Galena Rhoades had $1 million in state funding for a new building and only a few months to use it.
The executive director of Thriving Families, a nonprofit that helps women and their families that are expecting or have recently given birth, said she received a grant to purchase a new headquarters in July 2023 and had to use it by the following June.
“We kicked off the world’s fastest capital campaign to buy a building,” Rhoades said.
Thriving Families purchased the 20,000-square-foot building at 191 Yuma St. in Denver in May 2024 for $3.1 million. The organization had spent eight years in a space about a third of that size in the Golden Triangle.
Itap currently working through the final phase of renovations, expected to wrap up by the end of the year. The nonprofit moved into part of the building in the Valverde neighborhood in November 2024 and has slowly grown to occupy more and more space as work is completed.
“The building was in great shape. But it was an animal hospital, which is not what we do,” Rhoades said.
The nonprofit, which serves 1,000 families annually at no cost, is spending $1.9 million on the renovations. That has included adding a classroom and space for a food pantry and a “baby boutique,” where families can get clothing for their little ones.
Thriving Families is in the process of building out another classroom, a commercial kitchen, an outdoor play area, clinician’s offices, and a 1,200-square-foot shell for lease to a complementary tenant.
The organization has gotten a little assistance along the way from a pair of philanthropists. But instead of just giving money, they’ve helped to build the project and keep costs low.
“My skill set is development, and I want to help these people so they’re not being taken advantage of by contractors,” said Michael Staenberg, who had his team paint the building and install electrical equipment for free.
Staenberg, president of his eponymous firm The Staenberg Group, estimates that he saved the nonprofit between $500,000 and $750,000. He added that his developer friend Stuart Bombel of North Cherokee Partners connected him with Rhoades and had some of his guys work on the project, too.
Staenberg also donated about 90 art pieces to the building.
“Art evokes emotion. It makes you feel good – so thatap why I do it,” he said.
But above all else, the strip mall developer said the nonprofitap mission drove him to help. Rhoades says that, so far, the mission has been successful.
“Our MotherWise program reduces preterm birth, which means having your baby too early, by 55%,” she said.
MotherWise is the core of Thriving Families. Itap a social program that educates expectant mothers and those who have recently given birth about how to properly care for their newborns, free of charge. Rhoades said that the process relieves stress for the pregnant mother.
“If you don’t have stable housing or food, you don’t have easy child care for older children, it can be really hard to manage having a baby, and it can be a time when you feel more disconnected from other people,” Rhoades said.
“Our program provides those social connections. We provide information about how to have healthy family relationships, thinking about what kind of parent you want to be to your new baby.”
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