Community Shares of Colorado

What Community Shares of Colorado does

Community Shares of Colorado is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable federation founded in 1986 in Denver, Colorado. The organization operates as a B2B2C intermediary that partners with employers and government entities to offer employees charitable giving via payroll deduction. Its core offerings include the Colorado Combined Campaign (state employees) and the Denver Employees' Combined Campaign (city employees) — the primary revenue-relevant contracts — along with member services to a federation of vetted Colorado nonprofits. The organization began with 12 founding nonprofits and grew to manage more than $4.5 million in philanthropic funds by 2017, reaching its first million-dollar campaign milestone in 2002.

The underlying technology is a digital workplace-giving platform built on Harness (harnessapp.com), which processes campaign donations and powers the Share Your Dollars giving flow. Revenue mechanics combine transaction/admin fees on managed workplace giving campaigns with professional services revenue from CSR consulting delivered through CSR Solutions of Colorado. Distribution is heavily direct-sales oriented, with corporate and government partnerships (Colorado state and Denver city government are named anchor accounts) plus event-driven engagement via virtual nonprofit fairs and an annual member business meeting.

Beyond campaign administration, the organization has expanded its surface area into nonprofit leadership development via the Executive Leadership Institute, a DEI-focused Fundraisers of Color peer network, the Colorado Collaborative for Nonprofits, and Partnership for Colorado. It maintains a sub-brand called "Colorado's Community Giving Fund". The organization employs a staff of approximately 7 people across operations, philanthropy, and CSR services and is a member of the Community Shares USA national federation, with the CEO serving on that body's national board. Geographic scope is restricted to Colorado, with no evidence of geographic expansion beyond the state.

Name

Community Shares of Colorado

Legal name

Community Shares of Colorado

Website

https://cshares.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Community Shares of Colorado is a Denver-based 501(c)(3) charitable federation, founded in 1986, that administers workplace giving campaigns — including the Colorado Combined Campaign and Denver Employees' Combined Campaign — connecting employers, government employees, and vetted Colorado nonprofits via payroll deduction giving and CSR consulting.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Workplace Giving Campaign Management

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Federated Giving Organizations (e.g., United Way-type) (BPAGAKAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Corporate Foundations & CSR Grantmaking (BPAGAKAC)

Keywords

• Workplace giving campaigns
• Payroll deduction giving
• Nonprofit federation services
• Corporate social responsibility consulting
• Charitable giving management

Headquarters

HQ city

Denver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Workplace Giving Campaign Management: Manages philanthropic funds through workplace giving campaigns, processing payroll deductions for charitable contributions from employees to member nonprofit organizations.
2. Philanthropy Consulting: Provides consulting services to corporations for developing CSR programs and philanthropy strategies.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Community Shares of Colorado is a nonprofit charitable federation that designs, administers, and processes annual workplace giving campaigns — including the state-level Colorado Combined Campaign and the city-level Denver Employees' Combined Campaign — collecting employee payroll deductions and distributing funds to its vetted member nonprofit agencies. It also delivers philanthropy strategy and CSR program consulting to Colorado corporations, alongside nonprofit leadership development through the Executive Leadership Institute.

Product overview

Community Shares of Colorado operates as a nonprofit federation offering a platform of workplace giving campaigns and nonprofit leadership programs. The core offerings include the Colorado Combined Campaign and Denver Employees' Combined Campaign for government employees, supplemented by Executive Leadership Institute for nonprofit development and Fundraisers of Color for professional networking. CSR Solutions of Colorado provides corporate social responsibility consulting. All services connect Coloradans to charities through workplace giving and community engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Colorado Collaborative for Nonprofits: A collaborative initiative supporting nonprofit organizations in Colorado.
• Fundraisers of Color
• Colorado's Community Giving Fund

