Barton Institute for Community Action

Background Statement

The Barton Institute for Community Action, created by David Miller, former president and CEO of The Denver Foundation, launched in 2016 as a free-standing institute at the University of Denver.

When Miller first envisioned an institute, he sought advice from his friends and colleagues, including Laura Barton. In November 2016, Laura Barton and her children made a gift of $10 million to name the institute in honor of Laura's late husband, Peter Barton. This transformational gift provided seed capital and long-term funding to support the institute's mission.

After three years of incubation at the University of Denver, the Barton Institute became a separate 501(c)(3) organization in January 2020.

The Barton Institute for Community Action focuses on supporting community entrepreneurs and organizations that create opportunity, connection, and belonging with and for local residents.

An important and long-standing partnership with the Colorado Village Collaborative helps create tiny homes for people experiencing homelessness. The Institute's work in this area expanded to include support for safe parking lots for people living in their vehicles, with fiscal sponsorship of the Colorado Safe Parking Initiative.

The Institute also provides fiscal sponsorship to the Village Institute in Original Aurora, a hub for refugee single mothers and their families, and to Commún, an organization drawing together residents of Denver's southwestern neighborhoods to build community strength.

In 2024, Food Justice Northwest Aurora became the Institute's newest program partner. This organization is building a movement for food justice and sovereignty to transform its local food system.

For years, the Institute supported Lifespan Local, an organization cultivating well-being in the Westwood neighborhood of Southwest Denver. Lifespan Local has become a separate 501(c)(3) organization and is launching the Westwood Redeemer Project.