Thank you to everyone who has already given as we near the end of 2025. Your generosity sustains The Gathering Place every day, and we are deeply grateful for the trust you place in our work—especially at a time when many of us are feeling the rising cost of living and uncertainty about what lies ahead. And to those who are still considering a year-end gift, thank you for being part of this community and for showing up in ways that feel possible for you.
Beyond the Headlines
You’ve likely heard many familiar messages from nonprofits this year: government funding cuts, rising need, stretched safety nets. For The Gathering Place, those challenges are not abstract. We recently learned that we are losing significant state funding in 2026 at the same time demand for our services continues to grow.
What makes this moment especially urgent is who is being left behind.
Single women, gender diverse people and single caregivers with children are among the most vulnerable when public supports disappear. Colorado’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) has been under a significant enrollment freeze since early 2025, impacting thousands of families’ access to affordable childcare. New subsidies have been halted due to new federal rules, increased costs, and a lack of funding, forcing counties to pause new enrollments and creating real financial hardship for working parents.
For many families, this is not simply a choice between working or staying home when affordable childcare isn’t available. It is a choice between working full-time and watching nearly every dollar go toward basic needs—often still not enough—forcing families into impossible situations like homelessness or going without adequate food. Or, it is the choice to step away from work and spend full days navigating complex, fragmented systems just to secure essentials like food, healthcare, and clothing for growing children. Either path carries risk, instability, and long-term consequences for parents and kids alike. When this reality is combined with persistently low wages, rising rents, and limited housing availability, stability can feel out of reach—no matter how hard someone is trying.
At the same time, transgender and gender diverse people are arriving in Denver seeking safety from increasing hostility across the country—only to encounter one of the most unaffordable cities in the nation. Safety alone is not enough; people need real pathways to rebuild their lives.
Where The Gathering Place Makes a Difference
The Gathering Place exists for moments like this.
We are not just meeting immediate needs—we are creating stability when systems fail. Because of supporters like you, people can access basic resources today while building toward a sustainable future tomorrow: safe shelter, connections to income and childcare, and long-term support that makes progress possible—even as public funding becomes less reliable.
A Story of What’s Possible
Here is just one journey that shows what is possible when the right support is in place.
After years of sleeping outside and coming to The Gathering Place for basic resources and a sense of community, Carrie took a brave step that most of us will never fully understand: moving into our 24/7 shelter. This transition requires letting go of old survival strategies, trusting new systems, and embracing hope for a better future. It can be scary because it is unfamiliar, demands vulnerability, and challenges long-held coping mechanisms.
With consistent safety and support, everything changed. She moved into her own apartment, secured employment, and is working to advance in her role. This holiday season, she has a place of her own where her family is able to visit.
That transformation didn’t happen overnight—and it didn’t happen alone. It happened because donors chose to stay present, to believe in her, and to invest in long-term stability.
Looking Ahead: 40 Years of Showing Up
As we enter the new year, The Gathering Place will mark our 40th anniversary. When we opened our doors four decades ago, we hoped a place like ours would one day no longer be necessary.
Yet here we are—and the need is more urgent than ever.
Rising housing costs, gaps in childcare access, wage inequities, the loss of key state funding, and increasing threats to the safety of women and gender-diverse people mean that community-based support is not just relevant—it is essential. Forty years in, our mission has grown to meet today’s challenges: to provide safety and pathways to stability for women, gender-diverse people and their children navigating a world where systems often fall short.
Thank You for Making This Work Possible
As we approach the end of the year, we want to pause and say thank you. Your support—whether given this season or throughout the year—ensures that the loss of public funding does not translate into a loss of safety, shelter, or opportunity for the people who rely on us. Although there are so many uncertainties ahead, one thing we know is that every dollar donated to The Gathering Place will continue to make the meaningful impact it has year after year.
If you are considering a year-end gift, please know that donations made by December 31 can be deducted for tax purposes and will immediately support women, children, and gender-diverse people seeking safety and stability.
We are deeply grateful to walk into this milestone year with you—thank you for being part of our past, present, and future.
