foothills Rotary Club of Fort Collins established the Foothills Rotary Charitable Foundation (the “Foundation” or “Fund”) to provide scholarships to local high school graduates and to support the charitable purposes of the Foothills Rotary Club of Fort Collins.

Under the guidance of Thomas Barbour, Johnna Bavoso, Pete Bullard, Chuck Decker, and Bert Pedri, who served as the Foundation’s initial board of directors, the Foundation emerged from the idea stage into a functioning 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

Early Stages

Thanks to the energy and initiative of the Foundation’s early leaders and the support of its many donors, the Foundation’s endowment grew to $100,000 by 1998. The Foundation also actively reviewed and selected scholarship recipients during its early years. Later, the Foundation would establish a partnership with Project Self-Sufficiency, through which Project Self-Sufficiency screens and recommends potential scholarship recipients for the Foundation’s review. That relationship has proven very successful and continues to this day.

Subsequent Growth

In December 1999, the Foundation’s board established the goals of growing the endowment to $300,000 by 2007 and to providing seven scholarships per year at $2,000 each. Through a series of creative fundraising activities that included raffles, silent and live auctions, casino nights, holiday parties and other themed events, the Foundation achieved one of its key goals when the Foundation’s total assets crossed the $300,000 threshold in 2006.

The New Challenges

The successful efforts and contributions of the Club members in the past created a fund that has achieved the vision of the Foundation’s early leadership in many respects.

Yet many challenges still remain, such as the ever increasing costs of secondary education in Northern Colorado and the expanding number of qualified scholarship candidates.

In light of these challenges, the Foundation’s board solicited input from the Club’s membership in 2006 regarding their vision for the Foundation in the future. The desires of the Club were clear:

• Increase the amount of each semester’s scholarship and the number of scholarships awarded
• Increase the Foundation’s endowment to $500,000
• Find other worthy projects to fund, to the extent possible

In response to that feedback, the Foundation established the following new goals:

• Reaching $500,000 in assets by 2012
• Periodically increasing the amount of the scholarships that it awards to help its scholarships keep pace with tuition increases, and
• Increasing the number of scholarships and other projects supported, as funds are available for those uses

In 2007, the Foundation increased its eight scholarships to $3,200 per year and adopted a new name, the “Foothills Scholarship and Education Fund” to clearly indicate its primary focus and to differentiate it from the Rotary International Foundation.

Since its inception, the Fund has been the Club’s primary effort to make a meaningful and lasting statement of its support for people who are committed to bettering themselves through secondary education. You now have an opportunity to re-confirm the Club’s commitment to that vision by becoming a Major Donor. To become a Major Donor, simply make a pledge to the Fund at one of the following gift levels and fully fund your pledge within five years.

Major Donor Levels:

• Gold $25,000
• Silver $15,000
• Bronze $5,000

The current $25.00 quarterly donation from each of the Club’s members provides valuable support for the Fund’s efforts, but is insufficient alone to enable the Fund to meet its current challenges and opportunities. With your support as a Major Donor, you truly help the Fund realize its vision of meeting those challenges.

Through its past scholarships, the Fund has helped people in our community achieve their dreams of becoming nurses, veterinarians, occupational therapists, social workers, teachers, pharmacists, and radiology technicians, to name a few. Become a Major Donor today and help the Fund to support qualified candidates achieve similar dreams for the benefit of us all. Thanks!

To make a pledge or obtain more information on the Major Donor Program, please contact the Foundation by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by mail at the following address:

Foothills Rotary Charitable Foundation, Inc
(a 501c(3) Corporation)
P.O. Box 265
Fort Collins, CO 80522

Now on their road to tomorrow

Bonnie Bays traveled to become a small business owner.

"I didn’t know what to do with my life after my divorce. It was hard for me to believe in myself. But, Rotary had the belief in me. The fact they wanted to invest that kind of money in me showed me I had to learn how to take care of myself. Once I started with Rotary, it kept me focused on school and put me around positive people, people who wanted me to succeed. The Foundation helped me not only to become a better business person, but a better person, too. Because these people showed me respect, I’ve learned to respect myself and others, too."

Christina Carson traveled to become a computer programmer.

"Since I got the scholarship from Foothills Rotary, I’ve been looking for ways to give back to the community. I mentor high school girls and am the vice president of a young women’s organization. We’re trying to teach girls to go out and achieve want they want. The best way I can say thank you to Rotary is to help other young women to reach their goals."

Matt Barlow traveling to find a career in electronics.

"Getting a Rotary scholarship made me think that other people believed in me. Rotary is an organization that cares about students and tries to give us a second chance."

Debra Phipps traveling to a profession

"I was married for 17 years and was a stay-at-home mom. After my divorce, I had to support my two teenagers. The Rotary scholarship lets me go to school full time. Financial independence is a goal I can’t let out of my sight."