Foundation Documents 2018-2019 CFA Annual Report | Page 2

A Message from the Director
The important work of the Colorado Foundation for Agriculture continues to be to advance agricultural literacy in prekindergarten through
12th grade students through the Colorado Agriculture in the Classroom® program. Today’s youth have many misconceptions about agriculture
– such as brown cows make chocolate milk, that farming is an antiquated practice, and that food comes from the grocery store, among
other misconceptions. It is through our programs and resources that we are able to help dispel these myths and connect educators and
students to their food, fiber, fuel, and natural resources. Our partnerships with industry stakeholders are critical to our success. We strive to
expand our programs and work with new partners to further enhance our mission. ~ Sincerely, Jennifer Scharpe, CFA Executive Director
Colorado Literacy Project
Financial Strategy and Management
The Colorado Foundation for Agriculture derives its funding from corporate
and organizational sponsorships, individual donations, and grants to facilitate
its Agriculture in the Classroom® programs. From August 1, 2018 to July
31, 2019, more than $196,000 was raised, exceeding budget expectations.
The sponsorships, donations, and grants CFA receives throughout the
year directly support the organization’s programming and operation,
allowing it to work toward its vision of increasing agricultural literacy.
2018-2019 Support by Program
Summer AgriCULTURE
Institutes
$36,010
Activity Books
$33,519
CD Interest
$759
General
Donations
$28,270
Colorado Literacy
Project
$4,346
2018-2019 Colorado Reader Topics
Each issue reaches 60,000 students in 800 schools. Of the
1,800 classrooms receiving the Colorado Reader, the top five
counties are El Paso, Weld, Larimer, Adams, and Arapahoe.
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•
•
•
•
Careers in Agriculture
Reducing Food Waste
Renewable Energy
The Story of Colorado Beef
Colorado Watersheds
Adopt-A-
Classroom
$17,350
Colorado Reader
Topic Sponsors
$76,363
The 2019 book for the Colorado Literacy Project was
John Deere, That’s Who! During the spring, volunteers
visited about 250 classrooms reaching more than
7,500 students. Volunteers read the book to students
and talked about their connection to agriculture.
The books were then donated to the schools.
Activity Books
CFA’s Activity Books continue to be very popular among
educators and are used in both formal and informal
settings. Activity Books and Colorado Readers can
be ordered through an online store on the website.
These resources are provided free of charge.
Summer AgriCULTURE Institutes
Two Food, Fiber, and More Summer
AgriCULTURE Institutes were held during
the summer of 2019. The locations were
Greeley and Castle Rock and a total of 40
teachers participated. Each week-long
course featured agriculture and food
production topics significant to the area.
Participants learned about beef and dairy
production, growing produce, water, corn
and ethanol production, plant breeding
and GMOs, among other topics. Highlights
this year included an open conversation
with Colorado CommonGround
volunteers and a panel discussion
on issues facing agriculture. The teachers leave the week with a greater
appreciation for agriculture and creative ideas on how to incorporate food,
fiber, fuel, and natural resources topics into their common core curriculum.
Find lesson plans and resources on the Curriculum Matrix and in the Ag Classroom Store at AgClassroom.org
Colorado Educators Recognized at the 2019 National Agriculture in the Classroom ® Annual Conference
The conference was held June 18-21 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Six Colorado educators along with CFA Executive Director Jennifer Scharpe attended.
Andy Klatt (center) of Grandview Elementary
was honored with a National Teaching in
Excellence About Agriculture Award.
Chris Woodburn (center) received an American
Farm Bureau Foundation White-Reinhardt
Scholarship to attend the conference.
Three Colorado teachers - Malcolm Davis,
Rebecca Kiefer, and Deborah Tanzy - were among
the 40 teachers nationwide who received CHS
Foundation Scholarships to attend the conference.