In it's relatively short existence since fall 2006, UniverCity Connections has accomplished a great deal. Here are a few key initiatives that are currently underway:
UniverCity Connections Homelessness Initiative
FortZED Green Restaurant Initiative
Fort Collins River Map
FortZED Green Restaurant Initiative:
FortZED has been one of the most successful UniverCity Connections initiatives, having raised over $500,000 from local donors, secured a U.S. Department of Energy grant that will bring $11.2 million in funding, and obtained partnership from the Northern Colorado Clean Energy Cluster and Fort Collins Utilities. Most recently, FortZED announced the formation of a Green Restaurant Initiative in July 2008, developed as a community program to help restaurants implement energy conservation and efficiency practices. Energy savings directly affect monthly bills, while sustainable business practices also appeal to the consumers in our community.
FortZED is targeting restaurants because they have the potential to realize substantial cost savings and a quick return on investment from implementing energy conservation and efficiency practices. In addition, restaurants are the perfect staging ground for raising community awareness of the FortZED initiative.
Click here to read a PDF flier about the FortZED Green Restaurant Initiative (1 MB)
Click here to read more about FortZED
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Fort Collins River Map:
The Cache la Poudre River is the lifeblood of Northern Colorado, providing not only for plants and animals but adding to the area’s rich history and thriving recreational offerings. As of June 2008, the Poudre River’s treasures can now fit in the palm of your hand. The UniverCity Connections River Protection & Development Task Force has created The Urban Cache la Poudre River, a pocket-size interpretive map and guide that highlights recreation, fishing, history, trails and wildlife throughout the river’s urban corridor.
The map details a swath of the river that runs through Fort Collins, and provides information on fishing spots, paddling and boating areas, walking trails and picnic locales. It includes a 1.55-mile “lunchtime loop” near Old Town for those hoping to get a breath of fresh air in the middle of their work day. The guide also provides background on the Cache Le Poudre’s unique history; vibrant walking, running and bicycling trails; water recreation and fishing; and the flora and fauna that call the riparian area home.
Residents and visitors can pick up The Urban Cache la Poudre River now at the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Development Authority, Downtown Business Association, Beet Street and the Fort Collins Convention and Visitors Bureau. It will also be available at the Colorado Welcome Center off of I-25 and various Old Town locations in the near future.
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UniverCity Connections Homelessness Initiative:
Building on years of dedicated work from local agencies and individuals and a tremendous amount of community collaboration, UniverCity Connections Homelessness Task Group unveiled on Aug. 21 a report detailing homelessness in Fort Collins, community perceptions and global best practices. The report will serve as a blueprint for addressing homelessness in Fort Collins and guide for UniverCity Connections Homelessness Task Group volunteers as they begin preliminary efforts to develop a 10-year plan to end homelessness in the community.
The announcement comes after more than a year of collaboration among community leaders, local agencies, and the volunteers and leadership of UniverCity Connections. An anonymous grant was then given to the task group through the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado to fund a best practices research report on homelessness. The report includes an initial overview on homelessness locally, in Colorado and across the nation; research on best practices from cities that are involved in implementing homelessness plans; a pilot survey on community perceptions of homelessness in Fort Collins; analysis of model cities from around the world; and recommendations based on community interviews.
According to a vast majority of those surveyed for the report, homelessness is considered a problem in the Fort Collins community. For more than 500 people in the community, homelessness is a very real struggle in their daily lives—and about 60 percent of those are families, according to the Colorado Statewide Homeless Count. But the report points out that UniverCity’s proactive efforts mean that the problem can be solved: There are strategies to guide those individuals and families out of homelessness and there are ways of helping secure housing for the near homeless.
Click here to download the Homelessness Initiative report: "Building Blocks to Ending Homelessness in Fort Collins: A Community Blueprint" (70 pgs, 1.93MB).
Click here to read more about the UniverCity Connections Homelessness Task Force