Top Places to Volunteer in Denver, CO
Ideas to volunteer and help out in the Denver community!
There’s no shortage of ways to do good in the Mile High City. Coloradans know how important it is to preserve the environment, with the majestic Rockies framing the views from the city. But there’s also tons of ways to get involved for causes like food justice, ending poverty and homelessness, and supporting public health. You can volunteer in Denver for these and more causes using a free app, POINT!
What is POINT?
POINT is a free app that lets you pick the causes you care most about, and curates a feed for you with volunteering opportunities for nonprofits working on those causes in your city. Just tap “go” and show up! It’s basically ClassPass for volunteering, with metrics on your profile that track your impact. Keep scrolling to find a list of volunteer events in Austin you can sign up for with a tap.
Download free for iOS or Android, or get started on the web here.
Are you a nonprofit? Get started here.
Volunteer in Denver for Food Security
One in ten Coloradans was food insecure in 2019, and COVID has only made that number grow. This number is also higher for Black and Hispanic communities, and women. Nonprofits in the Rockies expect food security to be an issue for the next 2 years, even as the economy starts to rebound.
Nonprofits working for food security in Denver
Feeding Colorado: Serving every county in Colorado, this organization distributed 98 million pounds of food across the state last year!
Metro Caring: This is Denver’s leading anti-hunger organization, meeting people’s immediate needs while building a movement to address the root causes of hunger.
Volunteer on POINT!
Denver Food Rescue: Their mission is to increase health equity in Denver’s neighborhoods through rescuing good food that would otherwise be wasted and distributing it to Denver neighborhoods.
Denver Urban Gardens: For over 35 years, they have been creating sustainable, food-producing urban gardens throughout the metro Denver area, now running 180 community gardens in 6 counties.
Volunteer in Denver for Health
The coronavirus pandemic has shown how necessary it is to have public and community health services. Get involved with organizations working in mental health, community health, or pro-bono medical services in Denver!
Nonprofits for Community Health in Denver
Kids in Need of Dentistry (KIND): KIND has helped thousands of children each year get the dental services they need at a cost their families can afford. Don’t forget to floss, kids!
Mount Saint Vincent: They are the Rocky Mountain region’s premier provider of mental health treatment, foster care services, individualized education, and trauma-informed training — all focused on children and their families.
Volunteer on POINT!
Ronald McDonald House of Denver: If you’ve ever dropped change in the charity bins at the McDonald’s drive-thru, the RMHC is what you’re funding! The Denver location offers a loving home away from home to families needing to be near their seriously ill or injured children while they’re being treated at metropolitan area hospitals.
The Center for African American Health: With a mission to improve the health of African Americans living in Metro Denver, they offer community-based disease prevention and management services. Certain volunteering opportunities are only for medical professionals, but they have plenty of ways for anyone to get involved.
YMCA of Metro Denver: The YMCA of Metro Denver is dedicated to the health and well-being of all. As a catalyst to transform lives and communities, their programs are embedded throughout metro Denver in wellness centers and through partnerships with other nonprofits and community-serving agencies.
Volunteer in Denver for the Environment
While you may love going out and adventuring in the mountains, it’s equally as important (and fun!) to volunteer to keep our cities and surrounding areas beautiful and wild. Especially after the devastation of the wildfires, planting trees is a great way to restore Colorado’s beauty.
Nonprofits for the Environment in Denver
The Park People: Working with communities to plant trees and improve parks for a healthy, resilient future, this organization has plenty of ways to get involved. Plus, planting trees doubles as a workout 😉
Groundwork Denver: They partner with lower-income communities to improve the physical environment and promote health and well-being through planting trees, improving parks, cleaning up rivers and the air, insulating houses, and growing food.
Wildlands Restoration Volunteers: Currently focused on restoring areas damaged in the fires, they provide opportunities for people to come together, learn about their natural environment, and take direct action to restore and care for the land.
Volunteer on POINT!
Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado: Calling all hikers and bikers! If you enjoy Denver’s multitude of trails and you want to help keep them usable and clean, VOC is the place for you to get involved.
Volunteer in Denver for Job Resources
Support jobseekers and entrepreneurs in Denver. You could find places to donate work clothes, or support vocational or training programs, or help entrepreneurs navigating the startup world.
Nonprofits for Jobs in Denver
Denver Opportunity Youth Initiative: The Denver Opportunity Youth Initiative, supported by the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, is aimed at providing education, career opportunities and support systems to opportunity youth by partnering with nonprofit, government and business organizations to create a pipeline to meaningful work experiences and careers.
Jewish Family Service: Among other programs, JFS provides employment services including job application and resume assistance, workshops, and individualized job assistance.
