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Something to Be Thankful For

By Lisa Lujan, Online Giving Coordinator, Community First Foundation

Ah, Thanksgiving… a time for great food, family, friends and (for some people), football. It’s a time to relax and reflect on the many blessings we have in this country; so many blessings in fact that we follow it up with a weekend of spending money on items that we may or may not need. That isn’t to say there’s anything wrong with commercialism (who doesn’t love a great sale; I know I do) or Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

But it is from this environment that a national day of giving, #GivingTuesday, was created by New York’s 92nd Street Y. For any of you feeling a bit guilty about spending copious amounts of money, #GivingTuesday (Dec. 2 this year) is the perfect day to schedule a donation for Colorado Gives Day, a local day of giving focused on our great state of Colorado taking place on December 9th. In that spirit (and just for fun) here are just a few of the many reasons I’m grateful to live here:
  • We have a plethora of nonprofits in Colorado ranging from animal and child welfare to assistance for the homeless and those with disabilities; the possibilities to support your community are endless. Over 1,600 of those nonprofits are on ColoradoGives.org.
  • This is a close-knit community that works to support each other. Need proof? Just check out our Corporate Challenge page for a list of companies who are encouraging their employees to give back to their favorite nonprofits. Or the Collaborations List which features groups of nonprofits working together and sharing resources to promote their nonprofits together for a common good.
  • Community First Foundation works hard to support its community, and I’m proud to be a part of that. This year Community First Foundation and FirstBank are partnering to create a $1 Million Incentive Fund for Colorado Gives Day, one of the largest incentive funds in the country and up by 300 percent.
  • The donors, board members and nonprofits who work hard to help all those in need in the community through their time, talents and treasures.


I couldn’t ask for a better community or a better state – which is a lot to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!
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