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$30,000 Donation Expected to support Local Environmental Efforts and Nonprofit Capacity Building

On Monday, the Chaffee County Community Foundation (CCCF) announced a new partnership with event production company Bonfire Entertainment, resulting in an initial $30,000 donation which CCCF will, in turn, distribute to community nonprofits through its grant programs and nonprofit capacity-building work.

This partnership is specifically designed both to encourage environmental innovation within the county and to provide widespread support for local nonprofit organizations by helping to fund their capacity-building efforts.

“At Chaffee County Community Foundation, we have been impressed with Bonfire Entertainment’s commitment to supporting the communities where they do business, particularly by their leave-no-trace philosophy at events, as well as investing in local nonprofit sectors and creating opportunities for high-impact environmental grants,” said CCCF Executive Director Betsy Dittenber. “We’re honored to partner with Bonfire as their values align so closely with our own, and we’re excited to see where this collaboration leads for Chaffee County.”

The visual for the Renewal festival. Courtesy of Bonfire Entertainment.

This $30,000 donation to CCCF is the result of proceeds from Bonfire Entertainment’s successful Renewal 2022 bluegrass event at The Meadows in Buena Vista last September, 2022.

CCCF will allot half of Bonfire’s contribution to its Catalyst Fund which will help local nonprofits across the county bolster their capabilities and improve results through trainings, professional development, and support. This includes the foundation’s full-day Community Summit Conference scheduled for September 19, 2023.

The remainder of the contribution will help fund CCCF’s Environmental Impact Grant, which will support one local nonprofit’s innovative environmental program. Details on this grant opportunity can be found at chaffeecommunity.org/grants.

“From the beginning, it’s been at Bonfire’s core to leverage our musical gatherings to tie into and help the local community – whether it’s protecting beautiful event spaces, providing musical education for kids, promoting recycling and composting – whatever we can do to leave a community inspired and better than we found it,” said Bonfire Entertainment CEO and Founder Scotty Stoughton.

“Partnering with CCCF was an easy decision, and we’re happy to donate this $30,000 toward key issues in Chaffee County,” he added. “We love supporting leaders like CCCF that are already activating positive ripple effects around important local causes.”

Since its establishment in 2002, Bonfire Entertainment says that it has remained committed to minimizing the overall environmental impact of the musical events that it manages. The company makes sizable financial investments in ensuring that each of its event spaces is left as clean or even cleaner than it was beforehand. Bonfire promotes and supports a culture in which live entertainment sparks inspiration among a community, connecting people with nature and music.

The Chaffee County Community Foundation was founded in 2018. It is a public, nonprofit organization established to promote and facilitate philanthropy in Chaffee County, created by and for the people in that area. CCCF acts as a catalyst to inspire positive change through the power of philanthropy to enrich the lives of all people within the county. Its goals are to make informed philanthropy accessible to all, build local nonprofit capacity, and enable community conversations.

Since 2018, CCCF has actively supported nonprofit organizations for the betterment of Chaffee County and the local communities. Organizations seeking professional development and support can visit chaffeecommunity.org/events or email betsy@chaffeecommunity.org directly for assistance with a specific issue.