The Crested Butte Rotary Club provides community grants to deserving nonprofit organizations as well as the public schools. Funding is generated by CB Rotary Club’s annual Duckie Race. Grants prioritize education programs, health & human services, youth programming, and arts & culture, and over $150,000 has been invested back into the community over the last 10+ years.

QUESTIONS

If you have any questions, please contact us at crestedbutterotary@gmail.com; include “CB Rotary Grant” in the subject line.

2018-2026 GRANT RECIPIENTS

Nondiscrimination Policy: Organizations are considered only if they do not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, gender, gender expression, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status or any other basis prohibited by law in any of its activities or operations.

Calling All BIG DUCK SPONSORS!

Get Your BIG DUCK in the Race!  A great fun way to give back to the Crested Butte community and help support the Youth through our annual efforts to fund college scholarships to local CB Seniors.

WHO CAN GET A BIG DUCK IN THE RACE?

• A business or nonprofit
• A family or individual

OPERATION BIG DUCK SPONSORS

• Only 30 BIG DUCKS will be allowed in the race
• Decorate or Paint* Your BIG DUCK
• Display Your BIG DUCK in your business, office, or home…
• Special separate BIG DUCK RACE in Coal Creek
• Awards for artistic creativity
• Your logo, photo, or family name on our website 
  • A link to your website or social media
• A thank you color ad in the CB News with your logo, photo, or name
• BIG DUCK donations must be received by July 27 or until sold out!
• BIG DUCK Sponsor Amount: $500
• Recognition for 1st, 2nd, 3rd across the finish line and other artistic awards!

Thank You to all our Big Duck Sponsors for Supporting Crested Butte and the Crested Butte/Mt. Crested Butte Rotary Club!

Get Your BIG DUCK in the Race in 2025! 

Happy New Year! This January we heard from some great individuals and organizations. Our very own Seth Quigg and David Clayton both presented, Seth on his nonprofit, the Karuna Project, and David on astrophotography, a personal passion of his. Jake Jones from the Crested Butte Land Trust also joined us one morning, and Sally Hensley, Leigh Paulsen, Sean McCune, and Dalia Fairchild shared updates about the Crested Butte Community School. It was an informative and interesting month!

You can learn more about Seth’s Karuna Project here, and contact him at info@karuna-project.com.

Learn more about the Land Trust here, and you can email me at ashley@cblandtrust.org with questions and to get more involved.

The Community School’s presentation is available here (keep in mind that the field renderings in this presentation are preliminary and not finalized).

Finally, you can view Dave’s beautiful images in his presentation here!

Next month we’ve got Jenny Birnie from Gunnison Valley Health Foundation, Mike Fabbre with the Mt CB Water and Sanitation District, Kevin Terry on the Western and CU partnership, and Gregg Helvey, an Oscar-nominated film maker, joining us.

Rachel Van Slyke and Jim Sargent shared what’s going on at the new nonprofit, Gunnison Valley Music Association, and a taste of the music they’re providing throughout the valley. GVMA’s mission is to establish Gunnison Valley as the singer/songwriter capital of the Rocky Mountains. Having formed in May of 2023, they’ve accomplished a lot! GVMA connects local musicians to performance venues around the valley; provides and sponsors songwriter programs and events; educates artists about local health services, discounts, business and financial support, and booking services; and partners with other organizations throughout the valley to bring more music to our community. This summer, GVMA was a CB Rotary grant recipient for their Pavillion Dance Series in Almont.

Erin Ganser, Housing Director for the Town of Crested Butte, joined us this morning to share housing projects the Town is working on as well as updates on the County’s Whetstone housing project. Erin explained that the Mineral Point development, currently under construction across from the Gas Cafe, will be rental units available low-income households. Low-income is defined as 60% or less of AMI (Area Median Income). The Town is also working on building 12-15 units in the form of duplexes and triplexes in the Paradise Park neighborhood which will be available to medium-income household (60%-120% of AMI).

Erin also shared the Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority’s (GVRHA) Housing Needs Assessment, which can be accessed at gvrha.org/housing-needs-assessment. GVRHA is working hard to get the word out on the household and employee survey that is the focus of the second phase of the Housing Needs Assessment. The point of the survey is to add color to the secondary data analysis that was conducted in the first phase of the report and included analysis of census and bureau of labor and statistics data as well as a survey of local employers.  They’re looking to learn more about individuals’ housing experiences, needs, and challenges to help better target solutions that work for the valley.

Please take the survey and share it with neighbors, employers, friends, and other community members you know.

