Donate to The Best Local Nonprofits on Make a Difference Day

There are many incredible nonprofit organizations that deserve your support this year. There are also just as many wine and spirit festivals to attend this fall.

But what if you could combine both?

That’s exactly what the Boulder Burgundy Festival is for!

We’re a not-for-profit 501C3 organization with the mission to make a real difference. Our events celebrate the fine wines of the Burgundy region through seminars, tastings, and meals that raise money for various nonprofits.

At this annual wine festival, we support ongoing education for aspiring wine professionals while providing medical aid and food for those in need in our communities and around the world.

We champion enjoying wine for a cause, and the celebration of coming together for what matters most.

For National Make a Difference Day, we’re proud to support the following charitable organizations who make an enormous impact in our community. Raise a glass knowing that a portion of the proceeds from our festival go back to these incredible causes!

While you’re at The Boulder Burgundy Festival, make sure to learn more about these best charities to donate to this year.

There With Care

When a child in the family is undergoing a medical crisis, things like preparing meals, cleaning the house, and planning birthday parties and family events fall to the wayside. The family may be under extreme stress and struggle with day-to-day tasks while trying to provide quality care for a sick child.

There With Care removes these obstacles when families need it most. Unique to each family’s needs, this nonprofit organization provides many services for a family in crisis, including:

  • Transportation to and from hospitals, appointments, and treatment
  • Meal programs and grocery delivery
  • Clothing and donated essential items
  • Home maintenance, furniture delivery, law care, and cleaning services
  • Modifying homes for wheelchair accessibility
  • Accounting, legal services, and therapy
  • Access to technology and resource libraries

Many of their programs are also inspired by individual families. The Care Letters initiative sends seasonal greeting cards to children in hospitals and their families. Eric Cares provides financial and emotional support for funeral planning.

Through the families who’ve lost children themselves, this organization looks to provide a network of services to ease the burden that families face with a critically ill child. We are proud to donate a portion of the proceeds from the Boulder Burgundy Festival to this worthy cause.

Learn more about their programs to help families with critically ill children >

SommFoundation

Becoming a wine professional can be a long and difficult journey for aspiring sommeliers. The mission of the SommFoundation is to assist up-and-coming wine and spirits professionals to achieve the highest level of proficiency and accreditation in the food and beverage industry.

Through enrichment opportunities, mentorships, and scholarships, they help restaurant professionals, wine journalists, and winemakers further their knowledge about the world of wine and spirits.

In 2009, they partnered with The Rudd Foundation for the coveted Rudd Round Table. For this event, they send 12 of the country’s best and brightest sommeliers to Napa Valley for a 2-day workshop to prepare for the rigorous Master Sommelier Exam.

The SommFoundation also invest in enrichment trips, providing over $150,000 in scholarships for wine professionals to elevate their practice in the best vineyards in the world. For attendees, this can make all the difference in their careers in the wine industry.

Join the SommFoundation in empowering wine professionals >

Impact on Education 

Founded in 1983, this charitable organization prioritizes and funds programs to benefit students in the Boulder Valley School District.

Supporting over 31,000 local students and 4,000 educators each school year, Impact on Education directs their focus to addressing economic and learning barriers for all students in the community.

One challenge facing young children is achievement gaps before children reach preschool and kindergarten. Each summer, the Summer Shuffle brings literacy and essential skills to low-income children living in Boulder County public housing.

This includes lessons on healthy behaviors, social skills, and working with parents and caregivers to promote social-emotional growth in the home. This is even more important now as young children have been in virtual learning and isolation the past few years with the pandemic.

“We want to play a positive role in preparing as many children as we can for that all-important first year of formal schooling,” say program leaders.

They’ve also piloted the Academic Opportunity Fund which helps provide funds for classroom materials (textbooks, equipment, etc.), before and after school tutoring, transportation, and more.

Help our local Boulder students get what they need to succeed in school and life >

Sophie’s Neighborhood

Sophie is a friend to the community and daughter of local Boulder restaurant owners, Hosea and Lauren Rosenberg of Blackbelly and Santo.

Sophie is 1 of approximately 30 people in the world diagnosed with Multicentric Carpotarsal Osteolysis (MCTO), a rare, crippling, and life-threatening genetic disease that causesbone degeneration and end-stage kidney failure.

There’s currently no treatment or cure for Sophie’s disease. But this organization looks to change that. Through fundraising for research and community engagement, we can help Sophie and other’s battling this rare condition.

Boulder Wine Merchant is proud to be among several local businesses to support Sophie’s Neighborhood. At Pizzeria Locale in Boulder, every purchase of a kid’s pizza goes to support the foundation. Gelato Boy even has a gelato flavor inspired by Sophie’s favorite ingredients which go directly to the organization.

Get involved to fight MCTO with this local charity >

Join The Boulder Burgundy Festival for a Cause

At Boulder Wine Merchant, we believe in elevating incredible wines and people. It’s our community that brings us purpose and meaning, and we love helping those in need whenever we have the opportunity.

At the Boulder Burgundy Festival, you’re contributing to these nonprofit organizations and making a real difference for families, students, and professionals in your community. Plus: you’ll be enjoying rare wines!

Join us at the Boulder Burgundy Festival October 22-24 and enjoy wine for a good cause >