Mission
Neighborhood Resource Center of Colorado (NRC-Colorado) works with residents, associations, local governments and community-based organizations to increase group or individual capacity to build stronger communities, particularly at the block level. NRC offers ideas, strategies, written materials, and grants that educate and encourage neighbors to build a stronger sense of community.
Vision
NRC-Colorado is a strong, vibrant organization recognized statewide for creating strategic partnerships, providing technical support, and increasing the capacity of local governments, businesses, neighborhoods, and other organizations to resolve emerging community issues.
Goals
NRC-Colorado’s goals are to:
- Strengthen the capacity of neighborhood associations and individual residents to improve their communities through educational programs, written materials and technical assistance;
- Enhance the effectiveness of neighborhood assistance programs sponsored by businesses, foundations, and government agencies by providing advice and assistance; and
- Develop new programs to assist neighborhood groups and people working to improve their communities including financial, technical, and professional assistance.
Accomplishments
In 2008, NRC-Colorado accomplished the following:
- Adminstered 19 grants submitted by Denver residents in select neighborhoods to build their capcity to resolve self-identified community issues, which involved more than 7,100 residents.
- Distributed 2,000 Safeway certificates to spur block parties throughout the state. Approximately 10,000 Coloradans partipated in these block-level events.
- Worked with 21 police/sheriffs departments to promote National Night Out (NNO) activities in their respective jurisdications; NNO is a unique, nationally-organized crime prevention event.
- Reviewed and awarded 72 microgrant applications to support block-level projects such as alley clean-up or street beautification efforts to build long-lasting neighbor relations.
- Partnered with ReadyColorado to bring emergency preparedness to the block level.
- Organized 5 forums for Neighborhood Liaisons; these local government staffers address neighborhood issues in their respective jurisdications affecting 1 million residents in the Denver metro area.
History
NRC-Colorado is a 501c3, nonprofit organization whose mission is to help build stronger and healthier communities. Founded in 1993 by neighborhood activists to assist others in learning how to improve and strengthen their communities, we have served almost 1,500 neighborhood associations and many tens of thousands of residents throughout Colorado.
Today NRC-Colorado’s core efforts focus on promoting “Good Neighboring” tools and strategies in partnership with Safeway and Xcel Energy Foundation that has produced 15,400 block parties, encouraged 525 block-to-block activities, and distributed more than 236,000 resource guides affecting 432,600 Coloradans.
NRC-Colorado also continues its community building work by providing technical assistance as a Mile High United Way partner agency, often at no charge to residents and local governments predominantly in metro Denver. Program planning assistance is offered to neighborhood leaders, associations and others to increase neighbor-to-neighbor relations, leadership capacity and other community building efforts throughout the metro area and elsewhere in Colorado.
Board of Directors
Jon Clarke - President City of Longmont Neighborhood Services
Prakash Bhatt Small Business Specialist, US Bank
Jerry Orten Orten, Cavanaugh, Richmond, Holmes LLC
Bethany Gravell Center for Native Ecosystems
Margee Cannon City of Aurora Neighborhood Services
Jennifer Hakanson - Sec'y/Treas Longmont Neighborhood Representative
Harriet Hogue Retired Community Planner
Lynda O’Mara - Vice President LOMara Designs, Lakewood
Ginny Sawyer City of Fort Collins Neighborhood Services
Susana Sotelo City of Thornton Neighborhood Services
Annual Reports
NRC-Colorado 2008 Annual Report
NRC-Colorado 2007 Annual Report
NRC-Colorado 2006 Annual Report
NRC-Colorado 2005 Annual Report
NRC-Colorado 2004 Annual Report
NRC-Colorado 2003 Annual Report
NRC-Colorado 2002 Annual Report
NRC-Colorado 2001 Annual Report
NRC-Colorado 2000 Annual Report
Staff Bios
Sarah McCarthy - Executive Director
Ms. McCarthy calls herself a “recovering bureaucrat” since ending her Colorado state government tenure in the early 1990s. Sarah has used her bachelor’s degree in political science and MA in Public Administration from University of Colorado-Denver School of Public Affairs working for all three branches of government at all three levels of government (Federal, State, and Local). Sarah is also a Fellow of the Institute for Court Management.
Ms. McCarthy worked for 10 years for Colorado State government in a variety of increasingly responsible positions demonstrating her expertise as a policy/budget analyst and program planner with strong communication skills, both oral and written. She has worked for the City of Denver as a Neighborhood Liaison for Mayor Wellington Webb. Over the years, Ms. McCarthy has also worked for several small non-profit organizations in Colorado as well as operating and owning a 10-year consulting business related to historic preservation. Ms. McCarthy has served on numerous non-profit boards or other commissions and committees, most recently for the League of Women Voters of Denver.
