Annual Reports | Right Relationship Boulder

2025 Annual Report

~ 2025 Camp: Completion of fourth annual Arapaho Language & Culture Camp at The YMCA of the Rockies in the summer of 2025. Hosting: 25 Youth, 5 Elders and an additional 10 adults, supporting a total of 40 people. RRB Volunteers, YMCA staff, CU staff, Cheyenne & Arapaho Productions staff, and open-to-the-public community patron participation in Giveaway ceremony at camp.

~ Visiting Project: Significant expansion and maintenance of local Boulder hosts, including large venues for groups, who provide free lodging for Indigenous persons visiting Colorado. New partnerships with local churches. Coordination of travel plans, bedding, and hosting services.

~ Monthly consultation with the Arapaho and implementation of feedback for future experiences for camp. Collection of testimonials and materials from camp participants (videos, photos, quotes, etc.).

~ Continued partnerships, and new connections formed with: The YMCA of the Rockies, Rocky Mountain National Park, CU staff, and Cheyenne & Arapaho Productions tv channel, and the Outdoor Equity Grant staff for camp.

~ Fourth year of The YMCA of the Rockies donating portions of lodging and camp enrichment activities.

~ Second year of Meow Wolf supporting sponsorship of entrance to venue for all camp attendees.

~ Participation and input on feature article about camp written by Outdoor Equity Grant staff, published in Colorado Outdoors Magazine: Dreaming in Arapaho

~ Camp activities featured in Cheyenne & Arapaho Productions tv channel (5 media posts of camp between July 21 and 28, 2025), with use of photos of camp for further representation of Cheyenne and Arapaho youth.

~ Expansion of Arapaho Language & Culture Camp event planning to 2026-2029 (funding sources and planning improvements).

~ Continued expansion of sitting members of the Cultivating Connection committee.

~ Ongoing participation with Outdoor Equity Grant (Colorado Parks & Wildlife) as a second year grant recipient, raising an additional $60,000 to be allocated between 2025-2027.

~ Second year recipient of the Howard & Paula Trienens Fund for $10,000.

~ New grant recipient awardee of the William M. Hales Foundation for $20,000.

~ New grant recipient awardee from the Daughters of the American Revolution for $100.

~ 2025 fundraising resulted in: Outdoor Equity Grant ($60,000), other grant awards ($30,600), and grassroots/GoFundMe donations ($363), totaling in $90,963 raised for future language and culture revitalization.

~ Continued collaboration with fiscal sponsor, Mediators Foundation.

2024 Annual Report

~ 2024 Camp: Completion of third annual Arapaho Language & Culture Camp at The YMCA of the Rockies in the summer of 2024. Hosting: 18 Youth, 5 Elders and an additional 8 adults, supporting a total of 33 people. RRB Volunteer and YMCA staff participation in Giveaway ceremony at camp.

~ Meow Wolf artist Nick Toll, supported sponsorship of entrance to Meow Wolf for all camp attendees.

~ Consultation & Collection of materials: Monthly consultation with the Arapaho and implementation of feedback for future experiences. Collection of testimonials and materials from camp participants (videos, photos, quotes, etc.).

~ Continued partnerships with: The YMCA of the Rockies, Rocky Mountain National Park, and CU staff.

~ Expansion of camp event planning to 2025-2027.

~ Additional volunteers came on board the committee and offered skills and expansion.

~ Enacted committee name change from: “Visiting Committee” to “Cultivating Connections Committee.”

~ Outdoor Equity Grant (Colorado Parks & Wildlife) recipient, second year, raising an additional $60,000 to be allocated between 2025-2027.

~ New recipient of the Howard & Paula Trienens Fund for $10,000.

~ Fundraising in 2024 resulted in: grassroots and GoFundMe donations ($2,950) and grant awards ($70,000), totaling $72,950 raised for upcoming language and culture revitalization projects.

~Updated, maintained and managed database of local Boulder hosts who provide free lodging for Indigenous persons visiting Colorado.

~ Collaboration with fiscal sponsor, Mediators Foundation, regarding management of finances.

2023 Annual Report

~ 2023 Camp: Completion of second annual Arapaho Language & Culture Camp at The YMCA of the Rockies in the summer of 2023. Hosting: 18 Youth, 5 Elders and an additional 8 adults, supporting a total of 33 people. RRB Volunteer and YMCA staff participation in Giveaway ceremony at camp.

~ Media Coverage, including Ski-Hi News article: Arapaho Elders and Youth Return to their Ancestral Lands this Summer at the YMCA, released August 26, 2023. Brochures sharing the story of camp 2022 distributed by The YMCA of the Rockies through 2023 to gain public awareness of Arapaho history and presence.

~ Continued partnerships with: The YMCA of the Rockies, Rocky Mountain National Park, and CU staff.

~ Expansion of camp event planning to 2024 and 2025.

~ Recruitment of additional volunteers, specific to grant writing. Gained support from one experienced grant writer and two volunteers newer to grant writing. First grant applied to in September 2023, awarded a portion.

~ Outdoor Equity Grant (Colorado Parks & Wildlife) recipient, raising $50,000 to be allocated in 2024 and 2025.

~ Fundraising in 2023 resulted in: grassroots GoFundMe donations ($5,549), direct donations ($5,100), grant awards ($50,000), totaling $60,649 raised for upcoming language and culture revitalization projects.

~Updated, maintained and managed database of local Boulder hosts who provide free lodging for Indigenous persons visiting Colorado.

~ Collaboration with fiscal sponsor, Mediators Foundation, regarding management of finances.

2022 Annual Report

~ Completion of first in-person Arapaho Language and Culture Camp at YMCA of the Rockies in summer 2022. Hosting 16 Youth and 8 Elders.

~ Consultation with the Arapaho, Billie Sutton, and Teresa HisChase regarding feedback for 2022 camp by meeting with the elders who attended.

~ Collection of feedback and materials from participants of 2022 camp (photos, quotes, etc)

~ Continued partnership with the YMCA of the Rockies, Karen D’Onofrio

~ Consultation with CU professor, Andy Cowell, PhD, regarding long-term vision of working with tribes and CU

~ Revision of 2023 Camp based on 2022 camp feedback to Snow Mountain Ranch in Granby, CO

~ 2023 Camp event planning, fundraising, launch of GoFundMe. Raised approximately $9,600 by December 2022 toward camp lodging

~ Successful fundraising efforts for camp 2023 (in-person, email, social media, RRB newsletter inclusion of camp information)

~ Correspondence with donors for camp 2023, additional fundraising ideas implemented. For example, a paragraph on camp will be included in the Botanical Liaisons, LLC, upcoming newsletter

~ Vision for 2024 Camp to include both Cheyenne and Arapaho per tribal input

~ Advocacy with Outdoor Equity Grant for possible future inclusion of Indigenous persons whose ancestral homelands are in Colorado and with current Colorado citizens for their language grant.

~Updated, maintained and managed database of Hosts who provide free lodging for Indigenous persons visiting Colorado.

~ Collaboration with fiscal sponsor, Mediators Foundation, regarding management of fundraising efforts.

~ Networking with additional volunteers willing to support with free grant writing and future camp venues.

~ Design and funding of welcome gifts for 2022 camp attendees.