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FORT COLLINS, Colo., June 6, 2022 – Students from 26 middle and high schools in Estes, Poudre and Thompson school districts recently celebrated the end of their school year by awarding $151,725 to Larimer County nonprofits. The award celebrations marked the culmination of a year spent designing and managing their own grantmaking programs through Give Next.
Give Next is a school-based program that uses grantmaking as a tool to shift power to youth, build understanding of complex social issues and connect youth to each other and their community. Through the program, local businesses, foundations and individuals become classroom donors by providing each school with $5,000 to award to Larimer County nonprofits. Students work together to identify community needs, choose a focus area, create a mission statement, research nonprofits, review grant applications and make funding decisions. In addition, they organize their own fundraisers to increase their grantmaking capacity. In celebration of Give Next’s 10th anniversary this year, Alpine Bank sponsored a $10,000 student fundraising match. Students surpassed the challenge, raising a record $11,725—bringing total student fundraising to $21,725.
Dozens of Larimer County nonprofits will benefit from the funds. The Alliance for Suicide Prevention received grants from six classrooms, totaling more than $12,000. In part, the funds will support their Youth Advisory Council. The council is comprised of youth volunteers who review the nonprofit’s peer-focused activities. They provide feedback and guidance to ensure programs are tailored for and well received by youth in the community. This resonated with Give Next students, who recognize the importance of amplifying youth voices to prevent suicides.
“Mental health is a very pressing issue that we face every day with the suicide rates amongst teens growing,” said Cooper McGrew, Give Next participant from Boltz Middle School. “Even though there are support groups out there, kids still struggle reaching out and feeling heard. We need to create a society in which [youth] voices are raised up and truly listened to before it is too late.” Boltz Middle School donated $3,600 of their grant money to the Alliance for Suicide Prevention.
Since 2012, students have awarded over three quarters of a million dollars to more than 100 nonprofits in the community through Give Next. More than $100,000 of that has come directly from student-led fundraising efforts.
For more information about Give Next, visit givenextnoco.org.
Click here to view the full list of 2021-2022 Give Next grant recipients.
Bohemian Foundation provides management support for Give Next. Bohemian Foundation is a private family foundation established in 2001. Based in Fort Collins, Colorado, Bohemian Foundation supports local, national and global efforts to build strong communities.
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FORT COLLINS, Colo., May 9, 2022 – Pianos About Town, a program that brings local art and spontaneous music to the streets of Fort Collins, today announced the artists selected to paint pianos in 2022. Twelve of 13 artists are new to the program this season.
Local artists selected to paint pianos in 2022 are Becca Black, Hannah Call, CM Canino, Ciera Dykstra, Monika Lea Jones, Athena Koss, Cheng Li, Holly McQuinn, Kris Barz Mendonça, Rachael Pitchford, Makari Roehrkasse, Snail Candy Arts, and Aerica Raven Van Dorn.
“We’re excited to welcome our returning and many new artists to this program,” said Ellen Martin, Visual Arts Administrator for the City of Fort Collins. “We received a record number of applications this year and are pleased with the diversity of styles and artist experience selected as part of the City of Fort Collins’ RFP process.”
Outdoor summer painting will start May 11 at the Art in Action tent on the south side of Fort Collins’ Old Town Square.
Kris Barz Mendonça is a first-time artist with the Pianos About Town program. Mendonça says the pianos were one of the first things he noticed when he moved to Fort Collins from Brazil.
“I feel connected to the initiative of the Pianos About Town project because art in public spaces is one of the ways you can make urban areas more community oriented,” said Mendonça. “At the same time, art can be visually appealing or thought provoking, being able to make people learn about our past or wonder about the future of society.” Mendonça uses a lighthearted colorful style, friendly characters and storytelling to explore a range of topics.
Mendonça will paint “The Universe in a Piano Shell,” a concept that explores the human desire to explore the universe. Mendonça will use a comic-inspired style and narrative to depict Fort Collins and the universe.
Mendonça concept image:
Cheng Li learned to play piano as a young child.
"I remember riding my little sky-blue bike down to my piano teacher’s house for my weekly piano lessons.” said Li. “From then on, music has been the one constant in my life. When I moved overseas from Japan to the U.S. and lost my spoken language, music was the one language that stayed with me. Music was there for me when I felt lost without my voice.”
