No one anticipated when the fund was started that in just five years a new library would be constructed, the raw water project would be completed, the Norwood Fire District and EMS would hire full time staff, a Dark Skies designation would be granted, Main Street improvements would be clearly visible, the Livery would be purchased, or the Town Park would be renovated.  

The Trust did not yet have the funds to be able to support all these initiatives.

When nonprofits or community entities raise funds for such projects it can take many months to apply for grants or raise tax revenues. When there is a substantial corpus in the Trust, an immediate response will be possible for such projects from the earnings.

For example, if the Trust has an investment fund total of $100,000, annual grants totaling $5,000 are possible; with $500,000, $25,000 can be granted annually. When the goal of $1 million is reached, annual grants could total $50,000.

All this support for community improvements would not involve any tax revenue from businesses or individuals and would directly benefit the children and grandchildren of today’s residents.

How are donations to the Trust invested?

To keep the overhead expenses of the Trust to a minimum, all donations are managed by a local volunteer board and all funds are invested with the Telluride Foundation.  

This maximizes the investment pool and allows the Trust to benefit from the portfolio management provided by the Foundation’s expert investment committee. The fund management services used by the Foundation are the same as those used by major non-profit foundations, universities, hospitals, and municipalities for long-term investments.

The investment policy of the Trust calls for 95% of all donations and event proceeds to be used to increase the corpus while earnings of up to 5%  may be used for annual local grants.

How can I contribute to the Trust?

There are seven ways you can contribute to the Trust:

1.  Provide a match grant in your family’s name.  Past grants have been $5,000 to $10,000 but any amount is possible.

2.  Make a one-time, weekly, monthly or annual donation in any amount.

3.  Make an automatically recurring donation through a monthly deduction from your bank account. Fill out this form and email it to vista@telluridefoundation.org to set up a monthly donation from your bank account.

4.  Designate the Trust in your estate planning. All forms, information, and guidance needed to do this are available from the Trust.  This is an excellent way to invest in the future of this community for generations to come. If interested in learning more, please contact the board at loneconelegacytrust@gmail.com.

5.  Support the Trust fund raising events by attending and purchasing tickets.

6.  Donate items or services for the annual silent auction held at the Harvest Celebration.

7.  Make a donation to the Trust through the Telluride Gives program every December.

How can I volunteer to help the Trust?

Volunteers are needed to help with the fund raising events, to make promotional presentations to organizations or interested individuals, as a board or committee member, or as a host for a fund raising event at your location.  Please contact us to learn how you can volunteer!

How was the Trust initiated?

In 2013, in order to empower local communities such as Norwood/Redvale, Paradox, Nucla/Naturita, and Rico to start their own community trusts which would be under local control the Telluride Foundation initiated public meetings in each location.  

Citizens responded to the idea and all four Trusts were created. The Foundation continues to provide support through a liaison ex-officio board member, through providing investment expertise, through providing an umbrella 501.c.3 nonprofit tax status, and through accounting and tax reporting services.  Each year the Trust receives the benefit of having a VISTA volunteer available through the Foundation.