Rise Against Suicide

Helping Youth Find Hope

Boulder, CO | http://www.riseagainstsuicide.org

Mission

The mission of Rise Against Suicide is to help youth at risk of suicide by removing the financial and social barriers to treatment, enabling them to find hope and healing.

Ruling year info

2011

Executive Director

Sherry Burkhard

Main address

1415 Arapahoe Ave

Boulder, CO 80302-6307 USA

Show more contact info

Formerly known as

Second Wind Fund of Boulder County

EIN

27-3029987

Subject area info

Youth services

Depression

Stress

Mental health counseling

Population served info

Adolescents

Children

Preteens

Children and youth

Economically disadvantaged people

NTEE code info

Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution (B12)

IRS subsection

501(c)(3) Public Charity

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Tax forms

Show Forms 990

Communication

Programs and results

Reports and documents

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Young people in Boulder County, Longmont, and the surrounding areas continue to die by suicide due to a lack of resources available to them. The Rise Against Suicide therapy funding program provides professional counseling services to at-risk youth struggling with suicidal ideation. The program serves young people up to the age of 19 years old.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Rise Against Suicide Services

Rise Against Suicide connects youth, 19 and under, who are at risk for suicide to professional counseling services with licensed therapists. To eliminate any financial barrier to treatment, 10-12 sessions are provided at no cost to the youth. Rise Against Suicide provides these services across Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley School District's geography in Colorado. During the 2024/2025 fiscal year, Rise received referrals came from 75 schools across the school districts covered, private schools, and community organizations. There were 520 youth referred and 5,200 therapy sessions funded for youth at risk of suicide.

Population(s) Served

Children and youth

Where we work

Berthoud (Colorado, United States)
Boulder (Colorado, United States)
Boulder County (Colorado, United States)
Broomfield County (Colorado, United States)
Lafayette (Colorado, United States)
Longmont (Colorado, United States)
Louisville (Colorado, United States)
Mead (Colorado, United States)
Niwot (Colorado, United States)

Photos

Videos

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Rise Against Suicide uses the Columbia Protocol. The Columbia Protocol supports suicide risk screening through a series of simple, plain-language questions that anyone can ask.

Totals By Year

Population(s) Served

Related Program

Type of Metric

Context - describing the issue we work on

Direction of Success

Decreasing

Context Notes

Rise started using this Columbia Protocal in 2022.

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

What is the organization aiming to accomplish?

Our goal is to decrease the number of youth suicide's that happen within Boulder County, Longmont, and the surrounding areas. Rise Against Suicide aims to further expand its network of referring entities to reach a larger population of at-risk youth in need of counseling services. Additionally, efforts will be made to establish long-term funding sources and partnerships to sustain and grow the program.

What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?

To ensure the continued success and impact of the program, it is recommended to focus on securing sustainable funding sources, streamlining the referral process, and expanding outreach efforts to identify and support more at-risk youth in the community.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

We shared information about our current feedback practices.

How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

Financials

Rise Against Suicide

Fiscal year: Jul 01 - Jun 30

Revenue vs. expenses: breakdown

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

NET GAIN/LOSS: in

Note: When component data are not available, the graph displays the total Revenue and/or Expense values.

Liquidity in 2025

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

10.93

Average of 10.82 over 10 years

Months of cash in 2025

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

4.7

Average of 5.6 over 10 years

Fringe rate in 2025

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

16%

Average of 5% over 10 years

Funding sources

Source: IRS Form 990

Assets & liabilities

Source: IRS Form 990

Financial data

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

Digitizing IRS form 990 data

Rise Against Suicide

Revenue & expenses

Fiscal Year: Jul 01 - Jun 30

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info

Fiscal year ending: Download Data

Revenue
Contributions	$75,141
Program Services	$0
Investments	$0
Special Events	$0
Sales	$0
Other	$1,718
Total Revenue	$76,859

Expenses
Grants	$0
Salaries & Employee Benefits	$34,668
Professional Fees	$18,640
Occupancy	$0
Printing, Publications, Postage, etc.	$908
Other Expenses	$20,061
Total Expenses	$74,277
Net Gain/Loss	$2,582

Revenue
Contributions	$69,574
Program Services	$0
Investments	$0
Special Events	$0
Sales	$0
Other	$0
Total Revenue	$69,574