“This project called out to me because it married two of my passions: music and art,” said Li. “When I was designing this piece, my focus was to create an inviting and fun design to attract people to play the piano. Whether a new player, a seasoned player, or just a passerby, I want to share my love of music and art with them through this project.”
Li also played a painted piano on her first visit to Fort Collins.
“I spotted a painted piano and sat down to play,” said Li. “In that moment, playing on the beautiful piano under the dappled shade of an aged tree, I felt at home in this new place. I hope that through my art, I can help create a similar magical moment for someone else strolling through the town.”
Li will paint “Whimsical Music Machine,” a concept that reimagines the internal mechanisms of a piano. Instead of strings and hammers, this piano is powered by gears and pipes. The whimsical musical machine grows rainbows and plants, and the world is inhabited by colorful creatures who call the piano their home.
Li concept image:
Pianos About Town brings local art and spontaneous music to the streets of Fort Collins. Pianos About Town started in 2010 as a collaboration among Bohemian Foundation, the City of Fort Collins Art in Public Places program and the Fort Collins Downtown Development Authority. Community members watch as local artists transform donated pianos into public art. In 2018, the program celebrated its 100th painted piano.
Scattered among 20 locations across town in the summer, and six locations in the winter, the completed pianos offer surprise interruptions of color and music across Fort Collins. The whimsical pianos beckon to passersby and invite them to make and listen to music together.
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FORT COLLINS, Colo., January 25, 2022 – Fort Collins tops national rankings for best places to live. Locals even nicknamed it “the Choice City.” But many local organizations know that it is not a choice city for everyone.
Local nonprofits, schools and government units are using new grants to act on these issues and more. Bohemian Fund grants from Bohemian Foundation support organizations in their work to make Fort Collins a more equitable place. Each organization can apply to receive a grant up to $30,000.
Last month 36 organizations received grants totaling $587,000. Some highlights include.
The next chance to request a grant is coming up. The application opens Jan. 27 and closes Feb. 24. Find out how to make a grant request during a workshop Jan. 25, Jan. 26 or Feb. 1. Register at BohemianFoundation.org/bohemian-fund/workshops-applicant-support. A group of community reviewers and Bohemian Foundation staff selects applicants for awards.
Click here for a complete list of organizations that received grants last month:
Bohemian Foundation is a private family foundation established in 2001. Based in Fort Collins, Colorado, Bohemian Foundation supports local, national and global efforts to build strong communities. Visit BohemianFoundation.org for more information.
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FORT COLLINS, Colorado, December 6, 2021- Pianos About Town, an interactive public art program in Fort Collins, announced today that it is seeking artists or artist teams to paint or artistically decorate pianos in 2022.
The program is looking for diversity in artwork styles and concepts, with a preference for emerging artists and new and exciting ideas. Selected artists will receive an honorarium of $1,000. To apply, artists must submit a letter of intent and concept rendering. The application deadline is Feb. 1 before 4 p.m. MST. A City of Fort Collins Art in Public Places committee selects artists each year. For further information and to apply, visit fcgov.com/art-calls.
The program will offer two virtual sessions to provide resources for potential applicants. During the first session, potential applicants will hear a presentation about the application process and will have opportunities to ask questions. The second set of virtual sessions are one-on-one meetings during which program staff will work with artists to review their applications and answer questions. Neither session is required in order to apply.
Pianos About Town is a public art initiative that provides paid work to local visual artists, gives the public the opportunity to observe these artists work in real time, showcases the work of artists throughout town, and brings opportunities for spontaneous musical expression to the streets of Fort Collins.
The original inspiration for Pianos About Town comes from British artist Luke Jerram, who created a 60-piano installation that toured the world, stopping in New York City in June 2010. Pianos About Town also was inspired by a similar project on Denver’s 16th Street Mall. The first pianos were placed in Downtown Fort Collins in 2010.
Pianos come from donations made by community members looking for a new home for their used instruments. Pianos are picked up, free of charge, from their previous homes and brought to a storage area where they are cleaned, tuned, prepped for painting, and readied for the outside elements. After that, the painting begins. Each selected local artist spends approximately two weeks painting their piano in downtown Fort Collins, outdoors in a public location when weather permits. Once painted, each finished piano enters into rotation at Pianos About Town locations throughout Fort Collins. Area businesses play a key role in the success of the project by “adopting” the painted pianos and covering them during inclement weather.
Pianos About Town is a collaboration among Bohemian Foundation, the Downtown Development Authority and the City of Fort Collins Art in Public Places Program.
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