Gov. Polis unveils statewide fund to help wildfire victims

04 Nomveber 2020

Published by https://www.skyhinews.com/

USA – Colorado has new a statewide fund to help victims caught in this year’s wildfire season.

This has been one of the worst fire seasons on record, and the two largest wildfires ever in Colorado — the Cameron Peak Fire and the East Troublesome Fire — continue to burn in Grand, Jackson and Larimer counties and Rocky Mountain National Park.

Unveiled by Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday, the new statewide fund stems from a state partnership with the Center for Disaster Philanthropy.

“Colorado communities have been devastated by historic, climate-induced wildfires and this fund will help us swiftly respond, build up reserves throughout the year and more, while strategically allocating funding to communities who need it the most,” Polis said in a news release. “I encourage Coloradans and any individual or organization willing to help our communities impacted by wildfires.”

According to the release, the fund will help communities recover through targeted grantmaking that prioritizes medium to long-term recovery efforts.

The state says the fund should:

• Target and support vulnerable populations and communities disproportionately affected.

• Identify and fill gaps where public resources are lacking or nonexistent.

• Give locally and prioritize grants to community nonprofits and community groups.

• Build and support collaborative relationships among donors.

For more about the CDP Colorado Wildfires Recovery Fund, bit.ly/36bnURs.

Also, the Grand Foundation has set up the Grand County Wildfire Emergency Fund to support the needs of residents who have been evacuated, displaced or lost their homes during the Grand County wildfires. According to the foundation, 100% of donations will go to local wildfire victims. For more, http://www.GrandFoundation.com.