Join Our Team: Program Officer

Program Officer

Department: Community Impact
Location: Arvada, CO
Date Updated: September 29, 2026

Who is Colorado Gives Foundation?

Colorado Gives Foundation connects people, ideas, and Colorado nonprofits to make good happen. We are a Jefferson County grantmaker and statewide we invest to build the capacity of nonprofits and donors through ColoradoGives.org, nonprofit endowments and donor services. We make it easy for people to donate to the causes they care about, enabling meaningful change to help our neighbors thrive. Our work is rooted in attentive listening and a firm commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion. Together, we strive to build resilient, connected, and thriving communities. Colorado Gives Foundation is where donors find and discover the community impact that matters most to them, which is good for everyone.

What is the Job?

Your essential duties and responsibilities will include:

Community Relationships and Listening:
You will develop and sustain strong relationships with nonprofits, community members and other stakeholders across Jeffco. You will use community listening strategies to understand needs and aspirations, identify opportunities and inform programs and philanthropic efforts aligned with our Community Impact Strategy. You will also serve as a spokesperson for assigned opportunities, host office hours and respond to community questions and requests.

Philanthropic Strategy and Grantmaking:
You will implement philanthropic tools, including grantmaking, that advance our Community Impact Strategy. This includes developing and managing directed, responsive and emergent philanthropic efforts, conducting due diligence, reviewing grant applications and recommending awards and declinations. You will also identify opportunities to use Foundation resources, including marketing, communications and ColoradoGives.org, to support community impact efforts.

Grant Review and Community Support:
You will recruit, organize and coordinate community review processes for open and competitive grant opportunities, as assigned. You will provide nonprofits and community partners with guidance, connections and support related to ideas, projects and applications.

Learning, Evaluation and Improvement:
You will assess grants and other philanthropic efforts to understand progress, identify common themes and inform our strategy. This includes reviewing grantee impact reports, tracking performance against Community Impact Strategy metrics and gathering feedback from community partners. You will use these insights to help refine operational processes, philanthropic efforts and our Community Impact Strategy.

Collaboration and Customer Service:
You will provide exceptional service to employees, donors, nonprofits, community members and other partners across the Foundation’s offerings. You will work across departments to coordinate philanthropic tools and help ensure successful implementation.

Culture and Organizational Support:
You will model Colorado Gives Foundation’s organizational values and contribute to a positive, collaborative work culture. You will also support other duties and organizational priorities as assigned.

To succeed, you should have:

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Community engagement and relationship building: Strong relationship-building skills with the ability to engage diverse communities, listen proactively, understand community needs and use community feedback to inform decisions and strategies.
• Philanthropic knowledge: Working knowledge of philanthropic tools and approaches, including grantmaking, impact investing, convening, policy and advocacy and systems change.
• Communication: Excellent public speaking, persuasive writing and interpersonal communication skills. Ability to communicate clearly with nonprofits, community members, partners and internal teams.
• Project management: Strong project management and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities, projects and relationships at the same time.
• Problem-solving and innovation: Ability to think creatively, identify opportunities, solve problems and develop actionable plans that support community impact.
• Collaboration and independence: Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a collaborative team with limited supervision.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Minimum of five years of relevant experience working with diverse communities, nonprofit organizations, philanthropy, grantmaking, management, entrepreneurship, program evaluation or related areas.
• Experience building community relationships, gathering and applying community feedback, and working collaboratively with nonprofit or community partners.

Benefits, Perks and the Fun Stuff

We value our employees’ time and efforts. Our commitment to your success is enhanced by competitive compensation of $89,000 to $100,000 annually, depending on experience, and an extensive benefits package including:

• Health benefits, including medical, dental and vision insurance
• 401(k) / retirement plan with employer matching
• Life and disability insurance
• Flexible spending account
• Health savings account
• Paid time off and holidays
• Flexible schedule
• Employee assistance program
• Paid parental leave
• Professional development assistance
• Workplace perks

We are also conveniently located on the G-line in Old Town Arvada. Oh, and we’re pretty fun, so we think you’ll like working with us.

Workplace Culture

You are valued and you belong. We are committed to maintaining the best possible environment for our employees where people can show up as their authentic selves and grow with the Foundation.

In that spirit, we provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetics, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age or any other characteristic protected by law.