Women's Foundation of Colorado gives nonprofit funding to women, girls of color
At the corner of Ironton and East Colfax Avenue in Aurora, you'll find a large white building with curved pillars. When you step inside, you'll discover that building houses Sadé Cooper's dream come to life.
Cooper is the CEO and co-owner of the nonprofit "CHIC" which stands for Collaborative Healing Initiative within Communities.
"My upbringing, my experiences have led me to this point. And CHIC is here," she said proudly.
Cooper gave CBS News Colorado's Mekialaya White a tour, detailing what the organization means to her.
"We work in the realm of workforce, education, re-entry and newly to our addition is policy work."
Cooped helped start CHIC after years of seeing discrimination in the workforce.
"Back in 2016, I had the opportunity to work in finance… I worked at U.S. Bank for 12 years and during my time as a manager, I was able to see the disparities and typically the disparities that Black women faced."
So, she chose to combat that with a mission to empower women.
"After my career with U.S. Bank, I had the opportunity to work for a nonprofit that worked with men in gangs. And it was very simple – if you're trying to change the family, if you want to strengthen the family you work with the woman."
And Cooper was able to perpetuate her mission through CHIC with help from the Women's Foundation of Colorado. Her business is fueled by the Women & Girls of Color Fund. It's the only grantmaking fund in the state that explicitly invests in women, girls, and nonbinary leaders of color of nonprofits. These women often provide opportunities and safe spaces for marginalized communities to thrive. They do this while sacrificing their own needs, like Cooper.
"Everybody was pretty nervous to invest in a startup nonprofit in that way, but the Women's Foundation of Colorado believed in CHIC."
"Women of color only receive .5% of philanthropic dollars from foundations. That is less than a penny on every dollar," WFCO Vice President of Development Renee Ferrufino elaborated. "The problem is that their work has been undervalued and underfunded. So, we are unapologetically and intentionally funding women and gender-expansive people of color because we believe their life experiences and backgrounds give them a very unique space."
"I always say there can be a thousand CHICs, but it's not enough. There need to be more organizations who are making sure the resources are being employed back out into our communities and families are being served because there's not enough," said Cooper.
Want to learn more about supporting the Women & Girls of Color Fund or have questions about applying? Contact Camisha Lashbrook at CamishaL@wfco.org.
