The Art of Fundraising: And Fundraising with Art in the Yampa Valley
by Melissa Hampton
This article originally appeared in theWinter 2025-26 issue of Art with Altitude.
Hockey great Wayne Gretzky once said: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” That could be the mantra for everyone working to raise funds for the nonprofit community in Routt County.
“We knew from the beginning that we had to get creative about raising dollars,” says Lara Craig, former Board Chair of the Steamboat Symphony Orchestra (SSO). “As popular as SSO concerts are, ticket sales just don’t cover the expenses.”
One of the Symphony’s recent fundraising innovations came this past summer through a collaboration with the bluegrass band Little Moon Travelers. The partnership culminated in September, when both groups shared the stage at SSO’s fall concert with an original composition blending their distinct sounds. “We saw a big jump in ticket sales,” Craig notes. “A lot of folks came to hear Little Moon Travelers, while others came for the SSO. Both organizations gained new fans!”
Steamboat Film Festival founder Michael Martin faced a similar challenge. “When the Chief Theatre closed down in 2021, we lost our venue and partner,” Martin recalls. “So I started brainstorming about what organization would make a good match.” His solution was to partner with Steamboat Adaptive Recreational Sports (S.T.A.R.S.,) whose mission—providing outdoor recreation for individuals with disabilities—aligned perfectly with the Festival’s focus on outdoor adventure. Susan Petersen, Executive Director of S.T.A.R.S, remembers: “When Michael approached us about making the Film Fest a benefit for S.T.A.R.S., we said yes immediately and enthusiastically!”
Strings Music Festival, one of the valley’s most visible performing arts organizations, also faces the same reality: ticket sales cover only a fraction of costs, making creative fundraising essential. One of their legacy events is the house concert series, where professional musicians performing at Strings give intimate concerts in private homes. “The feedback we hear most often,” says Executive Director Elissa Greene, “is that people love feeling like insiders. Guests enjoy chatting with the artists before and after the performance just as much as the music itself.”
Of course, Strings, SSO, and the Film Festival are far from alone. Routt and Moffat counties are home to hundreds of nonprofit organizations, all competing for donor and sponsor dollars. That makes the next great fundraising idea always top of mind. But how do organizations find it? Is there a magic formula?
“People respond to what touches them emotionally,” says Michelle Stewart, Executive Director of the Western Resilience Center (formerly Yampa Valley Sustainability Council).
Art often becomes the key. Defined broadly as any creative endeavor that stirs curiosity and moves us at our core, art compels action. It inspires us to play an instrument, pick up a paintbrush, volunteer for a cause—or support organizations financially so they can continue their work.
For the Western Resilience Center, art has become a powerful fundraising tool. Each year, the organization hosts Insight: Art for Climate Action, a public art auction that both generates new works and deepens ties with the visual arts community. “The participating artists themselves became ambassadors of our work,” Stewart explains, “each telling in their own way and through their own medium the why of our mission.”
Other nonprofits in the valley have also tapped into art-centered creativity. Routt Humane Society holds its annual Pup-A-Razzi event, where donors can receive professional portraits of their pets. The resulting calendars become a popular item around town.
For Northwest Rocky Mountain CASA, Dancing with the Stars has been a highly successful fundraiser for fifteen years. “We look for well-known community members who want to give back, are willing to raise money for us, and are also brave enough to step out of their comfort zone!” says Executive Director Lauren Rising.
Which brings us back to Gretzky’s words. Yampa Valley nonprofits are fearless because they have to be—always going for the shot, digging deep into their creative wells to keep vital organizations thriving. But sustaining them isn’t their job alone. It’s ours too.
The nonprofits that call our valley home enrich our lives every single day. They deserve our attention—and our financial support. When we step into the circle with them, we help ensure that these heart-filled organizations live to thrive another day, making our valley an extraordinary place to live.
Elevate the Arts: Help support a fundraiser in town through buying tickets. If you have a nonprofit you believe in and a great idea to help raise money, reach out. MH