Expenses
Grants	$0
Salaries & Employee Benefits	$37,917
Professional Fees	$19,147
Occupancy	$0
Printing, Publications, Postage, etc.	$862
Other Expenses	$29,923
Total Expenses	$87,849
Net Gain/Loss	($18,275)

Revenue
Contributions	$108,058
Program Services	$0
Investments	$0
Special Events	$0
Sales	$0
Other	$0
Total Revenue	$108,058

Expenses
Grants	$0
Salaries & Employee Benefits	$35,000
Professional Fees	$25,436
Occupancy	$0
Printing, Publications, Postage, etc.	$1,061
Other Expenses	$32,970
Total Expenses	$94,467
Net Gain/Loss	$13,591

Revenue
Contributions	$82,234
Program Services	$0
Investments	$0
Special Events	$0
Sales	$0
Other	$0
Total Revenue	$82,234

Expenses
Grants	$0
Salaries & Employee Benefits	$35,000
Professional Fees	$30,239
Occupancy	$0
Printing, Publications, Postage, etc.	$972
Other Expenses	$26,290
Total Expenses	$92,501
Net Gain/Loss	($10,267)

Revenue
Contributions	$111,680
Program Services	$0
Investments	$0
Special Events	$0
Sales	$0
Other	$0
Total Revenue	$111,680

Expenses
Grants	$0
Salaries & Employee Benefits	$0
Professional Fees	$38,078
Occupancy	$0
Printing, Publications, Postage, etc.	$1,256
Other Expenses	$72,827
Total Expenses	$112,161
Net Gain/Loss	($481)

Revenue
Contributions	$223,213
Government Grants	$0
Program Services	$0
Investments	$0
Special Events	$0
Sales	$0
Other	$0
Total Revenue	$223,213

Expenses
Program Services	$88,039
Administration	$25,423
Fundraising	$23,080
Total Expenses	$136,542
Net Gain/Loss	$86,671

Functional expenses
Accounting Fees	$2,008
Advertising & Promotion	$0
Information Technology Expenses	$0
Insurance Expenses	$0
Interest Expenses	$0
Investment Management Fees	$0
Legal Fees	$0
Pension Plan Contributions	$0
Professional Fundraising Expenses	$0

Revenue
Contributions	$281,041
Government Grants	$22,540
Program Services	$0
Investments	$376
Special Events	$129,246
Sales	$0
Other	$0
Total Revenue	$433,203

Expenses
Program Services	$157,880
Administration	$15,563
Fundraising	$28,106
Total Expenses	$201,549
Net Gain/Loss	$231,654

Functional expenses
Accounting Fees	$3,510
Advertising & Promotion	$0
Information Technology Expenses	$0
Insurance Expenses	$1,624
Interest Expenses	$0
Investment Management Fees	$0
Legal Fees	$0
Pension Plan Contributions	$0
Professional Fundraising Expenses	$0

Revenue
Contributions	$410,363
Government Grants	$30,708
Program Services	$0
Investments	$630
Special Events	$204,283
Sales	$0
Other	$0
Total Revenue	$645,984

Expenses
Program Services	$433,170
Administration	$24,525
Fundraising	$85,439
Total Expenses	$543,134
Net Gain/Loss	$102,850

Functional expenses
Accounting Fees	$6,210
Advertising & Promotion	$0
Information Technology Expenses	$0
Insurance Expenses	$2,351
Interest Expenses	$0
Investment Management Fees	$0
Legal Fees	$0
Pension Plan Contributions	$0
Professional Fundraising Expenses	$0

Revenue
Contributions	$367,940
Government Grants	$384,130
Program Services	$0
Investments	$35
Special Events	$283,436
Sales	$0
Other	$0
Total Revenue	$1,035,541

Expenses
Program Services	$639,359
Administration	$84,457
Fundraising	$97,419
Total Expenses	$821,235
Net Gain/Loss	$214,306

Functional expenses
Accounting Fees	$5,369
Advertising & Promotion	$0
Information Technology Expenses	$0
Insurance Expenses	$2,330
Interest Expenses	$0
Investment Management Fees	$0
Legal Fees	$0
Pension Plan Contributions	$0
Professional Fundraising Expenses	$0

