EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION INITIATIVE
With a five-year, $1.25 million commitment, Aspen Community Foundation launched the Early Childhood Education Initiative (ECEI) in July 2003 to address quality and accessibility issues in early education programs. The Community Foundation will have granted $600,000 by 2009 to the City of Aspen’s Kids First for the creation and ongoing operation of a downvalley Kids First office located in Glenwood Springs. The remaining $650,000 continues to be granted to nonprofit early childhood programs that have submitted proposals based on Initiative guidelines.

Studies consistently illustrate that stimulating cognitive and language development in the formative years prepares children not only for kindergarten but for overall socio-emotional and intellectual success in their future. The ECEI is meeting critical needs in local early education by providing grants to support staff retention, professional development for staff, financial aid for families, and overall quality in preschool programs.

LATINO COMMUNITY INVESTMENT INITIATIVE
By the turn of the century, Latinos represented a rapidly growing and significant population of the Roaring Fork Valley. Almost all were recent immigrants to the United States who faced language, cultural, legal, and economic barriers as they worked toward self-reliance. Based on Census 2000 data, the region’s Latino population in 2003 was estimated to be at 36% of the total regional population; in 20 years it is estimated to be at 50%. With no other organized efforts dedicated to understanding and improving the Latino status, Aspen Community Foundation created the Latino Community Investment Initiative (LCII) to build an equitable and sustainable community that values diversity.

Since the five-year Initiative’s inception in 2001, great strides have been made in raising awareness around Latino culture, while attending to integration issues affecting the entire community. The Foundation’s commitment ended in 2006 having granted $1 million to ten nonprofit programs. The Ellen Beth Freedman (EBF) Cultural Diversity Fund, named in honor of former Aspen Community Foundation Executive Director Ellen Beth Freedman and her spearheading of the LCII, continues the work of the LCII by awarding grants to organizations that embrace ethnic and cultural diversity.