About Chinook Fund
Chinook Fund seeds community-led, systemic change by mobilizing resources for and trusting in grassroots social justice organizations across Colorado.
Focus Areas
Community organizingRacial justiceIndigenous/Native American organizingImmigrant rightsLGBTQ+ rightsDisability rightsHuman and worker rightsEconomic justiceHousing rightsYouth organizingArts, culture & mediaEnvironment and community development
Funding Style
program support
About Chinook Fund
Chinook Fund Inc’s grantmaking is built around The Giving Project, a community-based model that selects grants for grassroots social justice organizations across Colorado. Its recent awards show a steady pattern of general operating and program support for constituent-led groups working on community organizing, racial justice, Indigenous sovereignty, LGBTQ+ justice, environmental justice, and related systems-change work. In 2024, the funder made $20,000 grants to Seasoned With Grace Unboxed in Denver, Higher Learning U Inc in Centennial, Fortaleza Familiar Liberate Our Selves in Commerce City, Compound of Compassion in Aurora, and Move Mountains Project in San Luis, all for program and operating support. The following year’s recent grants continue the same style of support, including $15,000 for Una Mano Una Esperanza in Denver, Colorado Jobs With Justice in Denver, and Lamar Unidos in Lamar. The consistency across those awards points to a funder that backs local organizing groups with flexible support rather than tightly restricted project funding. Chinook Fund Inc’s public charity structure and Colorado-only giving shape a profile centered on grassroots groups working for community-wide change within the state.
What Chinook Fund Funds
A clear thread in Chinook Fund Inc’s grantmaking is support for racial justice and Black liberation. The Giving Project cycles include funding for Black Lives Matter 5280 in Denver and Sheridan Rising Together for Equity in Sheridan, both at $10,000 in 2024, alongside other community-led organizing groups. Indigenous sovereignty is another recurring priority, reflected in awards to organizations such as El Alba Cooperative in Aurora and Lamar Unidos in Lamar, both listed in recent grants with program and operating support. Immigrant rights and cultural organizing also appear in the portfolio: Companeros Four Corners Immigrant Resource Center in Durango received $10,000 in 2023, while Fortaleza Familiar Liberate Our Selves in Commerce City received $20,000 in 2024. The funder also backed safety and healing-oriented work through the Another World is Possible Fund, which was reactivated for urgent needs and resilience support.
How Chinook Fund Gives
Typical grants cluster tightly around $10,000, with the reported p25, median, and p75 at $10,000, $10,000, and $15,000. The recent grant list also shows larger $20,000 awards and $15,000 awards, but the center of gravity remains in that $10,000 band. Grants are repeated across years for some recipients, including Compound of Compassion, Seasoned With Grace Unboxed, Fortaleza Familiar Liberate Our Selves, Lamar Unidos, Sheridan Rising Together for Equity, and Denver Alliance for Street Health Response, indicating ongoing relationships rather than one-off awards. The foundation is a public charity and its grants are described as program support, operating support, core/unrestricted funding, and flexible operating funding. Several program pages say applications are accepted through Giving Project cycles.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$435K
Total Assets
$3.6M
Total Revenue
$2M
Total Expenses
$1.4M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $10K and $15K, with a median of $10K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$10K
75th Percentile
$15K
Geographic Reach
Local1 state funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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