On May 23, Glenwood Springs-based organization Valley Settlement received a transformational $2 million donation from famed philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. Valley Settlement, which provides education and mentoring programs for immigrant families throughout the Roaring Fork Valley, will use the donation to expand its programming into western Garfield County as part of its recently approved five-year strategic plan.
Founded in 2011 as a project of Carbondale-based social justice nonprofit MANAUS, Valley Settlement was created with the primary goal of listening to the needs of local immigrant families, and from those families’ needs and aspirations, collaborating to create programs for the entire family. Valley Settlement’s successful programs include El Busesito Preschool — a small fleet of buses converted into preschools which provide bilingual education to children up and down the Valley — as well as education for adults in English, computer skills, pre-GED work and more.
The donation came from MacKenzie Scott — who, owing to a 4% stake in Amazon, donated over $10 billion to different organizations. Maria Tarajano Rodman, executive director of Valley Settlement, stated that although the gift itself was not a surprise, the amount and the donor was.
“We were approached through email from a consulting firm that said there was an anonymous donor that was vetting our work for a possible gift, [and asked] if we were willing to have conversations about that,” she said. It was after a vetting period by the consulting firm that Valley Settlement received a call which stated that Scott was the donor and that they would receive a total of $2 million.
“Just because you’re being vetted for a gift doesn’t mean it’s gonna happen,” Rodman said, “so we were thrilled when we finally got the phone call … It was a lovely opportunity and such a validation of the extraordinary work of this community — the members of the Latino-Latina community that really created the work here at Valley Settlement, our board, our donors, our volunteers and our partners.”
Valley Settlement has regularly worked with many partners throughout the Valley. These include the Roaring Fork School District, which has helped in particular with the Busesito and Parent Mentor programs. The Parent Mentor program has parents volunteer in the grades of their children, assisting district teachers who may not yet be bilingual and providing a bridge for children who are still learning English.
Rodman also acknowledged the organizations — primarily churches — which have provided a safe, welcoming venue for El Busesito and its students. There are many more partners which make the work of Valley Settlement possible. “No organization does anything alone,” Rodman said. “There are so many different relationships which make our work possible, and I hope that this is a validation of all of our work, because it really does take all of us.”
The donation came serendipitously. In December 2022, Valley Settlement approved a five-year strategic plan for how to strengthen its impact. After a year and a half of attentive listening — Rodman listed community members from Parachute to Aspen, families who may not be connected to Valley Settlement, partners, donors, volunteers and staff, among those who were part of this intensive process — Valley Settlement created a plan to expand its scope in three primary ways.
First, the strategic plan includes making programs more accessible to the entire family, expanding to include teens, fathers and grandparents. The second goal is to strengthen existing relationships to enable Valley Settlement to provide its work as effectively and for as long as possible. The third is to expand outreach into western Garfield County to collaborate with even more immigrant communities.
However, before expanding into West Garfield, Valley Settlement will do what it has always done: listen to the needs and aspirations of the community there in order to create the best possible resources for its families. “We can’t do it without the support of the community,” Rodman said. “It’s not just us going to a new place, it’s us building the relationships of what we can do together”
Those interested in registering or volunteering for Valley Settlement’s programs, and those wishing to donate, can find more information at www.valleysettlement.org