Our Impact
The LARRK Foundation is proud to have helped hundreds of local organizations in pursuing their mission. Here, we feature three of our grantees and their impact.
St. Vrain Valley Schools
St. Vrain Valley School District provides current and future generations with a strong competitive advantage so that all students can achieve success in a globalized world. The District also sets a high bar in ensuring that students graduate on time and are well-positioned to compete for any job or gain entry to any college. St. Vrain provides a rigorous base education complemented by a layer of innovation and excellence to give students an advantage in the real world.
The LARRK Foundation has supported many initiatives with St. Vrain, beginning in 2020. This funding has been critical in helping St. Vrain launch new initiatives with transformative potential.
One example is the Innovation Center, which is designed to give students high-level technical job skills in emerging fields. Students in the Innovation Center explore virtual reality, neuroscience, bio-engineering, and conservation projects, in some cases with the help of artificial intelligence. The Innovation Center provides a hands-on learning environment preparing students for tomorrow’s career success. Students may also earn college credit at no cost and, in some cases, are compensated for their work on project teams.
The LARRK Foundation’s most recent investment was in the Leadership Institute for Transformative Development. This program offers a two-day immersive experience for educators and experts around the country in which they can witness St. Vrain’s cutting-edge offerings and explore how similar innovations can be adapted to their own schools and organizations. This ripple effect allows the lessons from St. Vrain’s innovative models to be adapted around the country for better outcomes for students nationwide.
“We are very grateful for the LARRK Foundation’s support, which has helped to advance several of St. Vrain’s most innovative strategies. We are strongly aligned in what matters most to students – engaging them deeply in hands-on work that matters to their futures. Through their support of our Innovation Center and our new Leadership Institute for Transformative Education (LIFTED), their support will ultimately impact thousands of students in St. Vrain and far beyond.”
University of Denver Graduate School of Professional Psychology (GSPP)
The University of Denver’s Graduate School of Professional Psychology aims to transform the way we think about and approach mental health and wellness. It employs groundbreaking academic programs and experiential training that aims to ensure it can better meet the needs of the communities it serves.
In 2016, the LARRK Foundation made a multi-year grant to GSPP supporting faculty positions in mental health for patients newborn to five years old, as well as their caregivers and families. By supporting research and programs with this focus, the LARRK Foundation demonstrates its philosophy that early intervention is the best form of prevention for the challenges life may bring.
By supporting faculty as well as research capacity, the LARRK Foundation leverages its gift into one that will support students year after year, catalyzing new levels of competency in early childhood mental health support at a time when the need keeps escalating.
“LARRK Foundation’s formative investment in perinatal to adolescent mental health at GSPP has transformed mental health direct service delivery, grown the knowledge base of best practice and built a workforce pipeline of professionals equipped to serve this integral population. What was seeded by their generosity has blossomed into a virtuous circle that grows and grows.”
– Dr. Torrey Wilson | Dean of Graduate School of Professional Psychology
The Cottonwood Institute
The Cottonwood Institute’s vision is to awaken the changemaker within every student. They do this by connecting middle and high school students to nature and inspiring them to protect it.
The LARRK Foundation has supported the Cottonwood Institute’s Changemaker Alumni Program (CAP). Graduates of the Cottonwood Institute’s core programs are eligible to apply for a year-long Changemaker Alumni Program. The cohort meets twice a month and embarks on overnight camping trips throughout the school year. They design and implement action projects to help address local environmental issues and cap the experience with a five-day expedition they help plan and facilitate at the end of the school year.
The LARRK Foundation has provided critical funding and multi-year support to help Cottonwood Institute invest in the next generation of leaders, problem-solvers, and changemakers. An inspiring example is Robert Marquez, who began engaging with the Cottonwood Institute as a middle school student. He was that year’s winner of the coveted Ripple Effect Award for his outstanding leadership with his project to address a local environmental issue. Robert also pursued the Changemaker Alumni program, and became an assistant instructor while still in high school. He went on to college at Mesa University in Grand Junction, where he is pursuing an engineering degree and is active in Engineers Without Borders. Robert wanted to give back to Cottonwood and joined its governing board, where he now helps advise and build the alumni engagement program. Robert is an excellent example of the “student to leadership” pathway that Cottonwood Institute cultivates with the support of the LARRK Foundation.
“Nonprofits need long-term, multi-year funding to tackle big issues in our communities that businesses and governments aren’t addressing. The LARRK Foundation gets this and has been a huge supporter of Cottonwood Institute, our programs, and is investing in our students who are our future leaders, problem-solvers, and changemakers!”
Connect with the LARRK Foundation
Denver area non-profit organizations seeking funding are welcome to submit a letter of inquiry.