The Lone Cone Legacy Trust (LCLT), a community endowment focused on improving life in the Wright’s Mesa area, has announced 16 recipients of $20,000 in grants for 2024, a record amount. The announcement was made Saturday, Oct. 12, at the trust’s annual Harvest Celebration Dinner in Norwood.
Two grants of $2,000 each go to the FRESH Foundation, which operates the Norwood Food Hub and encourages people to consume locally produced, healthy meals; and to the N3 Theater and Music Club, a project of the Norwood Park and Recreation District, staging youth performances by seventh to 12th graders from Norwood, Nucla and Naturita.
A grant of $1,600 is awarded to the Pinhead Institute, for its robotics workshops for youngsters.
Three grants of $1,500 apiece go to the Lone Cone Library, offering free lunches for any child under age 18; to the Prime Time Early Learning Center for scholarships; and to the Uncompahgre Medical Center’s Neighbor to Neighbor program, providing transportation for people who need medical care.
A pair of grants of $1,200 apiece go to the San Miguel Resource Center to help victims of domestic violence; and to the Norwood Youth Organization for its football and basketball programs.
Six grants of $1,000 apiece go to Hoof and Paw, for its animal rescue work; to the Norwood Cemetery, for maintenance of its grounds; to Norwood Nordic Association, for maintaining the skis and other equipment it lends to the community; to One to One Mentoring, for its programs guiding youth; to the Norwood Park and Recreation District, for a new dishwasher; and to the Town of Norwood, for park improvements.
Two grants of $750 apiece go to the Lone Cone Dressage Club for youth riding lessons; and to Music on the Mesa, providing free outdoor concerts in Norwood.
“We’re pleased that we can offer a record amount of grants once again this year,” said Lone Cone Legacy Trust Secretary Sheila Grother, “And we hope to keep the amount growing in the years to come.”
“Our goal is to reinvest in local nonprofits that will enhance the quality of life for our community now and in future generations,” added treasurer Emily Haight.
Besides Grother and Haight, the LCLT board members include Andrew Kauffmann, chair; Gretchen Wells; George Lewis; Sue Reynolds; Lisa Foxwell; Jenny Wheeler; Vivian Russell; Caroline Duncan; Joel Sevick; Zita Surprenant; and Laurel Henderson. April Montgomery, of the Telluride Foundation, serves as an ex-officio board member.
Since its founding in 2013 by local visionary citizens with an assist from the Telluride Foundation, the Lone Cone Legacy Trust has raised more than $250,000 and has given out more than $84,000 in grants.
Thanks to the generosity of Norwood philanthropists Lisa Foxwell and Paul Finley, the trust is also building a fund, now containing more than $100,000, dedicated to building a public swimming pool in Norwood sometime in the future.
