The truth is that grant-writing season never ends when it comes to the efforts of non-profit entities to raise funds for their worthy causes here in Grand County.

And here it is, Thanksgiving, so the season is upon us to say thanks and recognize the entities which grant funds to the many non-profits here in Grand. While many non-profits in the county are grateful for the funds they receive, they usually don’t have the time or the means to say thanks and acknowledge publicly the gifts they receive.

So let me do it here for them.

There are a total of 195 non-profit entities in the county. I work closely with many of them as part of my work with the Grand Enterprise Initiative. I am even on the boards for some. I know that they are grateful for the support they receive. (I have an advantage in getting my thanks and acknowledgement out there because the newspaper lets me write this business-oriented column, once a month or so.)

And rest assured, acknowledging and proclaiming the thanks and the acknowledgement of non-profits is still “business” oriented because, in fact, almost all of these non-profits operate as if they were businesses. They are just subject to the requirements that their missions align with the 501(c)(3) guidelines. That is, the nonprofit must be exclusively for a public or charitable purpose (such as religious, education or scientific, etc.) and no part of its earnings can benefit private individuals.

These non-profits in Grand County are mostly operating with very close margins most of the time and they are very busy. That makes it tough from them to meet one question written into the grant applications that go through the Grand Foundation for direct funds or for Donor Advised Funds (DAFs).

The question reads as follows: If funded, how will your organization recognize Grand Foundation (or donor advised fund) support?

Here’s how, in one of several places.

So first, I’d like to recognize the support of the Grand Enterprise Initiative the Grand Foundation and several of the donor advised funds it administers: The Town of Granby, The Town of Winter Park, the Town of Grand Lake, the Grand County Board of County Commissioners, the Town of Fraser and the now defunct ROSH Fund of Granby. We have had other great donors as well to include Freeport-McMoran Community Foundation, Mountain Parks Electric, The Kenneth King Foundation, the Department of Local Affairs REDI (Rural Economic Development Initiative) fund, the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s RBDG (Rural Business Development Grants) and others such as the Milanovich Trust.

All these entities have supported our efforts at the Grand Enterprise Initiative. Thanks.

I’m sure that many other non-profits in the county would have a similar, but not the exact same, list of funds that help to support their worthwhile efforts in the non-profit realm of Grand County. On their behalf, let me say thanks and hereby recognize the efforts of these funds to help make Grand County a better place to live. In particular, I know I can speak for Habitat for Humanity of Grand County and the Moffat Road Railroad Museum, as I am on the boards for both.

The support of all these funds is critical both financially and morally. By morally I mean it’s a great sign of moral support for these entities, and for the Grand Enterprise Initiative, to see some support. It does help to validate our work.

That being said, I don’t envy the work of the foundation and its funds in making the tough decisions of whom to fund and for how much. My guess is that the foundation would love if it had endless funds and could just dole out the money as requested.

I can assure you that almost all of the requests are probably valid and worthy. But there’s just not that much money sitting around. So, I also want to thank the foundation and its donor advised funds for going through that tough process.

Could the counties public entities put more of their funds into the coffers of these non-profits? I’ve always thought so, but putting more out there gets to be a moral and ethical choice. How much should be taken from, say, road improvements versus a good, emotional cause? How far should tax dollars go toward well-meaning non-profits? Almost all are deserving. This gets into the realm of “moral hazard.”

Those are questions for another time and on a case-by-case basis. But let me say here: Thanks.

Your funding is appreciated and recognized.

Patrick Brower is the Enterprise Facilitator for the Grand Enterprise Initiative. He offers free and confidential business management coaching to anyone who wants to start or expand a business in Grand County. He is also the author of “KILLDOZER: The True Story of the Colorado Bulldozer Rampage.”  He can be reached by calling 970-531-0632 or at pbrower@consultbrower.com.