Products and services

• Colorado Combined Campaign Annual workplace giving campaign for State of Colorado government employees, administered by Community Shares of Colorado and routing employee payroll-deduction contributions to vetted member nonprofit organizations.
• Denver Employees' Combined Campaign Annual workplace giving campaign for City and County of Denver government employees, administered by Community Shares of Colorado and distributing employee payroll-deduction contributions to member nonprofit organizations.
• Workplace Giving Campaigns (Private Employer) Annual workplace giving programs run with private-sector employers in Colorado, allowing employees to direct paycheck contributions to vetted member nonprofits and uniting employees around a common community investment goal.
• CSR Solutions of Colorado Corporate social responsibility consulting practice helping Colorado companies establish and manage CSR programs, including partnership on The Civic 50 Colorado civic-engagement recognition initiative with Points of Light.
• Philanthropy Consulting Advisory service providing corporations with strategy development for CSR programs and philanthropic initiatives, including benchmarking and impact measurement support.
• Executive Leadership Institute Leadership development program for nonprofit executives offering training, peer networking, and professional development, including the Fundraisers of Color peer-to-peer community.

Quantifiable outcome

• Manages over $4.5 million in philanthropic funds annually
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CSR Solutions of ColoradocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSR Solutions of Colorado is a joint initiative founded by CEO Erin Atwell in 2018. It operates in partnership with Community Shares, focusing on corporate social responsibility solutions and managing The Civic 50 Colorado initiative.
• Rocky Mountain Public MediaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership for TV advertising campaign, airing Community Shares ads on Rocky Mountain PBS (2020).
• InBankminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor for Annual Member Business Meeting.
• Points of LightcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for The Civic 50 Colorado initiative, which recognizes top Colorado companies for civic engagement. Community Shares partners with Points of Light and CSR Solutions of Colorado.
• Community Shares USAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational federation membership; CEO Erin Atwell serves as Vice President of the Community Shares USA National Board of Directors.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Network for Good: Digital fundraising and workplace giving platform enabling direct employer-to-nonprofit donations. Represents the disintermediation risk to traditional federations like Community Shares.
• Benevity: Corporate purpose/CSR software platform powering employer giving, volunteering, and grant programs. Represents the technology-enabled alternative to traditional federations for executing workplace giving at scale.

Broad incumbents

• Points of Light: National civic engagement nonprofit that co-runs The Civic 50 Colorado initiative with Community Shares' affiliated CSR Solutions. Adjacent mission space around corporate volunteering and civic engagement programming.
• United Way Worldwide: Dominant national umbrella for workplace giving federations, including direct local competitor Mile High United Way. Represents the broader incumbency and scaled operating model that Community Shares and similar niche federations compete against.

Direct peers

• Mile High United Way: Denver-based regional United Way affiliate operating workplace giving campaigns and member nonprofit services in the same Colorado geography. Direct competitor for state and corporate employer giving campaigns, with similar federation model and payroll deduction infrastructure.
• Community Health Charities: Federated giving organization focused on health-related member nonprofits with workplace campaign infrastructure. Strong operational parallel as a cause-vertical workplace giving federation competing for the same employer contracts.
• America's Charities: Federated workplace giving campaign operator competing for employer giving program designations nationally. Operates similar payroll deduction infrastructure and member nonprofit recruitment model to Community Shares.
• EarthShare: National workplace giving federation specializing in environmental and conservation nonprofits. Closely mirrors Community Shares' federated giving model with member nonprofit structure and employer campaign partnerships across multiple states.

Regional players

• Hispanic Federation: Federated advocacy and giving organization with workplace giving campaigns targeted at Hispanic-focused nonprofits. Operates a similar federation model with cause-area member nonprofit structure, though focused on a different demographic vertical.

Others

• Community Shares USA: National federation of which Community Shares of Colorado is a member (CEO Atwell sits on its board). Functions as peer federation umbrella, brand governance body, and potential expansion channel for the Colorado affiliate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/fundraisersofcolor
• Xx.com/csharescolorado
• Facebookfacebook.com/CommunitySharesofColorado
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/community-shares-of-colorado

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Community Shares of Colorado