A Day Off Can Do a Lot of Good

One of the creative opportunities Monarch offers its employees is VTO, or “volunteer time off.” Every employee is given one day per year during which they can volunteer for an organization and get paid as if they were working their regular job. Nicolls likes that many team members choose to serve together, which further promotes team building and like-minded generosity.

Corporate volunteers, like the staff from Monarch, can volunteer as a team or as individuals, helping serve the guests who come to us for help.

“We take care of all our investors: financial, residents and team members,” Kathy explains. “Because we’re in the housing business, keeping shelter over people’s heads is where we like to give our money.” Semi-retired, Kathy Nicolls currently serves as Monarch’s Director of Charitable Giving & Community Outreach, a role in which she finds organizations to support and encourages their employees to give back to their communities.

In December 2022, Monarch sponsored Denver Rescue Mission’s inaugural “Chef Takeover,” at which four Denver celebrity chefs prepared a four-course, gourmet lunch for guests at the Mission’s Lawrence Street Community Center. Monarch team members got the honor of serving the plated feast tableside to guests.

The event was so successful that Monarch sponsored a second “Chef Takeover” in July, at which the Monarch team served ice cream and helped with yard games for Mission guests. You can see more about that event on the Mission’s Instagram.

Nicolls also shared that their employees “thank us for giving them opportunities like this to go serve people. They have a lot of empathy and not enough time to do it themselves. We help them find ways to do it. I’m grateful for places like Denver Rescue Mission that can take care of so many people on such a large scale in a caring way. We’re happy to support an organization that’s able to do that. It makes us feel like our dollars are going a longer way.”

“I’m grateful for places like Denver Rescue Mission that can take care of so many people on such a large scale in a caring way. We’re happy to support an organization that’s able to do that. It makes us feel like our dollars are going a longer way.”

Kathy Nicolls
Monarch Investment & Management Group

Creativity is the hallmark of Denver Rescue Mission’s corporate partnerships. The Mission strives to meet its corporate partners’ goals, whether they are financial, philanthropic, team-building, and/or brand-building.

The Mission’s Community Life Enrichment Fund is another easy way for corporate partners to impact different segments of the population we serve. Donations to the Fund give individuals who are experiencing homelessness the opportunity to participate in dignified, joy-filled events by underwriting costs for birthday bashes, fishing excursions, summer camps, and even softball teams. These moments help inspire program participants to continue on their path to housing and stability, which would not be possible without innovative corporate partnerships like the one the Mission enjoys with Monarch.

When reflecting on the “why” behind Monarch’s philanthropic efforts, Nicolls put it simply: “It’s just such an easy thing to do that makes your employees happy and the people in your community happy. It really is. Why wouldn’t you?”