Riverfront Park Community Foundation

501(c)(4) organization Denver, CO EIN: 84-1526370

Riverfront Park Community Foundation is a public charity based in Denver, Colorado. Its stated mission is to promote social welfare by fostering excellence, diversity, and opportunity in downtown Denver, primarily through education and the arts.

Riverfront Park Community Foundation at a glance

In short: Riverfront Park Community Foundation gave $343K across 13 grants in 2025 (avg $26K), mostly in Colorado. 8% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.

Annual giving (2025)
$342,819
-1.3% vs 2024
Grants made (2025)
13
+18.2% vs 2024
Average grant
$26,371
-16.5% vs 2024
Median grant
$12,500
Total assets
$2,160,911
-0.2% vs 2024
New grantees (estimate)
8% first-time grantees (1 of 13, 2025; small sample)
Primary geography
Colorado (100% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
Latest 990 filing
Form 990, 2025 View filing

Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).

How to apply to Riverfront Park Community Foundation

Contact

Mailing address: 1616 Little Raven St, Denver, CO 80202
Phone: (303) 607-7621

Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.

Who Riverfront Park Community Foundation funds

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Riverfront Park Master Assoc: $100KRiverfront Park Master Assoc$100KRiverfront ParkC&C Denver: $75KRiverfront ParkC&C Denver$75KThe Greenway Foundation: $28KThe Greenway Foundation$28KPlatte Forum: $25KPlatte Forum$25KUrban Peak: $25KUrban Peak$25KMuseum of Contemporary Art: $20KMuseum of Contemporary Art$20KDen Cntr for Performing Arts: $13KDen Cntr for Performing Arts$13KClyfford Still Fndtn: $10KClyfford Still Fndtn$10KColorado Symphony Association: $10KColorado Symphony Association$10KColorado Uplift: $10KColorado Uplift$10K

The largest 2025 recipient was Riverfront Park Master Assoc ($100K). Together the top 10 received $315K.

Grant Size Distribution

79 grants across all recorded years

76<$50K1$50–100K2$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 76 grants of 79 (96%).

Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

All reported 2025 grant dollars went to recipients in Colorado. The listed 2025 recipients were in Denver.

Grant Distribution by State

1state

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 13 itemized grants.

States

Cities

DenverGreenwoodVillagAurora

Is Riverfront Park Community Foundation open to new grantees?

8%

first-time grantees, 2025

In 2025, 1 of 13 grantees (8%) were first-time recipients. With only 13 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 8 points. First grants averaged $10K; repeat grants $28K. How we count

Medians: $10K first-time, $16K repeat.

  • 77% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
  • Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+9%). Method

Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2020–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.

Giving History

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$100K$200K$300K$400K17 grants2020 19 grants2021 20 grants2022 16 grants2023 11 grants2024 13 grants2025

From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $250K (2021) to $348K (2024). In 2025 it made 13 grants totaling $343K.

Grants by year

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Riverfront Park Master Assoc Denver, COSummer Sessions Concert Series 2024$100,000
Riverfront ParkC&C Denver Denver, COInstalling "loaned" sculpture$75,319
The Greenway Foundation Denver, COEnvironment$27,500
Platte Forum Denver, COArts, Culture & Humanities$25,000
Urban Peak Denver, COHuman Services$25,000
Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, COArts, Culture & Humanities$20,000
Den Cntr for Performing Arts Denver, COArts, Culture & Humanities$12,500
Clyfford Still Fndtn Denver, COArts, Culture & Humanities$10,000
Colorado Symphony Association Denver, CO—$10,000
Colorado Uplift Denver, COEducation$10,000
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Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Figures from IRS filings, by filing year
Filing yearTotal AssetsRevenueExpensesGrants paidGrantsNet Investment Income
2025$2,160,911$346,517$445,884$342,81913$139,385
2024$2,164,693$311,482$340,646$347,50011$125,818
2023$2,232,538$352,393$362,130$283,21716$63,239
2022$2,083,294$453,997$347,572$314,41020$72,829
2021$2,223,108$398,195$255,033$250,21519$36,910
2020$1,957,122$852,376$394,619$301,07117$23,232

Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.

Mission & Focus Areas

The Foundation’s stated mission is to promote social welfare by fostering excellence, diversity, and opportunity in downtown Denver, primarily through education and the arts. Its filing describes its program as making grants to public charities and domestic organizations.

