The Imagine! Foundation

With Solutions in Mind, the Imagine! Foundation was Formed

In the late 1990s, Imagine! (then Developmental Disabilities Center) realized that they were facing new and worrisome challenges in serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Statewide waiting list of people who needed services was growing longer each year. Imagine! recognized an opportunity - that this community is willing and enthusiastic about creating solutions to problems facing our own citizens. In 2000, the Imagine! Foundation, a separate 501c3, Type 1 Supporting Organization, was formed to raise private funding and grow the community's awareness of the benefits people with intellectual disabilities bring to our community. Creating the Imagine! Foundation provided an avenue to bring in community leaders with specific goals of raising money and awareness to provide services to people with IDD in Boulder and Broomfield counties. Essentially, this established the Imagine! Foundation as the fundraising arm of Imagine!.

What is a Type 1 Supporting Organization?

The IRS recognizes the Imagine! Foundation as a Type 1 Supporting Organization, which by definition, "must be operated, supervised or controlled by its supported organization(s), typically by giving the supported organization(s) the power to regularly appoint or elect a majority of the directors or trustees of the supporting organization. The relationship between the supported organization(s) and the supporting organization is sometimes described as similar to a parent-subsidiary relationship."

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The fundraising areas are established by Imagine! and approved by both Boards of Directors. The Imagine! Foundation only fundraises for Imagine!’s services and emergency funds. Per the requirements of U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and IRS regulations, the financial statements of Imagine! and the Imagine! Foundation are consolidated and the true overhead costs of the Imagine! Foundation as a percentage of the overall Imagine! budget is 1%. Imagine! Foundation expenses include 2.1 full-time employees, the Imagine! Celebration annual event, and basic office costs.

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Why is the Imagine! Foundation Set up This Way?

The value of establishing the Imagine! Foundation as a separate but supporting nonprofit with its own Board of Directors cannot be overstated. Most nonprofits have a Development Department and a Board Development Committee, usually consisting of 3-5 board members. Over the last 22 years, more than 80 community leaders have served on the Imagine! Foundation Board, extending education and fundraising into the community at large with impressive results. Imagine! Foundation Board of Directors has raised over $12.4 million. As educational ambassadors, their efforts have helped transform Imagine! from being a well-kept secret to a widely-known, well-supported nonprofit serving people with intellectual disabilities in Boulder and Broomfield counties with innovative supports that extend well beyond meeting basic needs.

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Who Supports the Imagine! Foundation and How are Donations Used?

Imagine! Foundation funding comes from private donations and grants that we receive from our community to support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in living active and fulfilling lives in that same community. These funds are not tied to any government programs and enable Imagine! to offer services that go far beyond what traditional funding sources allow. Because of the Imagine! Foundation, people of all ages with an intellectual or developmental disability living in Boulder and Broomfield counties have access to a much broader and more comprehensive set of services than most others living in Colorado.

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The Imagine! Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization, Employer Identification Number 84-1540910.