Most people never think about what it actually takes to help a family heal after child abuse, the therapy, the funding, and the years of trust-building behind it. In this episode of Connections That Matter, Andrew Johnson talks with Kathleen Baumgardner of Child Safe Colorado about how the nonprofit supports survivors from age 2 to 78, and how Northern Colorado’s business community keeps that work funded.
Episode Highlights
🔹 Why Child Safe’s clients range from age 2 to 78, including adult survivors who don’t seek help until decades later, often around age 50.
🔹 How just 0.9% of Child Safe’s revenue last year came directly from clients paying out of pocket, the rest comes from grants, donations, and events.
🔹 The range of therapies used, from play and art therapy to EMDR and neurofeedback, matched to each survivor’s age and needs.
🔹 How a single coffee shop fundraiser raised $10,000 for Child Safe in one day, a dollar per drink sold.
🔹 Why Child Safe’s new Loveland office shares a building with partner nonprofits, including on-site horticulture therapy with Loveland Youth Gardeners.
🔹 How the organization grew from 10 families served by a small group of therapists in 1986 to 641 survivors served last year.
🔹 Why group therapy for non-offending parents, helping them let go of guilt, matters as much as therapy for the child.
🔹 The everyday challenges of running a nonprofit: funding swings, a hard-to-fill workforce, and the need for bilingual and specialized clinicians.
Why You Should Listen
🔹 Learn what real support for child abuse survivors and their families actually looks like.
🔹 Understand how a nonprofit builds a funding model that keeps care accessible to everyone.
🔹 Discover how co-located nonprofits can serve families with fewer barriers.
🔹 Hear how a business can partner with a cause like this, from a percentage-of-sales night to a golf tournament.
How to Contact Child Safe Colorado
Website: childsafecolorado.org
Tours: childsafecolorado.org, look for “Visit Us” under Get Involved
Businesses/Partners Child Safe Works With
🔹 Teaching Tree Early Childhood Learning Center: shares Child Safe’s Loveland building; children can go downstairs for therapy with parent permission and an MOU in place.
🔹 Loveland Youth Gardeners: Child Safe runs horticulture therapy sessions directly in their gardens.
Timestamps
00:00: Welcome and introduction to Kathleen Baumgardner and Child Safe Colorado.
01:00: What Child Safe does and who they serve.
02:57: What therapy and healing look like across a wide range of ages.
04:44: How referrals reach Child Safe, from case workers to other therapists.
07:34: The funding model: grants, donations, and why only 0.9% comes from clients.
09:25: How local businesses partner through third-party fundraisers.
13:37: The biggest challenges of running a nonprofit: funding and workforce.
15:41: Child Safe’s history, from 10 families in 1986 to hundreds served today.
20:39: What family healing looks like, session by session.
23:03: Sharing a building with partner nonprofits in the new Loveland office.
24:03: Where Kathleen and Child Safe network across Northern Colorado.
25:13: How to reach Child Safe, volunteer, donate, or book a tour.
