The People Quietly Keeping Colorado Springs Beautiful

Power Connectors

Aug 5

4 min read

Every community has organizations everyone has heard of.

Then there are the organizations everyone benefits from but few people ever stop to think about.

Whether you're hiking a trail, enjoying a neighborhood park, visiting a community garden, or attending one of our city's biggest events, there's a good chance Keep Colorado Springs Beautiful helped make that experience possible.

Their mission is simple: enhance and heal the environment of Colorado Springs. It's a mission perfectly reflected in their motto: "This is where people and nature meet."

Living in one of the most beautiful places in the country also means living in a place that's constantly changing. Storms damage trails. Wind scatters debris. Illegal dumping happens. Invasive plants spread. Community spaces need attention. Native vegetation disappears.

Chances are, you've crossed paths with them and never even realized it. Every single day, Keep Colorado Springs Beautiful is somewhere in our community making it cleaner, healthier, and more beautiful. Whether they're responding after a storm, restoring a trail, cultivating a community garden, or helping keep our city's largest events beautiful, their work is woven into everyday life in Colorado Springs.

More Than Just Cleanup

While people might recognize Keep Colorado Springs Beautiful for community cleanups, their work extends far beyond picking up litter.

One of their most exciting current projects is the ongoing transformation of the Hillside Community Garden.

Working alongside community partners, they've reimagined the space into something much bigger than a neighborhood garden. New raised beds have been installed, unused areas have been reclaimed, an extensive composting system has been added, and six fruit trees have been planted alongside raspberries, blackberries, and grape vines.

The goal is both practical and inspiring. Programs at the Hillside Community Center will grow fresh, organic fruits and vegetables that will help supply the community pantry, creating a sustainable source of healthy food while teaching stewardship and gardening skills along the way.

The organization has also played a major role in revitalizing the Deerfield Hills Community Garden, demonstrating that these spaces can become lasting community assets when they're thoughtfully cared for.

A grand opening for the Hillside project is planned for 2027, but the impact is already taking root.

Doing More With Less

One of the most impressive things about Keep Colorado Springs Beautiful isn't simply the amount of work they do. It's how efficiently they do it. The organization carefully tracks virtually everything it does. Every trailhead cleanup. Every neighborhood project. Every volunteer hour. Every project tells a story. Every effort is measured using cost-benefit analyses developed through Keep America Beautiful, helping the organization continually improve its effectiveness and understand where its time and resources create the greatest impact.

That data tells an incredible story.

In one example Dee shared, a $50,000 city contract ultimately produced more than $1 million worth of community value through volunteer labor, partnerships, and coordinated efforts.

It's easy to assume beautiful parks and clean trails simply stay that way. The reality is that dedicated people are out there every day making sure they do.

The Biggest Challenge Isn't the Work

When I asked Dee about the biggest obstacle the organization faces, it wasn't difficult volunteers, complicated projects, or a lack of ideas.

It was funding.

Much of Keep Colorado Springs Beautiful's work depends on contracts and grants that must be renewed year after year. While those contracts help fund essential services, many of the organization's most meaningful community projects happen outside those agreements.

Maintaining community gardens, purchasing supplies, repairing equipment, vehicle care, and tackling projects that simply need to be done all require additional funding.

Their annual operating budget is approximately $200,000, and every extra dollar allows them to do even more for our community.

Later this year, the organization plans to launch a new annual sponsorship program, giving businesses and individuals the opportunity to support their work at various giving levels throughout the year.

Want to Help?

Financial support makes the biggest difference, but it's not the only way to get involved.

Volunteer opportunities are available throughout the year, with larger group opportunities during major community events like the Labor Day Lift Off. Groups can volunteer in four-hour shifts by coordinating with the organization in advance.

Their volunteers come from every walk of life, united by a common goal of making Colorado Springs a better place for everyone.

Another meaningful way to help costs nothing at all.

Dee encourages community members to share with City Council and the Mayor why organizations like Keep Colorado Springs Beautiful matter. Public support helps ensure that environmental stewardship remains a priority for our growing city.

Sometimes the most valuable contribution is simply helping decision-makers understand the value of work that's easy to take for granted.

Join Power Connectors in Giving Back

We're excited to partner with Keep Colorado Springs Beautiful for a community cleanup event this fall.

Saturday, October 3 | 9:00 a.m. to Noon | S. Sierra Madre Trailhead

Power Connectors members are invited to bring their families and spend a few hours helping care for one of the places that makes Colorado Springs so special. (Participants should be at least 10 years old.)

Networking is about building stronger communities, and sometimes the best conversations happen while working side by side with people who care about the same things you do.

Learn More

Keep Colorado Springs Beautiful is always looking for volunteers, community partners, and supporters who want to make a difference. Follow them on Facebook to see upcoming projects, volunteer opportunities, and updates on their new annual sponsorship program, which is expected to launch later this year.

If you see the Keep Colorado Springs Beautiful team at a community event, stop by their tent and introduce yourself. Thank them for what they do. It's easy to overlook the people working behind the scenes until you realize just how much of our city they've helped care for.

The places we love don't stay that way on their own. They stay that way because people choose, every single day, to show up.

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