As presented previously in the blog/article entitled “Giving in Boulder County”, a total of 2,007 non-profit organizations were operating in Boulder County in 2015. Of these, 75% had annual revenues of less than $100,000. Just over 6% had revenues of over $1 million. The broad range of their activities covered areas of health, human services, arts and culture, education, research and advocacy.

The large number of non-profits and the possible duplication of services that are being delivered in communities within Boulder County has long been a concern of non-profit administrators. In response to this concern, two important non-profit organizations have been developed in the County to coordinate resources and services in the critical areas of health and human services.

One such organization is the Human Service Alliance of Boulder County (HSA) that is based out of the City of Boulder.

The other and older organization, that has operated since June of 1976, is the St. Vrain Community Council (SVCC). The goals of the Council that are based in history and that continue to operate today are the following:

(a) promote networking within the Human Service Agencies that serve the Eastern Boulder County and Longmont community;

(b) professional development on key issues/trends affecting the community; and

(c) have a collective ‘voice’ or representation on issues that impact community members.

The education aspect has been a central component of SVCC since the beginning. It was designed to operate, and still operates, as an information pool and resource office providing coordinated services to the community. According to Nancy Ceridwyn, a former Council president: “The St. Vrain Community Council was established to be a place to find out what human service agencies were doing, what local needs were and how to fill the gap.”

To further coordinate the delivery of resources and services in the health and human services area, the SVCC and the HSA recently begun discussions at the board level to facilitate Boulder County’s non-profits in: (a) addressing common issues that are impacting the region and the quality of life of its citizens; and (b) coordinating the delivery of resources in addressing issues relating to affordable housing, migrant housing, homelessness, community support for human services funding, and a range of social issues relating to domestic abuse, drug addiction and children’s’ welfare.

At present, membership in SVCC is comprised of fifty-four non-profit organizations as well as ninety-four individuals. Monthly meetings take place the last Tuesday of each month at the Safety & Justice Center in Longmont.

Anyone or any representative of a non-profit in the Longmont and Eastern Boulder County area wishing for further information on SVCC is invited to contact the Secretary of SVCC: Jessica Thompson at jessica@vfccasa.org.

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