20 nonprofits, one roof, similar goal – LoDo building will serve as hub for like-minded groups

A newly created group called the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado is setting up a collaborative hub for nonprofits, business and government in a historic LoDo building that will eventually house as many as 20 nonprofit agencies.

The new nonprofit was founded by John Powers, who provided the financial backing for the purchase of the Wynkoop Street building from Tattered Cover Book Store owner Joyce Meskis.

By Joanne Kelley, Rocky Mountain News

http://www.insidedenver.com/drmn/business/article/0,1299,DRMN_4_3052203,00.html

Powers said the building, as well as a planned adjacent facility, will provide shared office space and a meeting place for organizations focusing on economic, environmental and social "sustainability."

"We need to have everybody in the present looking at what we’re creating in the future," Powers, board president of the Colorado Environmental Coalition, said. "We need to create opportunities for people to work together."

While a handful of other cities have nonprofits working under one roof, the alliance’s center could be the first theme-based facility, said program director Janna Six.

Tenants in the building, which will feature energy-saving technologies, will share conference rooms, technology services and personnel.

"It could potentially lower their operating costs," said Heidi VanGenderen, project director of the Colorado Energy Partnership at the University of Colorado-Denver. "It will create a stronger community among its occupants."

VanGenderen got involved in Powers’ project as part of her work with the Colorado Sustainable Business Association, a group that works to promote networking among businesses, nonprofits and government agencies.

Already, 11 nonprofits, including the Colorado Environmental Coalition, are renting space in the alliance’s building. They are: Historic Denver, Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters, Colorado Conservation Voters, EnviroCitizen, Center for Native Ecosystems, Southern Rockies Ecosystem Project, Wildlands Project, Every Child Matters, and One Nation Enlightened.

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