In March 2024, three women glued their hands to the wall at Fort Collins City Council in solidarity with dozens of people who had disrupted and ended the meeting by loudly advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza.
When Michelle Gliszinski, President of Har Shalom Center for Jewish Living in Fort Collins, heard about the protest the next day, she “felt completely blindsided.”
“Every speaker at that meeting was in favor of a ceasefire, and I was shocked that I lived in a town that seemed so biased against Israel,” she says. “That event lit a fire under me and under a lot of people.”
The challenge Gliszinski faced was how to bring together concerned community members spread across multiple cities and towns in all Northern Colorado so that they could meet each other, become more aware of what was going on in their cities, build community, and advocate effectively.
The dream of somehow connecting people from areas as geographically disparate as Greeley, Estes Park, Fort Collins, and Cheyenne and Laramie, Wyoming, might have remained just that—a dream—were it not for JEWISHcolorado President & CEO Renée Rockford. In July 2024, in an effort to extend JEWISHcolorado’s impact throughout the state, Rockford traveled to Fort Collins where she met with a group that included Gliszinski and Eli Alberts, President of Temple Or Hadash in Fort Collins.
For Alberts, the meeting was eye-opening.
“I knew about JEWISHcolorado Signature Events, and our congregation had raised money for Israel through JEWISHcolorado,” he says. “But until I met with Renée, I didn’t realize that JEWISHcolorado was a part of the Jewish Federations of North America.”
“By coming to meet with us, Renée made us feel seen,” adds Gliszinski. “I can’t tell you how many people I meet who have never met a Jew before. Many are kind and accepting, but we feel like an unknown entity, and because Renée grew up in Colorado Springs, she knows what it feels like to be such a small minority.”

Har Shalom Center for Jewish Living
Gliszinski, Alberts, and Rockford discussed how Northern Colorado had seen a surge of interest in Jewish life and practice. In 2024, the Jewish population in Larimer and Weld Counties was estimated at 7,500 with predictions that it will grow to more than 11,000 in the next 25 years. Some of that interest may come from newcomers, but national data also shows that, since October 7th, people who are already engaged and those who have not been engaged in Jewish life are looking for new and diverse ways to connect with others.
“Different congregations wanted their autonomy,” Alberts says. “But at the same time, we wanted to work toward better relations, better communications, and occasional collaborations.”
“I told Renée that there are Jewish organizations throughout the northern part of the state and Southern Wyoming that are growing but operate in isolation,” Gliszinski adds. “We have wonderful things happening here, but no one knows what anyone else is doing.”
The dream that found its vision and voice in that initial meeting has now become a reality with the formation of the Northern Front Range Jewish Alliance (NFR Jewish Alliance) which will include, among others, Temple Or Hadash, Har Shalom for Jewish Living, CSU Hillel, Chabad of Northern Colorado, Laramie Jewish Community Center, and Mt. Sinai Congregation in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
But the NFR Jewish Alliance would still be only wishful thinking without JEWISHcolorado and its vital Programs of Impact and Need (PIN) Grant.
What are PIN Grants?
JEWISHcolorado is home to a standing committee, the Planning and Grant-Making Committee chaired by Gil Selinger, that meets to assess strategic needs in the Jewish community—“Programs of Impact and Need.”
Every two years, the committee awards one-year grants with the opportunity to renew the grant for another year.
“In thinking about these grants, we ask ‘What is the moment?’” says JEWISHcolorado Chief Jewish Life and Engagement Officer Dr. Julie Lieber. “We need to meet the moment, addressing the immediate specific needs that our community demonstrates.”
When the committee met in 2024, they identified three “buckets” of issues:
• Educating the next generation about Israel and antisemitism;
• Building allies across religious, social, and political lines;
• Addressing a “surge” of Jews seeking additional engagement.
With those issues in mind, Jco identified and reached out to various organizations they believed could best address the issues, issued a “Request for Proposal,” and after presentations to the committee, offered grant applications to specific organizations. For these organizations, like NFR Jewish Alliance, receiving a call from Jco that they could apply for a PIN grant was an affirmation of the value of their mission and plans.
“They are thrilled to be seen as a player in the arena,” Lieber says. “This validates an organization, confirming that it can help move the needle in an area of need for the Jewish community. In the case of NFR Jewish Alliance, the support of JEWISHcolorado will help them convene their community and offer opportunities for engagement not connected to any particular congregation or movement.”
The NFR Jewish Alliance
The first goal the NFR Jewish Alliance established is the creation of a website and robust social media presence which will serve as a resource and clearinghouse for Jewish information including events, virtual classes, regional gatherings, educational opportunities, and JEWISHcolorado programs in Northern Colorado and Southern Wyoming.
“If you are a Jew living in this part of the country and you want to know what is going on Jewishly, you will be able to go to one place and see what is happening,” Gliszinski says. “You don’t even have to be affiliated with a congregation. The website will connect people and break down siloes.”
The second main goal of the NFR Jewish Alliance is to create collaborative events for Jews across Northern Colorado, including exhibits, speakers, food festivals, security training, and tikkun olam opportunities.
“Having a structure where we can get everyone to work together will play a role in fostering a vibrant Jewish community in Northern Colorado,” says Alberts. “It will help people in the Jewish community who are not currently involved come out of the woodwork.”
The NFR Jewish Alliance is up and running, forming a board, and welcoming organizations that are interested in participating. But had JEWISHcolorado not stepped in the with PIN Grant, Gliszinski believes that the NFR Jewish Alliance is an idea that would have “died on the vine.”
“We are so grateful for the financial support from JEWISHcolorado,” she says. “We also appreciate the grant-making process because it gives us structure. We had to think about our goals, and we know JEWISHcolorado will hold us accountable, at the same time Jco oversight gives us a lot of freedom and flexibility to achieve our goals.”
“The NFR Jewish Alliance will not replace what is already going on in Northern Colorado, but it will form links between different Jewish entities and individuals,” adds Alberts. “It will give an identity to the Jews of Northern Colorado, an identity that really is a mosaic of a lot of individuals, communities, and organizations.”