Its 2025 grants included support for arts and cultural organizations, education, human services, food distribution, and environmental work. Among its grantees, The Greenway Foundation describes its mission as enhancing and protecting Denver’s waterways through equitable community engagement, education, and stewardship. Colorado Uplift describes its mission as building long-term, life-changing relationships with urban youth. The Colorado Symphony Association says it funds and operates the Colorado Symphony Orchestra for the enjoyment and benefit of people in metropolitan Denver and the wider Colorado and Rocky Mountain regions.

Grantmaking

In filing year 2025, the Foundation reported 13 grants totaling $342,819. Grant amounts ranged from $7,500 to $100,000, with a median grant of $12,500.

Its largest reported grants included $100,000 to Riverfront Park Master Assoc for the Summer Sessions Concert Series 2024 and $75,319 to Riverfront ParkC&C Denver for installing a “loaned” sculpture. Other grants included $27,500 to The Greenway Foundation, $25,000 each to Platte Forum and Urban Peak, $20,000 to the Museum of Contemporary Art, and $10,000 each to the Clyfford Still Foundation, Colorado Symphony Association, Colorado Uplift, Denver Art Museum, and WeDontWaste.org.

The filing says the Foundation communicates each grant’s purpose, goals, and limitations to recipient organizations. Grantees typically complete the Colorado Common Grant Request process yearly, and the Foundation may review prior-year activity. It requests feedback during the year, follows up about programming, and withdraws future support if a grantee does not meet its goals and objectives.

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists Mark L Smith as president, Ron Werner as secretary, and Amy Cara as treasurer. Don Cohen, Michael Sullivan, and Renee Whitcomb are listed as directors.

Riverfront Park Community Foundation is led by Mark L Smith, President on every filing since 2020; none of the 6 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Mark L Smith

    President

    On filings since 2020

    No compensation reported

  • Don Cohen

    Director

    On filings since 2020

    No compensation reported

  • Michael Sullivan

    Director

    On filings since 2023

    No compensation reported

  • Renee Whitcomb

    Director

    On filings since 2023

    No compensation reported

  • Amy Cara

    Treasurer

    Secretary & Treasurer → Treasurer, 2023

    On filings since 2020

    No compensation reported

  • Ron Werner

    Secretary

    Director → Secretary, 2023

    On filings since 2020

    No compensation reported

Former officers (2)
  • Former: Bruce Fowler (2020–2022) — Director
  • Former: Stephanie Blake (2020–2021) — Director

Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.

Frequently asked questions about Riverfront Park Community Foundation

How much does Riverfront Park Community Foundation give each year?

Riverfront Park Community Foundation gave $343K across 13 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $348K across 11 grants.

What is Riverfront Park Community Foundation's typical grant size?

Riverfront Park Community Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $12,500, and its average grant was $26,371, across 13 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Organizations receiving their first grant from Riverfront Park Community Foundation that year got $10K on average.

Where does Riverfront Park Community Foundation give grants?

Riverfront Park Community Foundation gives mostly in Colorado: 100% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990 went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Denver, CO (13 grants).

Does Riverfront Park Community Foundation give general operating support?

Not in 2025: none of the 12 grants with a stated purpose on Riverfront Park Community Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Arts, Culture & Humanities" (5 grants).

Who are Riverfront Park Community Foundation's largest grantees?

Riverfront Park Community Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Riverfront Park Master Assoc ($100,000), Riverfront ParkC&C Denver ($75,319) and The Greenway Foundation ($27,500), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 59% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is Riverfront Park Community Foundation?

Riverfront Park Community Foundation reported $2.2M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $347K.

What does Riverfront Park Community Foundation fund?

The Foundation’s stated mission is to promote social welfare by fostering excellence, diversity, and opportunity in downtown Denver, primarily through education and the arts. Its filing describes its program as making grants to public charities and domestic organizations. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from Riverfront Park Community Foundation?

Riverfront Park Community Foundation has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.

What is Riverfront Park Community Foundation's EIN?

Riverfront Park Community Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 84-1526370. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.

Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.

Data update history

(7)

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS November 12, 2021)
  2. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS November 11, 2022)
  3. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS November 10, 2023)
  4. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS November 13, 2024)
  5. Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 30, 2025)
  6. Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS July 24, 2026)
  7. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024

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Cite this profile

Grantable. (2026). Riverfront Park Community Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/riverfront-park-community-foundation-morg_453c84e0e9224b28ab5f2fba200222d7

BibTeX
@misc{grantable_841526370_2026,
  author       = {{Grantable}},
  title        = {{Riverfront Park Community Foundation funder profile}},
  howpublished = {GrantGraph},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://grantable.co/funders/riverfront-park-community-foundation-morg_453c84e0e9224b28ab5f2fba200222d7},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-18. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}

The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.

Figures come from Riverfront Park Community Foundation's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.

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