Today we were joined by Alec Lindeman from the Crested Butte Mountain Theater, also known as The Mallardi. Alec is the executive director and leads a team of five year-round employees and many dedicated volunteers. He shared some history of our long standing community theater, their youth programming, and this season’s shows. His team provides after school and summer programs for kids ranging from 8 years old through high school. They also manage Subject to Change, Crested Butte’s improv troupe that brings year-round laughter and games. This season, the Mallardi has two shows on the docket. First up is The Odd Couple, starting on July 11 and running through the 21st. On August 22, the Theater will be performing Elvis Has Left the Building through September 1. But that’s not all! The community is invited to a party at the Theater on Friday, August 2 to celebrate and raise funds. It’ll be a fun and busy summer at the Mallardi! Learn more, get tickets, and contact Alec and his team at www.cbmountaintheater.org.

Gunnison County Food Pantry’s executive director, Jodi Payne, and food security coordinator, Jake Bartholomew, joined the CB Rotary Club’s meeting this morning to share their inspiring and critical work.

Jodi shared that 13%, over 1,700 people in Gunnison County live below the poverty line. 40% of our fellow community members live below the self-sufficient standard, meaning the make more than federal poverty levels but less than what they need to live in this county. A family of four needs to make at least $86,959, which is $30,000 less than Gunnison’s median income. Most of the employment opportunities in the county are lower-wage service industry jobs. In fact, about 40% pay less than $30,000 per year. This means many people have to work multiple jobs, and a study by Headwater Economics found that individuals in Gunnison County work 1.34 jobs, equaling 53.6 hours per week.

In the first five months of 2024, the Pantry, which is located at 114 S 14th St in Gunnison, has already served 1,500 individuals. They provide food assistance to those in need in a kind, confidential, and supportive environment. To do this, the Pantry offers 5 distributions of food a week. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, community members can shop at the Pantry’s No Cost Grocery Store, and on Tuesdays and Fridays, Pantry volunteers provide food delivery services for those with accessibility concerns. The Pantry also serves neighbors in the north end of the valley in three ways: a “Mini Pantry” at CBMR’s employee lounge, sample bags distributed annually to CBMR employees, and emergency boxes in five locations in CB and Mt CB.

The Mini Pantry at CBMR provides easy to prepare meals like canned foods, rice, pasta, and cereal that can be made without the use of an oven and is replenished every two weeks. The sample bags are provided in coordination with CBMR to their employees with information about the Pantry for anyone who may need to utilize its services. This April, the Pantry gave away 100 bags of free groceries at CBMR’s last ski day and let CBMR employees know about the assistance that the Pantry can provide during the off-season. Finally, each emergency box around the north end of the valley contains no-prep food for one person for 2-3 days. Despite these efforts, the Pantry’s staff and Board recognized that they may not be meeting the needs of our community in the north end of the valley and started Pop-Up Pantries in 2023.

The Pop-Up Pantries were hosted 3 times at the Mt CB transit center last summer to better understand how the Pantry could serve the community and provide food distribution to alleviate hunger needs in the north end of the valley. The three Pop-Up Pantries served 124 individuals, and the increased need for service in the north end of the valley was made apparent. The Pop-Up Pantries will be held on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays this July through December, half of which will be at the Mt CB transit center and half at the Oh Be Joyful Church in CB.

Jodi recalled a heart-rending moment from last year’s Pop-Up Pantries when two roommates were shopping and one turned to the other and said, “Oh my gosh, we get to eat tonight!”

The Gunnison County Food Pantry provides a low-barrier service due to the substantial number of community members who live below our county’s self-sufficient standard. Pantry guests complete a questionnaire and note their income level on a chart that states whether they qualify for federal food assistance. If they don’t, Pantry volunteers ask if they are in need of food today, and they’re provided with hunger relief assistance if their answer is yes.

What can we, the Rotarians of our community, do to help? Think about our neighbors who may be struggling with food insecurity, and find a way to share this information with our networks. Word of mouth is 3x more likely to bring a new guest to the Pantry. Share the Pantry’s location, hours, and north-valley services. Give to the Pantry financially, by donating food, or through your time as a volunteer. The Pantry in Gunnison and the Pop-Up Pantries in CB and Mt CB both need our volunteer help. Most of us eat apples whenever we want, but let’s think about those who cannot.

Finally, Jake put the Pantry to our own test:
First, is it the truth? Yes, there is food insecurity for families throughout our valley.
Second, is it fair to all concerned? Yes, the Pantry provides assistance to anyone in need. While life isn’t fair to many of our neighbors, we can work together to make it fairer.
Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Yes, spend one shift volunteering at the Pantry, and you’ll know the goodwill and better friendships!
Will it be beneficial to all concerned? Yes, let’s make our corner of the world as good as possible for everyone who lives here.