Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos To Give $1.7M To Two Denver Nonprofits

Two Denver nonprofits will be receiving a total of $1.7 million from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's fund to support families struggling with homelessness and hunger.

The Metro Denver Homeless Initiative and the Denver Indian Family Resource Center will receive $1.25 million and $450,000 respectively according to Denverite's housing and hunger reporter Donna Bryson.

Bezos's Day 1 Families Fund first launched in 2018. The 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."

This year there are 42 organizations from 24 states. They will receive a total of $105.9 million in funding.

This is also the first year any Denver organization has received funding from Day 1 Families, reports Bryson.

For the Denver Indian Family Resource Center, the executive director Tara Manthey says this is the largest grant the organization has ever received.

The center will use the grant money to fund a five-year project that will help Native families navigate housing resources during the pandemic and beyond.

The Metro Denver Homeless Initiative will use its $1.25 million grant to develop more housing and for hiring a staffer on a project that will recruit and retain landlords willing to rent to people receiving housing assistance.

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