Monthly $10,000 grant for woman-owned businesses, plus a $25,000 annual prize awarded to one of the monthly winners at year-end. One-page online form. Under 60 minutes to submit.
This is the actual application text. Anything in orange italics needs your input before submission.
Rent-A-Theme brings purposeful play to Colorado schools, senior communities, and corporate brands. We design and deliver mobile mini golf, life-size board games, life-size Lego challenges, and intergenerational play days that help kids and seniors stay sharp, connected, and human. Founded in 2009 by an educator with 17 years in Denver Public Schools and Cherry Creek, we are the only Colorado company combining accessible all-ages programming with corporate activation customization. We are a Goldman Sachs Black in Business alum, a National Institute for Play partner, and a Colorado DBE.
The $10,000 would fund the formal pilot of our signature program, Grandfriends Play Days. A class of 15 to 25 students visits a Colorado senior community for two hours of facilitated play across five accessible stations. Our pilot brings together one senior community, one school, one corporate sponsor, and Rent-A-Theme. The pilot funds: equipment refresh, printed materials, photography, surveys, and the case study delivered to the senior community, the school, and the sponsor within 10 business days. The pilot becomes the proof point that lets us repeat the program across Colorado and apply for larger intergenerational grants in the next cycle.
Before founding Rent-A-Theme, I spent 17 years as an enrichment director for Denver Public Schools and Cherry Creek. I watched thousands of children walk into school curious and walk out tired of being told no. Play is how kids learn. Play is also how seniors stay sharp and how families reconnect. I built this company to give that spark a place to go. We almost lost everything in 2020 when schools and senior communities closed. We owed $80,000 in back rent by December. We survived because I learned to write grants and we won a national one through Goldman Sachs Black in Business. I am still here because the work is right and because I do not give up.
Visibility. Our website does not yet do justice to what we deliver, and we have not built the proof-point assets (case studies, sponsor packets, named outcome data) that close institutional buyers like senior living regional offices and school district enrichment leaders. The Grandfriends Play Day pilot solves this in one weekend. The pilot produces a case study, photos, surveys, and named quotes that we use to win the next 12 events. The Amber Grant funds the proof point that unlocks the rest.
Twelve Grandfriends Play Days delivered across Colorado. Six recurring senior living communities on contract. Three corporate sponsors on annual partnerships. A rebuilt website that converts inquiries into bookings. A case study and impact data set that lets us apply to larger intergenerational foundations like the Eisner Foundation through a 501(c)(3) partner. And measurably less senior isolation in the rooms where we run our events. We have the equipment, the warehouse, the team, and the educator-founder. The Amber Grant unlocks the year.
Estimated time: 30 minutes total.
30 minutes on the calendar. We open the funder's application form, paste the draft sections in, fill in your missing info live, hit submit. Done.