Rocky Mountain MicroFinance Institute: This organization creates space for people of all backgrounds to recognize their unique potential through the power of entrepreneurship. They provide classes, coaching, capital, and community.
Volunteer on POINT!
Volunteer in Denver for Poverty
Denver has a higher poverty rate than the rest of Colorado, with about 1 in 8 residents living below the poverty line (12%) in 2019. Support organizations helping to end the cycle of poverty, especially as our communities continue to feel the economic effects of the coronavirus.
Nonprofits Working to End Poverty in Denver
A Precious Child: They provide children in need with opportunities and resources to empower them to achieve their full potential, and help families navigate community resources. They primarily assist kids and families facing challenges such as abuse and neglect, crisis situations, and poverty.
Volunteer on POINT!
EarthLinks: Believing that community ends isolation, this social-enterprise nonprofit located in the Sun Valley neighborhood of Denver creates Earth-centered programming for people experiencing homelessness and economic poverty by fostering empowerment, resilience, and collectivity while also sustaining the planet.
Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver: They’ve been bringing the dream of homeownership to families in need. Families are carefully selected based on many factors and then they work with Habitat on constructing the home. Habitat also constructs playhouses for children, which is so fun!
Volunteer in Denver for Education
There are so many ways to get involved in tutoring, mentoring, or the arts. If you love helping kiddos learn and grow, check out these opportunities!
Nonprofits Working on Education in Denver
Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Colorado: They mentors and summer camps for youth facing adversity. They build strong one-to-one mentoring relationships that serve as a foundation for positive impact and life skills learning.
Bootstraps: They exist to support continuing education of promising students in the mountain area, especially with financial need.
BookGive: They distribute new and gently used books from a service station to individuals, schools, and nonprofits throughout metro Denver. Bonus: the books are made available to anyone who wants them.
Colorado Youth for a Change: Colorado Youth for a Change believes all students can learn, succeed in school, and rise above seemingly insurmountable obstacles to graduate.
Youth on Record: With the help of Colorado’s most talented and willing musicians, Youth on Record inspires at-risk youth to see the potential for a better life.
Volunteer on POINT!
Volunteer in Denver for Community Development
Creating cities that are healthy and sustainable will be key to ensuring we all have a good future. There are opportunities for both individuals and organizations to get involved with community development for positive impact.
Nonprofits for Community Development in Denver
Colorado Succeeds: A nonprofit comprised of a network of Colorado business leaders who have joined forces to make sure the education system works better and smarter for all the people of Colorado. There are opportunities for businesses and educators to get involved.
Downtown Denver Partnership: Working for over 60 years, this nonprofit believes every day is a chance to make our city better, and partners with over 700 businesses and local organizations.
Volunteer in Denver for Homelessness
In 2020, over 200 people died while experiencing homelessness in Denver. You can help every day by keeping snack bars, bottled water, small gift cards to fast food or grocery stores, tampons, etc. in your car and handing them out to our neighbors who are homeless. Or you can get involved with organizations working around the city.
Nonprofits to support people who are homeless in Denver
Denver VOICE: You may have seen folks selling these street newspapers for $2 around the city. The Denver VOICE has employed more than 4,400 vendors since 2007, giving economic opportunity and educational opportunities to people experiencing homelessness, and an outlet to share their stories.
POINTer: You can tweet at or write to Mayor Hancock telling him to end homeless encampment sweeps during the pandemic while shelters have all reduced their capacity.
The Delores Project: They provide onsite services coupled with safe and reliable housing to people experiencing barriers to housing, while advocating for solutions.
The Gathering Place: The Gathering Place is a community of safety and hope where positive relationships, choice, and essential resources transform lives. They impact Denver by serving meals, distributing toiletries, holding job readiness programs, counseling sessions, and medical screenings.
Urban Peak Denver: Urban Peak is the only non-profit organization in Denver that provides a full convergence of services for youth ages 15 through 24 experiencing homelessness or at imminent risk of becoming homeless.
No matter what you’re passionate about, there are plenty of ways to volunteer in Denver, Colorado.
Check out these great organizations, and follow us @pointapp on Instagram and Twitter to keep up with the growing number of nonprofits on our platform.
You can download the free POINT app for iOS or Android to find available volunteering opportunities. And if you know of a nonprofit that you think should be on POINT, scroll down on our homepage and invite them!
We offer all 501(c)3 nonprofits a free volunteer management system that saves time and sanity. Find out more here! If you’re a business and you want to level up your CSR program in 2021, see how POINT can help here.
Questions on how your organization can use POINT? We would love to chat with you! Book a time with our Head of Outreach, Stephanie.
We love seeing you #domoregood 🧡
POINT
P.S. We also have a whole list of ways to get involved in Columbus, Cincinnati, and Austin!
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