Fund for the Arts

In 2005, a small Fund for the Arts was established at Pikes Peak Community Foundation. In 2009, the Estate of Edith Ellyas left a remarkable legacy to support arts and culture organizations. Born in 1923, Edith escaped from Germany after her husband's death and infant daughter's disappearance during World War II. Edith settled in Colorado Springs, and 60 years later her legacy gift significantly increased the capacity of the Fund.

Since its founding, the Fund for the Arts has made more than $540,000 in grants to arts organizations. In 2018, the Fund for the Arts joined the Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region to produce the inaugural Peak Arts Prize, a broad-based community contest to support local arts projects that amplify local art to new audiences.