Community Shares of Colorado has been raising dollars and awareness for its member nonprofits for more than 20 years. Since its inception, CSC has raised nearly $13 million for local charities through its workplace giving program.

CSC also provides member nonprofits with technical assistance and training on development, technology and the leadership skills needed in the 21st century. The Park People is proud to announce our new partnership with Community Shares of Colorado.

With a staff of roughly 600, the City's Department of Parks and Recreation is charged with maintaining one of the premier parks and recreation systems in the nation. The Department of Parks and Recreation is home to both Denver Forestry and Tree by Tree: The Mile High Million, both of whom have been key partners of the Denver Digs Trees program.

Parks and Recreation has also been a long time partner in the capital restoration projects pursued by The Park People. Most recently, Parks and Recreation was instrumental in helping The Park People complete the new $4.7 million dollar Gates Tennis Center in Cherry Creek.

The Denver Climate Challenge is a program of Groundwork Denver (www.GroundworkDenver.org) through which residents and businesses are empowered to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by saving energy, recycling, and, in partnership with Denver Digs Trees, planting trees. Groundworks Denver is currently focused on providing energy audits in many of Denver's traditionally underserved areas.

Denver Housing Authority (DHA) is has also been a key partner to The Park People and the Denver Digs Trees program, particularly in our efforts to distribute and plant trees in undercanopied areas. In 2008, our big spring planting took place at Quigg Newton Homes, a DHA site in the northwest Sunnyside neighborhood. Over 400 trees were planted at the Quigg Newton site in one day.

DHA continues to be an invaluable partner in helping us to identifying high-need planting sites and also in helping us make deep connections in their communities, a piece which is critical to the sustainability of our work.

Extreme Community Makeover strives to bring communities together through building relationships. Relationships are built when community residents and volunteers partner with one another to complete home and neighborhood improvement projects. At the same time, ECM connects residents with their neighbors and with ongoing resources in their community - including street and yard trees through The Park People's Denver Digs Trees program - resulting in a short-term initiative with a long-term impact.

The Gates Family Foundation has been one of The Park People's longest standing partners. GFF has provided funding for many of The Park People capital projects including the restoration of the Washington Park Boathouse, Civic Center Park and more recently, substantial support for the Gates Tennis Center. The Park People also has ongoing partnerships with GFF to help support a number of park and recreation amenities around the City.

Giving First is a program of the Community First Foundation, formed to increase philanthropic giving in Colorado. 2012 is the second year that the Giving First program has held an annual day of giving- Colorado Gives Day- where donors may go to the Giving First website and select a charity or charities to make a donation to.  Unlike other online donation systems, Giving First waves all merchant fees so each dollar donated is received in its entirety by the recipient nonprofit.  The Park People are proud to be participating in Giving Firsts Colorado Gives Day, on December 6^th, again this year.

Habitat for Humanity is a homeownership program that builds and sells homes to low-income families in need of decent and affordable shelter.

Through an Energy Outreach of Colorado grant, Denver Digs Trees has been able to provide trees and follow-up care for street at many Habitat properties in Denver. Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver is an area leader in the greening of affordable housing and has ongoing partnerships with NREL and EPA to design and build energy efficient homes.

The mission of The Mile High Million is to inspire public, private and governments sectors to nurture and plant one million trees in the Denver metropolitan area by 2025. As a highly participatory component of Greenprint Denver, the initiative has led to projects with more than 40 cities, park districts, schools and community organizations. The goal is to engage and motivate individuals to become life-long stewards of our natural environment. The initiative facilitates volunteer tree planting projects, youth education programs, community forester training and public outreach to educate citizens about the importance of trees and a healthy urban forest.

Volunteers for Outdoors Colorado brings together volunteers with a passion for the outdoors and projects which help to maintain and protect Colorado's parks and trails, public lands and open space. VOC has staged more than 250 projects at an approximately value of over $15 million dollars. VOC and The Park People have pooled our respective resources many times to complete large-scale tree plantings in the City and County of Denver.