Philanthropy begins with kindness.
Be Kind FoCo is a community philanthropy project based on the belief that philanthropy begins with kindness. We develop our programs to support the idea that philanthropy is anything you do to make your community a better place. Our philosophy: kindness begins locally and is highly contagious.
Inspire community philanthropy by celebrating, learning, and connecting through kindness.
Our vision is that the entire Fort Collins community—from school children to businesses to local leadership—embraces and recognizes kindness as a core value and a priority in an effort to build a kinder, more connected community.
Since its inception in 2018, we’ve been growing Be Kind FoCo from a one-day event to a community initiative that recognizes kindness all year long, through the lens of philanthropy and beyond.
Be Kind FoCo began as a project of Leadership Fort Collins seeking to introduce families to the philanthropic programs taking place in our community.
Our team saw a need for simple but impactful ways of getting engaged in the nonprofit sector and giving back to the Fort Collins community that were easy to understand and explain to kids, and didn’t require an enormous financial or time commitment.
From youth philanthropy research, we knew that the younger we begin to teach children that giving back is a core value of our families and communities, the more likely they are to grow up to become philanthropists, volunteers, and contributors themselves. And that makes a stronger community for everyone.
Learn how you can join in and make a difference.
Wednesday, March 8th
5:00-7:00 p.m. at Maxline Brewing
Join us for a casual evening to kick off Be Kind FoCo 2023! Grab some new swag, learn how to get involved, and hear what we’re planning for this June.
Saturday, June 3rd, 11:00-2:00 at Old Town Square
Celebrate with us on Saturday, June 3rd, in Old Town Square for our fifth annual Kindness Expo and Fest! A family-friendly celebration of kindness in our community, we feature an expo of local nonprofit organizations, grassroots kindness projects, first responders with their vehicles in tow, kid philanthropists, music, games, kindness activities, supply drives, prizes, swag, and ways to get to know our community through kindness. We hope to see you there!
June 3-10, 2023
Beginning with the annual Kindness Festival in Old Town Square on June 3rd, we’lll celebrate Be Kind FoCo Week—a citywide celebration of kindness and philanthropy in our community. Based on the belief that philanthropy begins with kindness, it is our vision that kindness becomes a celebrated core value of the Fort Collins community well into the future.
We invite all of Fort Collins to join us by celebrating kindness in our community—in our local businesses, our homes, our families, our neighborhoods, our workplaces, and throughout the city. We’ll celebrate with a mayoral proclamation announcing Kindness Week the first full week of June 2023, with kindness-themed lawn signs, art, random acts of kindness, community fundraising nights, business philanthropy, family philanthropy, service learning, and more!
What does kindness mean to you? We’d love to hear from you!
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