Points of Light
It takes all of us working together.
Colorado prospers when our children thrive. No matter where they live, children need high-quality experiences and loving relationships to support healthy development, and each one of us has a responsibility to be a point of light in the lives of the children in our communities.
If you ask us, the best way to celebrate the holiday season is by becoming a Point of Light–someone who actively supports our mission to strengthen families, communities, and organizations to prevent child maltreatment.
Join us in making a lasting difference – become a Point of Light today.
Become a Point of Light
Donate Money
Your financial generosity provides access to vital resources, programs, and services right here in Colorado. No amount is too small to make an impact!
Donate Items
Your in-kind gift through our Amazon Wishlist provides exactly what our program staff need, when they need it, to support families and communities.
Donate Time
Your gift of time and energy as an Illuminate volunteer makes an immediate and direct impact in our communities.
Help us reach our goal of raising $25,000 by December 31!
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Building Brighter Childhoods
Illuminate Colorado’s mission is to strengthen families, organizations, and communities to prevent child maltreatment.
Preventing child maltreatment is work that’s both broad and complex. Illuminate tackles this by approaching the issue in different ways and at multiple levels of society. Only in this way can we truly create lasting impact.
With a research-based approach that emphasizes building promotive and protective factors, we address systemic and multi-sector issues by collaborating with families and partners at the community, state, and national level to develop and implement powerful programs, policies, and initiatives that keep kids safe in Colorado.
Donate Money
Supporting us financially is a win-win-win situation.
Your gift to us is 100% tax deductible and qualifies for the Child Care Contribution Tax Credit.
Thanks to the Colorado Child Care Contribution Tax Credit, donations made to Illuminate Colorado are eligible for a 50% tax credit. This means that when you donate, you can receive a substantial portion of your contribution back as a credit against your Colorado state income taxes.
Plus, when you make a gift November 1 – December 5, your donation is boosted by one of the largest community Incentive Funds in the country! We get a percentage of funds from the $1M+ Colorado Gives Day Incentive Fund equal to the percentage of funds we raise.
It’s a win-win-win situation: you’re making a meaningful impact on the lives of families, while also enjoying a substantial tax benefit, and your donation gets amplified automatically.
Donate Items
Click “Add to Cart”
You can tangibly support kids and families in Colorado by donating an item through our Amazon wishlist. These items support our Youth Thrive program.
Youth Thrive is a framework, built on the five protective and promotive factors – Youth Resilience, Social Connections, Knowledge of Adolescent Development, Concrete Support in Times of Need, Cognitive and Social-Emotional Competence – as well as trainings for both youth and community agencies. The Youth Thrive for Youth training gives youth the tools to build the protective factors in their lives and among their peers, while the agency training teaches organizations how to strengthen the presence of the protective factors in the lives of the youth they work with. Learn more about Youth Thrive on our blog.
Please note that in-kind donations, such as items purchased from our Amazon Wishlist, do not qualify for the Child Care Contribution Tax Credit. We cannot accept items, in any condition, that are not purchased directly from our Amazon wishlist.
Donate Your Time
Have a Good Time Doing Good
When you join our volunteer list, you’ll be the first to know about upcoming volunteer opportunities, like cleaning our Illuminating Child Care classrooms, packing kits with lots of goodies for Circle of Parents families, and more!
Grow Your Impact
Once you’ve donated, you can grow your impact by inviting others to become a Point of Light.
Below, you can find tools that will help you share this campaign with friends, family, and neighbors. This toolkit has what you need to get involved in a way that makes sense for you, whether that’s something simple, like sending a personal email or creating a fundraising page, or something more time-intensive, like hosting a holiday party.
We need your help to reach our goal of raising $25,000 by December 31. It takes all of us working together to build brighter childhoods in Colorado.
Ways to Share This Campaign with Family, Friends, and Neighbors
Here are a few ideas to get you started, but embrace your own interests and creativity! You can plan your own get-together or ask folks to give during an event that you’re attending. Just make sure you let the host or event organizer know beforehand.
- Host a Soup Off: It’s getting cold outside, which means there’s nothing better than a good soup recipe to heat up your kitchen and your body. Invite friends over and ask everyone to bring a soup (and the recipe)! Instead of prizes for the top soups, make a donation to the winner’s favorite nonprofit and ask your other attendees to consider making a donation to Illuminate Colorado.
- Hot Cocoa Station at a Holiday Party: Set up a hot cocoa station at a holiday party. Instead of charging for the hot cocoa, ask guests to make a donation to Illuminate Colorado. Protip: use the campaign flyer (download below) so that folks can easily scan a QR code that will take them straight to our donation page.
- Movie Night: It’s almost awards season, which means that there are plenty of amazing movies to watch! Host a movie night or grab a group of friends and head out to a theater. Be sure to let them know that we’re raising $25,000 for children and families in Colorado. Bonus points if the movie highlights children and families!
- Deliver Luminaries to Your Neighbors: Make and deliver paper bag luminaries with LED candles to your neighbors to light up the dark winter nights! Drop the luminary off on their doorstep with a campaign flyer (download below).
- Have a Cookie Decorating Party: A staple of the holiday season! Bake cookies and prepare the icing and decorations. Invite friends over to decorate cookies. Tell them that you’re one of our Points of Light and ask them to join you by giving to Illuminate Colorado.
