Denver Startup Week has been fantastic so far and continues to add value to our budding entrepreneurial ecosystem.  That momentum continues tonight with an event at the Black Shirt Brewing Company - details below

RMMFI, ACCION Colorado, and Colorado Enterprise Fund are pleased to bring this incredible Panel of Local Business Owners to share what it’s REALLY like to be an entrepreneur in Colorado …

With Panelists representing the full spectrum of business: start-up, stability, growth, and super growth we’ll explore what changes as a business grows? What stays the same? And understand how the entire spectrum of the business community can work together to strengthen every piece of it.

Panelists include:

Just wanted to drop a quick note about an upcoming event being put on by one of our favorite local nonprofits.  Rocky Mountain MicroFinance Institute is putting on their 3rd annual Sunday Fun Day event on June 24th.

Details and signup are here www.sundayfunday.stayclassy.org

What is RMMFI?
The Rocky Mountain MicroFinance Institute (RMMFI) is a non-profit organization that provides learning, lending, and coaching to grow Community Entrepreneurs who build businesses to advance along the pathway to self-sufficiency and self-worth.

Charity Engine may be on to something.  They have found a way for people to give back without even having to lift a finger (ok, maybe just to type in a url).

The Charity Engine is a non-profit volunteer computing grid. Based on Berkeley University’s BOINC software for grid computing – as used by dozens of famous ‘citizen science’ projects such as SETI@home. Charity Engine’s version of BOINC simply donates what it makes from research projects on its grid and donates the cash to charity, while incentivising users with randomly generated cash prizes. Profit from the commissions from science and industry is shared 50-50 between the charities and prize winners. You can use the invite code for the beta: CRUNCH

Full story here thanks to TechCrunch

This holiday season, rather than remaining on the couch in a self induced food coma, wobble over to your computer and let the giving begin.

It’s that time again.  Coloradans put forth an incredible effort last year and tipped the giving scales at just over $8.7 Million.  With thousands upon thousands of charities to choose from, it’s hard to make a choice.  The Community First Foundation makes that process a heck of a lot easier with their Giving First tool (designed by our friends at CiviCore)

We encourage everyone to dig deep this holiday season and support the charities you care about.  Check out http://www.cogivesday.org/

Produced by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center of Colorado (The Center), and recognized as one of the top 10 Pride events in the country, Denver PrideFest 2011 takes place Saturday, June 18 from 11am-7pm and Sunday, June 19 from 10am-6pm in downtown Denver’s Civic Center Park and features the CoorsLight PrideFest Parade, a Dance Stage with DJs, a Country Stage with line-dancing lessons, a Latino Stage with folk dancers and the Main Stage with live entertainment, and plenty of celebrating both days.
Denver PrideFest also features more than 200 vendor booths with arts, crafts, food and more. The Center organizes the entire event and also provides a VIP area with food and drinks for sponsors and contributors to enjoy. Click on the links to the left to explore more.

The mission of Denver PrideFest is to create a fun, safe and empowering space to celebrate and promote the heritage and culture of the LGBT and allied community in Colorado.

We’ll be there to help support our friends at PFLAG and all the other wonderful groups that are participating.

The wait for this year’s TedX MileHigh videos is now over.  You can check them out here and hope you find them as inspiring and thought provoking as we did.  Thank you again to all those that attended the event…planning for next year’s event has already begun and promises to be every bit as engaging.

After a long, cold winter have you found yourself yearning for the good ol’ days back in September when you got in touch with your creative side, put on a silly outfit and had an awesome time at Tour de Fat?  Well, we sure are.  That’s why BikeDenver is thrilled to announce a new spring event to kick off another great bicycling season: Bike Prom 2011: Bike to the Future. What on earth is Bike Prom you ask?  It’s live music from Total Ghost and other special guests, dancing, prom photos, and a few hundred of other bike-minded people getting gussied up and celebrating our collective love of biking in Denver.  This year’s theme, Bike to The Future, is open to your interpretation.  Crazy 80′s hair?  Hoverboards?  Aviator shades?  We’re excited to see what you come up with.

So mark your calendar for Friday, May 20th, get a hot date (or perhaps meet one there!), and join us at Casselman’s in Downtown Denver for our 1st Bike Prom fundraiser!

Early-Bird Tickets are available now through Friday, May 6 for only $10.

Venue: Casselman’s: 2520 Walnut Street

Date: Friday, May 20th

**Doors Open 8pm**

Tickets are $20 at the door.  Purchase online before May 15th.

While we tend to focus on a slightly older (but young at heart) generation, The Young Philanthropists Foundation (YPF) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that engages youth in philanthropy by creating opportunities for kids and families to give back to their community.  Their efforts are fueled by the belief that if you give kids the opportunity to make a difference now, they will continue to make a difference the rest of their lives.
Their upcoming BASH! that takes place this coming Wednesday (May 4th) @ 5:30pm is their annual fundraiser annual fundraising event that celebrates the young superheroes in our community.  Please bring your family and help us recognize those with an insatiable desire to do good.”

More info on the event can be found here http://www.ypfoundation.org/upcoming-events

9 days left till this transformational event kicks off.