The Salvation Army receives a $5 million dollar grant
The Salvation Army – Denver Metro Area Receives $5 Million Bezos Day 1 Families Fund Grant to Help End Homelessness for Families in the Denver Metropolitan Area
Fund grants $123.45 million to 40 nonprofits across the U.S. to move the needle on re-housing and supporting families experiencing homelessness
DENVER – (November 22, 2022) – The Salvation Army – Denver Metro Area, today announced that it has received a $5 million grant from the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund—a transformative contribution that will directly impact families experiencing homelessness. Launched in 2018 by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the Day 1 Families Fund issues annual leadership awards to leading organizations on the frontlines that are employing compassionate, needle-moving work to help families move from unsheltered homelessness and shelters to permanent housing with the services they require to achieve stability.
“We are deeply humbled by the support of the Day 1 Families Fund,” said Major Mike Dickinson, Divisional Commander of The Salvation Army – Denver Metro Area. “Prior to the pandemic, 96% of families who entered into our family shelter exited to permanent or stable housing within 90 days, putting them on the path to breaking intergenerational cycles of poverty. This grant will help us meet the increased demand and continue our track record of rehousing families.”
This one-time grant will help The Salvation Army – Denver Metro Area in its tireless work to support families as they reel from skyrocketing rent costs, limited services and insufficient incomes. The organization will use the grant funds to expand its trauma-informed, Housing First-oriented family shelter to 85 non-congregate units, quadrupling the number of families served.
The Salvation Army – Denver Metro Area was selected as a Day 1 Families Fund grant recipient by a group of national advisors who are leading advocates and experts on homelessness and service provision. National advisors brought expertise on housing justice, advancing racial equity and helping programs employ resources effectively to assist families out of homelessness.
Over the past five years, the Day 1 Families Fund has provided 170 grants totaling more than $520 million to organizations around the country working to combat homelessness and help families gain housing support and stability. This year, the Fund issued a total of $123.45 million in grants to the following organizations: Carpenter's Shelter; CATCH, Inc.; Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona; The Center for Women and Families; Changing Homelessness; Chapman Partnership; Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County; Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County, Inc.; Community Services & Employment Training (CSET); Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO); Family Promise of Hawai'i; Family Promise of Northern New Castle County; Family Services of Tulare County; Flagstaff Shelter Services; Gateway180; Heartland Alliance; H.O.M.E. Inc.; Homeless Alliance; Hope House of Milwaukee; Housing First, Inc.; Housing Forward; HRDC; Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Centers, Inc.; LA Family Housing; Mother Nation; Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter, Inc.; New Reach; Oglala Sioux Tribe; Partners for HOME; PATH; The Salvation Army, Denver Metro Area; Samish Indian Nation; San Diego Regional Task Force on Homelessness; Sojourner Truth House; Solo Por Hoy, Inc.; Start Corporation; Strategies to End Homelessness; The Wellspring; YWCA Cass Clay; and YWCA Missoula’s Housing Programs.
“Without The Salvation Army we would still be living in our car,” said Rosie, Salvation Army client and mom of two. “Being homeless is a rollercoaster and we don’t want to go through that again… The case mangers make sure we won’t have to go through that experience again. We moved into our apartment after four weeks and are so grateful people took time to help us when we needed it the most.”
The Bezos Day One Fund made a $2 billion commitment to focus on making meaningful and lasting impacts in two areas: funding existing nonprofits that help families experiencing homelessness, and creating a network of new, nonprofit tier-one preschools in low-income communities. The Day 1 Families Fund issues annual leadership awards to organizations and civic groups doing compassionate, needle-moving work to provide shelter and hunger support to address the immediate needs of young families. The vision statement comes from the inspiring Mary’s Place in Seattle: no child sleeps outside. For more information, visit www.BezosDayOneFund.org/Day1FamiliesFund.
Q&As
The following Q&A language can be referenced to help answer potential questions from the media. (Note: These Q&As are intended for internal reference; please do not publish or distribute them externally.)
What is the Day 1 Families Fund?
The Bezos Day 1 Families Fund launched in 2018 to fund organizations that work to provide shelter and other support to families experiencing homelessness. The Day 1 Families Fund issues annual leadership awards to organizations and civic groups doing this work, and the grants are unique in that there are “no strings attached” to them—we’re able to use these funds in the ways that will benefit our community the most. You can learn more at www.bezosdayonefund.org/day1familiesfund.
How did you hear about the Day 1 Families Fund grant opportunity?
The Bezos Day 1 Families Fund worked with an independent advisory board comprised of homelessness experts to identify a list of organizations that are moving the needle on solving family homelessness. We were one of the organizations they invited to submit a grant proposal. We’re thrilled to be one of the nonprofits selected for this year’s Day 1 Families Fund leadership awards.
How was the size of your grant determined?
We put forward a proposal outlining our needs and shared details on an amount of funding that would help us expand our work in a meaningful way.
Does this funding ease your need to raise money?
No. Needs in our community, particularly over the last three years have increased dramatically. The Salvation Army has had a first hand impact on supporting families to gain self-sufficiency and this investment will enable us to serve even more families. We still have a great need to raise money for our ongoing services such as rent assistance, youth programming, and employment support.
Will the Day 1 Families Fund audit how the gift is used?
We will provide a report detailing how the funds are used and the impact they help bring to our community.
Have you spoken directly with Jeff Bezos about this grant?
We’ve been engaging with representatives from the fund and are excited to use this grant to continue our work helping to solve family homelessness in our community. Our work aligns with the Day 1 Families Fund’s vision of solving the immediate needs of families experiencing homelessness.
Any other questions about Jeff Bezos/The Day One Fund/The Day 1 Families Fund and/or Amazon:
You’d have to ask [the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund/Amazon] that question. What I can tell you is that we’re very thankful for this investment and that we look forward to continuing to make a positive impact on families in our community. [For media] I’d be happy to put you in touch with their PR contacts to answer any questions about the fund you may have.