Canyon Cares celebrates on October 24!

It’s party time and you’re invited! This year, Canyon Cares celebrates 20 years and $1,000,000 of support for residents in need of assistance throughout our mountain community.

In 2006, a group of neighbors in Coal Creek Canyon noted that hard-working locals sometimes struggled to cover essential living expenses when unforeseen hardship such as job loss or a medical crisis created a financial shortfall. They launched a sustainable non-profit organization with the goal of providing quick, short-term emergency financial assistance. They called it Canyon Cares. 

Funding came solely from individual donations in the early years. That changed dramatically in September 2013 when an unprecedented flash flood overwhelmed Coal Creek’s capacity. It washed out parts of Highway 72, destroyed 14 homes, and damaged more than 200 homes in Coal Creek Canyon.

Thanks to the generosity of local residents, Canyon Cares collected $10,000 in donations between September and December that year and received its first infusion of grant funding. The organization helped flood-affected families with clothing, dumpsters, driveway repairs, tires, gas cards, and utility bills, demonstrating that a hyper-local grassroots organization could respond quickly and meaningfully in a crisis.

The community took notice and donations steadily grew, enabling Canyon Cares to eventually broaden its service area beyond Coal Creek Canyon to include Central City, Black Hawk, Nederland, unincorporated Gilpin and Western Boulder counties. 

When COVID-19 spread to Colorado in 2020, Canyon Cares tapped into lessons learned from the flood response to mobilize assistance swiftly. Casino workers, ski resort employees, and small business owners who were suddenly facing zero income turned to Canyon Cares for help.

That year, the organization distributed nearly $70,000 to over 100 households — made possible, in part, by new grants from the State of Colorado, Boulder County, and Eldora's charitable trust.

When a devastating fire enveloped Nederland’s Caribou Village Shopping Center in late 2025, Canyon Cares quickly outreached all affected business owners to offer assistance for their employees. Thanks to generous donations from Eldora’s Ashes to Action Campaign and Namaste Solar’s annual Community Profit Sharing Program, the organization has helped 10 individuals with fire-related aid so far. 

The scope of need has significantly expanded since 2006. The first year, the organization raised and distributed nearly $6,000 in aid. Since, Canyon Cares has provided an average of $1,522 to 657 households. Types of assistance include everything from medical, dental, utilities, propane and firewood expenses, to rent or mortgage payments, vehicle fixes, water well repairs and septic service. For most clients, emergency aid from Canyon Cares has enabled them to maintain stable living and self-sufficiency once again.

Today, 51% of our annual revenue still comes from individual donations big and small, demonstrating that this community truly embraces the neighbors-helping-neighbors concept.

Since 2006, Canyon Cares has infused more than $1,000,000 in assistance back into our mountain community. We do this with a nine-member volunteer board of directors, a conservative 2% overhead, and a quick response window - typically within days of receiving a request. Most importantly, we do this with the sustained support from individual donors, local businesses like Ace Hardware, Busey Brews and Eldora Mountain Resort, Boulder and Gilpin counties and corporate funders such as United Power.

“We are deeply grateful to our generous donors, grantors, and partners who make this effort possible,” said Karen Siefert, President of Canyon Cares Board of Directors. “For 20 years, Canyon Cares has been about neighbors helping neighbors. Please join us at the Coal Creek Canyon Community Hall on Saturday, October 24 at 6 p.m. to celebrate our 20-year milestone!”

Check CanyonCares.org or the Canyon Cares Facebook page for updates on the event. See you there!