Annual opportunity for Westside charities to apply for Osborne Trust grants

Annual chance for Westside charities to apply for Osborne Trust grants

June 5, 2018
Grant money for 2018 from the William and Betty Osborne Trust Fund is available for qualifying entities.
The fund is managed through a group called the Advisory Trustees, consisting of past presidents of the Garden of the Gods Rotary Club. Using interest from the

These are the only known photos of Bill and Betty Osborne.

Courtesy of Bonnie & Harold Smith (Bill); and Jim High (Betty)

principal, over $100,000 is available each year, with varying amounts typically being allocated to 20-some charities.
       The deadline to request an application is June 30. Completed, mailed-in applications need to be post-dated no later than July 31.
       According to an Advisory Trustees press release, qualifying organizations must have non-profit status and provide charitable services to “deserving residents” within the boundaries of the trust fund. These boundaries are west of I-25, north to the El Paso County line, south across part of the Broadmoor area and west into Teller County.
       The trust also directs that to qualify an organization must “not be supported by tax dollars for its services” and must operate "exclusively for religious, charitable or educational purposes, or for the prevention of cruelty to children."
       The Advisory Trustees will review the applications, then decide on the recipients and the amounts to be allocated, the press release states.
       Checks to recipients traditionally are presented annually at a Garden of the Gods Rotary luncheon in the fall.
       The Osbornes were Old Colorado City business owners (a Rexall Drug Store at the southeast corner of Colorado Avenue and 25th Street), and Bill Osborne helped start the Garden of the Gods Rotary in 1947 (originally called the West Colorado Springs-Manitou Springs Rotary Club).
       He and Betty had no family heirs and set up the fund before they died in 1985.
       Osborne Trust application forms can be obtained by sending a request to the trust administrator, Lorraine Willis, at lorrainewillis480@gmail.com.

Westside Pioneer article
(Community: Charitable)

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