A Good Year
Finale
And, just like that, 2019 is coming to a close and the Black Canyon Boys & Girls Club (BCBGC) is entering its 21st year in the Montrose and Olathe community. This will be my last weekly article about the Club in honor of its 20th birthday, and I want to thank the Montrose Daily Press for working with me on such a cool project. The opportunity to share such valuable insight into the BCBGC week to week has been an amazing journey, and I have enjoyed every article I have written.
A lot has happened over the last year with the Club, most notably the launch of the capital campaign in May for the BCBGC’s Montrose Unit’s permanent facility. With an initial goal of $1 million in local funding (which once obtained allows the Club to apply for grants and low-interest rate loans) the Club is ¾ of the way there in only a matter of seven months! That is spectacular! I always knew how generous the community was but was pleasantly surprised by just how giving and in such a short timeframe. I want to thank everyone who has donated thus far, not only monetarily but with help with lot maintenance for the future home of the Club, other in-kind donations, and general support. The goal for 2020 is to get that last push of $250,000 to finish the local fundraising in order to apply for those grants and loans and to get a date to break ground and start to build the facility. Hopefully by the Club’s 25th birthday, the Montrose Unit will be built and the Club will be able to serve all those kids who want to become members.
With that, I know you have seen at the tail end of the articles written since the beginning of November, information on the Club’s monthly donor drive which concludes on December 31, 2019. I wanted to conclude this article with some clarification on why monthly donations to the BCBGC are so vital for its success. The Club has two major fundraisers every year; the Montrose Wine & Food Festival in May and Crab Crack in November. These two fundraisers are key to the continued operations of Club, as local fundraising and grants are Club’s sole sources of income for operations. While these fundraisers are wonderful and the whole community, again, is very generous and giving with sponsorships, attendance, and donations, these funds are, overall, unpredictable in nature. We never know how much the BCBGC will receive every year from said fundraisers, which is also true with some grants, which makes budgeting difficult at times. However, with monthly donations of the same amount, this allows the Club to know, at least in part every month, how much funding it will receive and count on which helps with budgeting. While every single donation the Club receives from philanthropic folks and organizations is great appreciated, it is nice to know month to month what consistent funding will be coming into the Club. So, if you have not already, you have until Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. to become a monthly donor of the Club, for any monthly amount, to be entered into a drawing to win two VIP tickets to the Montrose Wine & Food Festival (valued at $200). The winner will be chosen and announced on March 1, 2020 (existing monthly donors will be automatically entered to win). As an added bonus, any amount you donate to the BCBGC will be eligible for a Child Care Tax Credit on your Colorado state taxes (so if you donate $15 a month, totaling $180 for the year, you would be eligible to receive $90 back on your taxes). You can sign up to become a monthly donor today at https://bcbgc2.ddock.gives/. For more information on the Montrose Wine & Food Festival, please visit www.montrosewinefestival.com. For more information on the Colorado Child Care Tax Credit, visit https://tax.colorado.gov/sites/tax/files/Income%2035.pdf/.
Thank you again to the Montrose Daily Press for this chance to share each week with the community about the BCBGC and thank you to everyone who has supported the Club, in any way, over the last 20 years. Here is to making great futures start here for another 20 years and beyond.
Bud Taylor is the Executive Director for the Black Canyon Boys & Girls Club and has been for the past three years. Prior to that he served on the Club’s Board of Directors, as a junior staff member, and was a Club kid himself. Feel free to contact Bud Taylor at btaylor@bcbgc.org or visit the Club’s website for more information, www.bcbgc.org.