Unify Montrose Awarded $45,000 from El Pomar Foundation to Strengthen Local Civic Problem Solving
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Grant continues a relationship that helped spark the very first idea for this work in Montrose
Montrose, CO | April 23rd, 2026
Some community ideas begin with years of planning. This one began, somewhat serendipitously, in a buffet line.
Several years ago, at Penrose House during an El Pomar Foundation event, a speaker was discussing citizens’ assemblies, democratic renewal, and new ways to strengthen civic engagement. That speaker was Harry Gottlieb, founder of Unify America. At that moment, two people from Montrose were deeply inspired by what they had just heard and struck up a conversation that would help set something much larger in motion.
They invited Harry and Unify America to Montrose to pilot what this kind of work could look like in a rural community. That early conversation led to the Childcare Assembly, the pilot project that helped demonstrate the promise of structured, community-rooted deliberation here at home.
Now, years later, that early spark has grown into Unify Montrose: an independent, locally run nonprofit working to build long-term civic capacity in Montrose through structured dialogue, community deliberation, and practical problem solving.
Unify Montrose is honored to share that it has received $45,000 over the next three years from El Pomar Foundation to support this work.
This funding will help Unify Montrose continue building the local systems, relationships, and capacity needed to make meaningful civic engagement possible in a small rural community. It supports many of the same core needs that make this work sustainable over time: strengthening facilitation capacity, supporting participation, improving access, and building the organizational foundation needed to carry this work forward well beyond any single pilot or moment.
Alejandro Salazar, Executive Director of Unify Montrose, said:
“As a former El Pomar Scholar and intern, this moment feels especially full circle for me personally. It is deeply meaningful to see that long relationship converge with the separate serendipitous connection that first helped spark this work in Montrose. What began as a pilot has grown into something truly local, and this support helps us keep building lasting civic capacity here at home. We are deeply grateful to El Pomar Foundation and its Trustees for their continued belief in our community and in what is possible here.”
The grant reflects both continuity and momentum. Over the last several years, El Pomar Foundation has been a gracious and trusted supporter of this work as it evolved from an idea, to a pilot, to a local nonprofit with a growing role in helping Montrose residents work through difficult issues together.
Unify Montrose exists to help neighbors rebuild trust and solve problems together. Its work is designed to create structured, respectful spaces where people can weigh tradeoffs, contribute lived experience, and shape practical next steps on issues that matter locally. In the last year, that has included youth deliberation work and community conversations connected to homelessness and winter shelter solutions.
This new support from El Pomar Foundation helps ensure that this work is not temporary. It helps build lasting local capability so that civic engagement in Montrose can continue to be more thoughtful, more inclusive, and more action-oriented over time.
Just as importantly, it points toward a larger possibility: that rural communities across Colorado can build stronger civic infrastructure of their own. In a time when many people feel discouraged about public life, Unify Montrose believes communities still want to come together, be heard, and help shape solutions. This work is about renewing some hope in that process and proving that small communities can lead.
Unify Montrose is deeply thankful to El Pomar Foundation for its generosity, partnership, and belief in what is possible here.
About Unify Montrose
Unify Montrose is an independent, locally run nonprofit based in Montrose, Colorado. It strengthens communities through structured civic dialogue and collaborative problem solving, helping neighbors rebuild trust and turn local voices into clear, community-rooted recommendations and next steps.
Media Contact
Alejandro Salazar, Executive Director