Revenue
Contributions	$449,130
Government Grants	$195,935
Program Services	$0
Investments	$4,593
Special Events	$258,659
Sales	$0
Other	$0
Total Revenue	$908,317

Expenses
Program Services	$809,568
Administration	$102,353
Fundraising	$194,011
Total Expenses	$1,105,932
Net Gain/Loss	($197,615)

Functional expenses
Accounting Fees	$10,050
Advertising & Promotion	$300
Information Technology Expenses	$8,495
Insurance Expenses	$4,977
Interest Expenses	$0
Investment Management Fees	$0
Legal Fees	$0
Pension Plan Contributions	$15,277
Professional Fundraising Expenses	$0

Rise Against Suicide

Balance sheet

Fiscal Year: Jul 01 - Jun 30

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info

The balance sheet gives a snapshot of the financial health of an organization at a particular point in time. An organization's total assets should generally exceed its total liabilities, or it cannot survive long, but the types of assets and liabilities must also be considered. For instance, an organization's current assets (cash, receivables, securities, etc.) should be sufficient to cover its current liabilities (payables, deferred revenue, current year loan, and note payments). Otherwise, the organization may face solvency problems. On the other hand, an organization whose cash and equivalents greatly exceed its current liabilities might not be putting its money to best use.

Fiscal year ending: Download Data

Assets	Jul 01, 2013	Jun 30, 2014	Change
Contributions	$75,141
Cash & Equivalents	$58,207	$58,823	$616
Fixed Assets (LBE - Depreciation)	$0	$0	$0
Other	$0	$1,975	$1,975
Total Assets	$58,207	$60,798	$2,591

Liabilities	Jul 01, 2013	Jun 30, 2014	Change
Total Liabilities	$1,679	$1,679	$0

Fund balance	Jul 01, 2013	Jun 30, 2014	Change
Net Assets	$56,528	$59,119	$2,591

Assets	Jul 01, 2014	Jun 30, 2015	Change
Contributions	$69,574
Cash & Equivalents	$58,823	$45,544	($13,279)
Fixed Assets (LBE - Depreciation)	$0	$0	$0
Other	$1,975	$0	($1,975)
Total Assets	$60,798	$45,544	($15,254)

Liabilities	Jul 01, 2014	Jun 30, 2015	Change
Total Liabilities	$1,679	$5,395	$3,716

Fund balance	Jul 01, 2014	Jun 30, 2015	Change
Net Assets	$59,119	$40,149	($18,970)

Assets	Jul 01, 2015	Jun 30, 2016	Change
Contributions	$108,058
Cash & Equivalents	$45,544	$56,570	$11,026
Fixed Assets (LBE - Depreciation)	$0	$0	$0
Other	$0	$3,797	$3,797
Total Assets	$45,544	$60,367	$14,823

Liabilities	Jul 01, 2015	Jun 30, 2016	Change
Total Liabilities	$5,395	$5,976	$581

Fund balance	Jul 01, 2015	Jun 30, 2016	Change
Net Assets	$40,149	$54,391	$14,242

Assets	Jul 01, 2016	Jun 30, 2017	Change
Contributions	$82,234
Cash & Equivalents	$56,570	$49,711	($6,859)
Fixed Assets (LBE - Depreciation)	$0	$0	$0
Other	$3,797	$650	($3,147)
Total Assets	$60,367	$50,361	($10,006)

Liabilities	Jul 01, 2016	Jun 30, 2017	Change
Total Liabilities	$5,976	$6,238	$262

Fund balance	Jul 01, 2016	Jun 30, 2017	Change
Net Assets	$54,391	$44,123	($10,268)

Assets	Jan 01, 2018	Dec 31, 2018	Change
Contributions	$111,680
Cash & Equivalents	$49,711	$43,085	($6,626)
Fixed Assets (LBE - Depreciation)	$0	$0	$0
Other	$650	$2,783	$2,133
Total Assets	$50,361	$45,868	($4,493)

Liabilities	Jan 01, 2018	Dec 31, 2018	Change
Total Liabilities	$6,238	$2,226	($4,012)

Fund balance	Jan 01, 2018	Dec 31, 2018	Change
Net Assets	$44,123	$43,642	($481)

