How to be a Catalyst

Smart Investment Leads to Ripples of Opportunity

The Gunnison Valley is an extraordinary place. People, like you, who love it share a deep commitment to nurturing a vibrant community here. Our work at CFGV is guided by a vision of a Gunnison Valley where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. CFGV’s role in reaching that vision is often to connect people and resources.

Community foundations like CFGV offer unique tools that support a long view on community impact through investment, especially through the variety of charitable giving fund types we have available. Sometimes, those long-term community investments pay off in ways that surprise even us. One person’s or family’s generosity can serve as a catalyst leading to a chain reaction of good. This is one of those stories where generosity multiplied to be greater than the sum of its parts.

For over one hundred years, the Rotary Club of Gunnison has put service above self. Their service takes many forms. Just this spring, the Club offered grants to nonprofit organizations filling the gap left by the school district’s decision to suspend summer programming due to campus construction. The Rotary Club of Gunnison also joined other community sponsors in creating a community coat closet at the Gunnison Country Food Pantry. Local Rotarians seek out projects that align with Rotary International’s priorities of promoting peace, fighting disease, clean water/sanitation/hygiene, mothers and children, education, growing local economies, and protecting the environment.

Gunnison Rotarians also put their motto into action through their annual scholarship program. In 2025, the club accepted applications for three different academic scholarships:

• students matriculating at Western Colorado University;
• students matriculating at any four-year college; and
• students enrolling in Colorado Career and Technical Education (Colorado CTE) programs.

Scholarship applicants are asked to write about what the Rotary motto of service above self means to them, both in their high school career and in their future career aspirations. With the rising cost of university education, scholarships make a big impact.

John and Sandra Cosentino are deeply engaged members of the Gunnison community. Sandra helped found the Gunnison Area Foundation in 1997 and, with John, has continued to be involved in many aspects of CFGV’s work throughout the lifetime of the organization. John is also an active Rotarian in Gunnison as a club member and board member.

Sandra and John Cosentino at an early CFGV event.

The John and Sandra Cosentino Rotary Scholarship Fund was started to fund the Western Colorado University Scholarship given out through Rotary Club of Gunnison. Sandra and John have seen the impact of those scholarships and have generously made additional gifts to the fund over the years, increasing the assets in the fund much more quickly than investment gains would have alone. In 2025, the fund covered both the WCU scholarship and the Colorado CTE scholarship and the scholarship amount increased by 50% from $2,000 per student to $3,000.

Additional support from the Cosentino’s Rotary Scholarship Fund combined with an excellent fundraising year for Rotary Club of Gunnison led to the club looking at other ways they could provide opportunity. The club quickly realized that most scholarships focus on graduating seniors. Katya Schloesser, Rotary’s secretary and scholarship committee lead, noted that there was a lack of funding for adults already in their careers seeking additional certifications or professional development. A new Community Advancement Scholarship helps fill this gap.

The Community Advancement Scholarship helps workers in the Gunnison Valley obtain advanced skills and/or professional certifications in their career field. Awards are up to $3,000, making additional training attainable for more community members. Applicants whose educational goals align with the Rotary International priorities are encouraged to apply each spring. In 2025, a local woman received funding to obtain a paramedic certification and a local journalist will be pursuing additional education in photojournalism.

For more information about the Rotary Club of Gunnison and how you can get involved, visit their website.

If, like John and Sandra, you want to explore how to strategically invest to maximize your community impact, CFGV is your local resource with intimate knowledge of the nonprofit sector. Our team members love sitting down with people who want to give back to the Gunnison Valley. We are honored to hear about the causes that have captured your heart and we are here to support you in exploring which tools and giving strategies can make your community impact dreams come true. Your generosity could set off the next chain reaction of good in the Gunnison Valley.