As 2018 winds down, it’s the perfect opportunity to say thank you to our members and community. We believe we are only prosperous together, and with your support, Elevations Credit Union and Elevations Foundation were able to give back in many ways to the Front Range communities we all love. While it would be impossible to include everything we’re grateful for in one place, we’d like to share—in no particular order—10 ways we gave back this year that we are immensely thankful for.
1. All-time high of $84,000 in scholarships awarded at the Celebration of Community
In May, Elevations Foundation awarded an all-time high of $84,000 in scholarships at its annual Celebration of Community. The scholarship recipients are 2018 graduates of Adams 12, Boulder Valley, Colorado Early Colleges, Jefferson County, Poudre, St. Vrain Valley and Thompson School Districts. In total, this scholarship initiative has provided over $349,000 in scholarships for higher education during its first eight years.
“I have learned many new things in my classes and met many new, amazing people. Each day I keep in mind that all these new opportunities I have been able to experience are in large part thanks to the Elevations Foundation. I want to thank all of you for the help you have provided me and the honor of being able to attend CU Boulder as part of the Elevations community!” – Cristina Lau, 2018 Wm. C. “Bill” Sterner Memorial Scholarship recipient
2. Our employees volunteered all along the Front Range
Every Elevations employee receives 16 hours of Volunteer Time Off annually to give back in our communities. Here a few highlights from volunteering this year:
Many of us helped Community Food Share this year by organizing the food pantry and supporting their annual golf tournament.
See more of our Volunteer Time Off photos!
3. We raised $20,000 for Big Green
In October, we donated $20,000 to Big Green with the help of our members and the community at two events at Jessup Farm: Elevations Harvest Fest and Elevations Farm to Table Dinner with Green River Ordinance. The donation will help build four Learning Gardens in the Poudre School District at Tavelli Elementary, O’Dea Elementary, Laurel Elementary and Lincoln Middle School. The donation also went toward a challenge match from the City of Fort Collin’s Nature in the City Initiative, which strives to create and enhance additional natural spaces while providing residents easy access to nature.
4. Proud to support Pearl Street Arts Festival
We were proud to be the presenting sponsor of the 40th Annual Pearl Street Arts Fest. The staple Downtown Boulder event was a great success. Our tents offered attendees a cool place to play games and listen to music between shopping for art from the 100+ artists!
5. We hosted Elevations AppleFest to support Growing Gardens
With the help of our members and the community, we raised $4,000 at Elevations AppleFest in October at YA YA Farm & Orchard for local nonprofit Growing Gardens. The funds raised will directly benefit the Cultiva Youth Project at Growing Gardens, which enriches the community through sustainable urban agriculture programs for teens ages 12-19. The event included tractor rides, dinner and a live concert in the orchard.
6. We celebrated our Fort Collins Midtown Branch opening by giving back
We hosted a grand opening at our new branch at 2025 S. College Ave. in Fort Collins in February, and we contributed $25 for every visitor who stopped by and $50 for every new loan and member account opened, plus matching funds for additional donations made by members. This added up to a total of $2,500 donated to two local nonprofit organizations: Healing Warriors and Project Smile.
7. We thanked charter member Bill Weber as he celebrated 100 years
We hosted a weeklong celebration for our longtime member Dr. Bill Weber. Bill visits us at our Table Mesa branch every week and has been a member for decades. He even wore his Team Elevations shirt when he became the oldest person to compete in the BolderBOULDER earlier this year! We were happy to host his family for the celebration.
8. Bikes, bike and more bikes!
We collected 533 used bikes during our month-long Community Bike Drive in May to benefit two local bike organizations: Community Cycles in Boulder and the Fort Collins Bicycle Co-op. We also donated a total of $5,330 to these organizations.
In July, we proudly announced the renewal of our sponsorship for the Buffalo Bicycle Classic (BBC) through 2026 and increased our annual support to $50,000 per year. In addition, the BBC announced the creation of the Elevations Credit Union Buffalo Bicycle Classic Scholarship—a full tuition scholarship that will be awarded annually to a continuing BBC scholar based on their excellent academic record at CU and their demonstrated commitment to academic and community service. The BBC is the largest scholarship fundraising event in Colorado.
And we continued to be a proud part of Bike to Work Day, with breakfast stations in Boulder, Louisville and Fort Collins.
9. Elevations Foundation gave grants to largest number of recipients
Each year, Elevations Foundation awards community grants to local nonprofits making a difference along the Front Range. With $69,500 awarded to 20 grantees serving communities from Fort Collins to Westminster, this year’s grant giving had the largest number of grant recipients within a single year in the Foundation’s history.
10. Proud to provide financial education to youth, our members and community
In 2018, we hosted 100 free educational seminars across the Front Range—from down payments to retirement planning, and beekeeping to classic films. And we continue to conduct financial education presentations to K-12 students—in fact, we are proud to be the No. 1 credit union in Colorado for reaching the most students in classrooms with financial literacy presentations. We were also recognized with the Desjardins Award at the state level for excellence in youth financial education.
None of this is possible without you—our members and community. Thank you for your support in 2018. If you believe in these causes, help us do more by donating to Elevations Foundation.
Want to see what we’re up to throughout the year? Like us on Facebook to find upcoming events, photos when we’re out and about in the community, fun contests and much more. We look forward to seeing you there in 2019!