The Zonta Club of Denver has been fortunate to be the recipient of bequests from several members, two of which were of significant size. These gifts enabled the endowment of a 501(c)(3) organization founded by the club, now known as the Zonta Club of Denver Foundation (ZCDF).
ZCDF supports international service projects of Zonta International and local projects of the club, all of which are focused on the empowerment of women. The club has historically donated a third of ZCDF income, together with proceeds of club fundraising, to the Zonta International Foundation to support women worldwide. The remaining two-thirds are used primarily to support charitable organizations in the Denver metro area that provide services to position local women and girls for self-sufficiency and better lives for them and their family members.
Applying for a Grant
501(c)(3) organizations can apply for grants from ZCDF to fund a new or ongoing project within the Denver metro area that is focused directly on improving the status and quality of life of Denver at-risk women. The Grant Funding Application is here.
In 2023, Zonta Club of Denver Foundation distributed a total of $ 53,299. Of the total, $35,533 in grants were awarded to the following local community organizations:
WeeCycle—$14,000
WeeCycle’s mission is to recycle essential baby gear and match it to Colorado families in need. WeeCycle serves women with infants and toddlers that are struggling to provide for their children.
57% of parents experiencing diaper need and who rely on child care said they missed work four days a month because they didn’t have an adequate supply of diapers. Diapers are also key to early childhood education programs. Without diapers, they cannot attend these programs. Without child care, women can’t work. As part of the essential Baby Gear program, WeeCycle donated over 2.5 million diapers and 200,000 meals.
The Zonta grant will allow WeeCycle to purchase a badly needed box truck with a lift gate.
ALIGHT—$9,400
ALIGHT provides pro bono legal services to children, women and men who have escaped human trafficking. Traffickers often target economically stressed individuals for exploitation. They promise security to runaway teens, manipulate single moms into commercial sex, and offer false recruitment terms to day laborers desperate to provide for their families. Even if they escape, survivors of trafficking are then left to deal with the resulting legal issues – from debt to child custody and criminal records for crimes they were forced to commit by the trafficker – alone. They need professional legal help, but can rarely find or afford it.
To help survivors finally escape the exploitation cycle, ALIGHT matches them to the right attorney at the right time enabling them to overcome legal problems that are insurmountable alone, enabling them to successfully gain independence and rebuild their lives in our community.
The grant will enable ALIGHT to serve two additional clients.
Focus Points Family Resource Center—$9,400
Focus Points has been serving and advocating for families in the Greater Denver Area Center since 1995. Its mission is to build better communities by strengthening families and its vision is to provide families with resources and tools they need to build their future and contribute to a vibrant community.
Its Comal Heritage Food Incubator offers technical culinary skills and entrepreneurship training for adults. Our grant will help to support its Comal for Tamales training program that provides technical culinary skills and entrepreneurship training for immigrant women who want to learn the culinary business with the goal of starting their own business.
In addition, $ 17,766 was given to the Zonta Foundation for Women for the following Zonta International programs:
Amelia Earhart Fellowships – $10,000 (one full scholarship)
These fellowships are awarded annually to 30 women pursuing Ph.D./doctoral degrees in aerospace engineering and space sciences. The fellowship may be used at any university or college offering accredited post-graduate courses and degrees in these fields. Since the program’s inception in 1938, Zonta has awarded 1,704 Amelia Earhart Fellowships, totaling more than $11.3 million, to 1,276 women from 76 countries.
International Service – $ 7,766
In the more than 90 years since its first international service project was funded, Zonta International has contributed nearly $35.9 million to projects benefiting women in 71 countries. This funding has provided training, education, health, sanitation, agricultural and micro-credit assistance to women, primarily through projects implemented by the agencies of the United Nations and other recognized non-governmental organizations.
For information about community awards in prior years, click here.