- Ask for Donations Instead of Presents: If you’re having a hard time coming up with a gift list for yourself, ask friends and family to donate to Illuminate Colorado instead of buying you a present.
Sample Email
Hi [First Name],
Colorado prospers when our children thrive. No matter where they live, children need high-quality experiences and loving relationships to support healthy development, and each one of us has a responsibility to be a point of light in the lives of the children in our communities.
It takes all of us working together to build brighter childhoods in Colorado, and that’s why I’m asking you to join me as one of Illuminate Colorado’s Points of Light– omeone who actively supports Illuminate Colorado’s mission to strengthen families, communities, and organizations to prevent child maltreatment.
Between now and the end of the year, Illuminate Colorado is raising $25,000 for children and families in Colorado. One hundred percent of funds raised will support effective programs that keep Colorado kids safe and strengthen families throughout the year.
And, now is the best time of year to give!
Thanks to the Colorado Child Care Contribution Tax Credit, monetary donations made to Illuminate Colorado are eligible for a 50% tax credit. This means that when you donate, you can receive a substantial portion of your contribution back as a credit against your Colorado state income taxes.
Plus, when you make a gift November 1 – December 5, your donation is boosted by one of the largest community Incentive Funds in the country! Illuminate Colorado will get a percentage of funds from the $1M+ Colorado Gives Day Incentive Fund equal to the percentage of funds they raise.
It’s a win-win-win situation: you’re making a meaningful impact on the lives of families, while also enjoying a substantial tax benefit, and your donation gets amplified automatically.
If you can’t give financially at this time, that’s okay–there are other ways to get involved and support Illuminate Colorado’s mission. Learn more at illuminatecolorado.org/points-of-light.
[Include a personal message about why you support our mission.]
I hope that you’ll join me today in donating to Illuminate Colorado and become a Point of Light for children and families in Colorado. [Include link to personal fundraising page or https://illuminatecolorado.org/points-of-light/]
Create Your Own Colorado Gives Fundraising Page
Creating a fundraiser for Illuminate Colorado on ColoradoGives.org is easy!
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- Visit our ColoradoGives.org page, click the “Fundraise” button, and follow the prompts. Make sure that the “Use template provided by organization” box is checked to make things even easier.
- Customize or edit as much or as little as you’d like. Customize the “Story” section to make it personal–we have some prompts for you to think about if you’re stuck. If you don’t want to add anything, make sure to delete the highlighted text before publishing!
- If you set a duration, make sure you set December 31, 2023 as the end date. Colorado Gives Day is December 5, but our fundraising campaign goes through the end of the year.
- Hit publish and share your fundraiser!
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We want this to be as easy as possible! If you have any trouble, contact cambrose@illuminatecolorado.org and we’ll help you get your fundraising page set up.
Campaign Flyer
Illuminate One Pager
What Does Illuminate Do?
Social Media Posts
Sample Post: Illuminate Colorado is looking for Points of Light for children and families in Colorado. Learn about the three easy ways you can become a Point of Light at https://illuminatecolorado.org/points-of-light/. Your generosity will help strengthen children and families and build a brighter future for all Coloradans.
Sample Post: Colorado prospers when our children thrive. No matter where they live, children need high-quality experiences and loving relationships to support healthy development. That’s why Illuminate Colorado’s goal is to raise $25,000 before December 31. Help us reach our goal: https://illuminatecolorado.org/points-of-light/
Sample Post: It takes all of us working together to build brighter childhoods in Colorado. Become a Point of Light–someone who actively supports Illuminate Colorado’s mission this holiday season. Join us in making a lasting difference at https://illuminatecolorado.org/points-of-light/
Sample Post: Did you know that donations made to Illuminate Colorado qualify for the Colorado Child Care Contribution Tax Credit? This means that you get 50% of your donation back as a credit on your Colorado state taxes. So what are you waiting for? Make your donation today and become a Point of Light at https://illuminatecolorado.org/points-of-light/
FAQs
How do I become a Point of Light?
Donate on Iluuminate Colorado’s website or on our Colorado Gives page. If you’re not able to give financially at this time, that’s okay! There are other ways to get involved in Illuminate Colorado’s mission to strengthen families, organizations, and communities to prevent child maltreatment.
Can I give through the Colorado Gives website after Colorado Gives Day?
Yes, Colorado Gives now accepts donations after Colorado Gives Day.
Does being a Luminary count as being a point of light?
Yes! By making a recurring gift that we can count on to strengthen our programs and advocacy year-round, Luminaries provide the stable and consistent support we need to grow and strengthen families, organizations and communities to prevent child maltreatment.
If your recurring gift occurs before the end of the year, then it counts as a point of light!
Does my donation qualify for a Child Care Contribution Tax Credit?
Your monetary donation today can qualify for a 50% tax credit. This means that if you give $10, you get $5 back on your Colorado state taxes through the Child Care Contribution Tax Credit.
To claim the credit, simply submit your copy of the completed Child Care Contribution Tax Credit Certification (Form DR 1317) with your tax return. We’ll provide you with the completed form in January.
Please note that in-kind donations, such as donating items from our Amazon Wish List, and donating your time do not qualify for the Child Care Contribution Tax Credit.
Questions about the campaign?
Contact Christina Ambrose, Grants & Events Manager
