Dear Editor:
The Chaffee County Community Foundation (CCCF) has been directly providing more than $250,000 in monetary support to hundreds of our Chaffee neighbors and nonprofit organizations over the past two and a half months during the pandemic caused by the coronavirus known as COVID-19. Our team of 12 volunteer board members, executive director, a network of advisors, and essential volunteers have been working tirelessly every day to this end. What you may not be aware of is that this is not our only focus.
Core to our mission are the concepts of planning, forethought, and leadership. Since last fall, the CCCF Board has been working with our team and community members to anticipate the needs of Chaffee County both in good times and in bad, in times of prosperity and during crisis. This constant vigilance allowed us to build on the experience of the past year addressing needs resulting from the Decker fire, to activate and expand our systems in response to COVID-19— literally overnight.
We’ve taken this planning one step further to develop a cohesive scenario planning document that attempts to predict the economic and social service realities and needs of Chaffee County through 2021.
The scenarios, our background assumptions and the action steps the CCCF has in mind are now available for review on our website at: https://www.chaffeecommunity.org/scenario-planning
The document is organized by timeline into sections painting both optimistic and pessimistic scenarios for summer, this fall, and into 2021. Additional topics include implications for Chaffee County and CCCF Actions to address community health, community vitality, and community capacity.
We believe this document will be useful to individuals, local governments, other nonprofits, and the business community as the county reopens. CCCF envisions a Chaffee where the ‘new normal’ is better – more resilient and more unified – than the ‘old normal’. To achieve this, we need the community’s help and the community’s input. We do not pretend to hold a crystal ball or have all the answers, so we encourage your thoughts, ideas, criticisms, and feedback. While this is a singular document, it represents a shifting reality and therefore is a constant work in progress as we actively plan and provide leadership for the Chaffee community.
The global coronavirus pandemic has laid bare the need and utility for a community foundation in Chaffee County. The role we play in immediate emergency response will become no less important as we shift toward recovery, and to a better future. Thank you for your trust and confidence. Even as a young organization, the CCCF has risen to the occasion, and we will not let up in our work with and on behalf of the Chaffee community.
On behalf of the staff and board of the Chaffee County Community Foundation (CCCF), we greatly appreciate your financial support and volunteer time in meeting the needs of our community. During these times of hardship and change, coming together as a united community is more important than ever.
The financial and technical support we have seen is enabled by the generosity of hundreds of other Chaffee neighbors. This is a tangible example of our mission, which is to leverage the power of everyday philanthropy to build a more resilient and thriving Chaffee County.
Sincerely,
Edward Cooper, Board Chair
Joseph Teipel, Executive Director
Chaffee County, Colorado
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