Left Hand Laurel - Virginia Dutkin

From her birth in Queens, New York, then to Korea where her parents were from, then to the United States and then college at Colgate University in up-state New York, to a highly successful career in finance in New York City and then to Hong Kong for 10 years, Niwot resident Virginia Dutkin is no stranger to change, excitement, adaptability, success and adventure.

She is also this month's Left Hand Laurel for her generosity and leadership in creating the Left Hand Giving Circle, a group of local residents who, in the past six years, have donated $110,000 to charity. This group of about 80 local women also volunteers at nonprofit organizations ranging from "Habitat for Humanity Home Build" to "Crayons to Calculators." Some members gather to serve lunch at the OUR Center in Longmont.

"We've also expanded into doing some social stuff together," said Dutkin. "It's a great way to build community. Some of us have organized a book club, a happy hour and a culture club, like we went to see a Georgia O'Keefe exhibit at the Denver Art Museum and a sculpture show in Loveland."

The 56-year-old mother of three grown children said she and her husband have lived in Niwot since 2001, moving to Colorado initially for her husband's job after moving back to the United States from Hong Kong.

When her children, who were educated in the Niwot schools, left home for college, Dutkin, who had been highly successful in finance for Chase Manhattan Bank and Fidelity, decided to go back to college mid-life, and since then has created a highly successful and inspiring second career in charitable giving and nonprofit management.

After moving to Colorado over 20 years ago, and raising her children, Dutkin decided to pursue a master's degree at CU Denver in nonprofit management. In her last semester in graduate school, her capstone project was "researching what a Giving Circle is" and then after graduating, "I decided to launch one here," she said. That was only six years ago, in 2017.

The Left Hand Giving Circle, which now includes about 80 local residents, is set up as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and is managed through the Longmont Community Foundation.

Everyone who joins commits to donating at least $300 a year. Two times a year the organization awards grants to local organizations and the members of the Giving Circle vote on a theme. The upcoming theme, said Dutkin, is "food insecurity."

There is a request for proposals and then, "after the deadline and a vote, the organization awards $5,000 to the top vote-getter and $2,500 to the second," said Dutkin.

"Over the last six years, our local group has donated $110,000 to those in need," she said with a warm smile.

"It's really a great group of people," she added "and it has grown very organically, all through word of mouth. People like to feel they are part of a community involved in giving."

In addition to her volunteer work as the founder of the Left Hand Giving Circle, Dutkin is the Director of Philanthropy at the Recovery Cafe in Longmont, which is located in the basement of the Central Presbyterian Church on Kimbark Street in Longmont. "We stand in the gap between crisis and stability," Dutkin said, "for people recovering from addiction, trauma, mental health challenges and homelessness."

"We're not a drop-in center," she said. "We're a community of refuge and healing."

On Feb. 1, at The Wheel House on 2nd Avenue in Niwot, "there will be an anniversary party for our group at the Left Hand Giving Circle," Dutkin said. "We decided to invite all the nonprofits we have supported over the past six years. We will have a story-time, food and a cash bar and anyone locally who is interested in attending can email me at [email protected]," she said.

"It's amazing how The Giving Circle has grown – so organically," she concluded. "At first, I reached out to 40 people and 20 responded. And now, mostly by word of mouth, interest has grown and community has been strengthened."