Assets	Jul 01, 2019	Jun 30, 2020	Change
Contributions	$223,213
Cash & Equivalents	$32,319	$124,051	$91,732
Accounts Receivable	$0	$0	$0
Pledges & Grants Receivable	$0	$0	$0
Receivable, Other	$0	$0	$0
Inventories for Sale or Use	$0	$0	$0
Investment, Securities	$0	$0	$0
Investment, Other	$0	$0	$0
Fixed Assets (LBE - Depreciation)	$1,060	$716	($344)
Other	$1,000	$500	($500)
Total Assets	$34,379	$125,267	$90,888

Liabilities	Jul 01, 2019	Jun 30, 2020	Change
Accounts Payable	$1,128	$5,343	$4,215
Grants Payable	$0	$0	$0
Deferred Revenue	$0	$0	$0
Loans and Notes	$0	$0	$0
Tax-Exempt Bond Liabilities	$0	$0	$0
Other	$0	$2	$2
Total Liabilities	$1,128	$5,345	$4,217

Fund balance	Jul 01, 2019	Jun 30, 2020	Change
Temporarily Restricted Net Assets	N/A	N/A	N/A
Permanently Restricted Net Assets	N/A	N/A	N/A
Total Restricted Net Assets	$0	$0	$0
Unrestricted Net Assets	$33,251	$119,922	$86,671
Net Assets	$34,379	$125,267	$90,888

Assets	Jul 01, 2020	Jun 30, 2021	Change
Contributions	$281,041
Cash & Equivalents	$124,051	$354,056	$230,005
Accounts Receivable	$0	$4,165	$4,165
Pledges & Grants Receivable	$0	$0	$0
Receivable, Other	$0	$0	$0
Inventories for Sale or Use	$0	$0	$0
Investment, Securities	$0	$0	$0
Investment, Other	$0	$0	$0
Fixed Assets (LBE - Depreciation)	$716	$2,636	$1,920
Other	$500	$500	$0
Total Assets	$125,267	$361,357	$236,090

Liabilities	Jul 01, 2020	Jun 30, 2021	Change
Accounts Payable	$5,343	$9,780	$4,437
Grants Payable	$0	$0	$0
Deferred Revenue	$0	$0	$0
Loans and Notes	$0	$0	$0
Tax-Exempt Bond Liabilities	$0	$0	$0
Other	$2	$1	($1)
Total Liabilities	$5,345	$9,781	$4,436

Fund balance	Jul 01, 2020	Jun 30, 2021	Change
Temporarily Restricted Net Assets	N/A	N/A	N/A
Permanently Restricted Net Assets	N/A	N/A	N/A
Total Restricted Net Assets	$0	$0	$0
Unrestricted Net Assets	$119,922	$351,576	$231,654
Net Assets	$119,922	$351,576	$231,654

Assets	Jul 01, 2021	Jun 30, 2022	Change
Contributions	$410,363
Cash & Equivalents	$354,056	$454,929	$100,873
Accounts Receivable	$4,165	$0	($4,165)
Pledges & Grants Receivable	$0	$0	$0
Receivable, Other	$0	$0	$0
Inventories for Sale or Use	$0	$0	$0
Investment, Securities	$0	$0	$0
Investment, Other	$0	$0	$0
Fixed Assets (LBE - Depreciation)	$2,636	$25,138	$22,502
Other	$500	$500	$0
Total Assets	$361,357	$480,567	$119,210

Liabilities	Jul 01, 2021	Jun 30, 2022	Change
Accounts Payable	$9,780	$26,141	$16,361
Grants Payable	$0	$0	$0
Deferred Revenue	$0	$0	$0
Loans and Notes	$0	$0	$0
Tax-Exempt Bond Liabilities	$0	$0	$0
Other	$1	$0	($1)
Total Liabilities	$9,781	$26,141	$16,360

Fund balance	Jul 01, 2021	Jun 30, 2022	Change
Temporarily Restricted Net Assets	N/A	N/A	N/A
Permanently Restricted Net Assets	N/A	N/A	N/A
Total Restricted Net Assets	$0	$0	$0
Unrestricted Net Assets	$351,576	$454,426	$102,850
Net Assets	$351,576	$454,426	$102,850

Assets	Jul 01, 2022	Jun 30, 2023	Change
Contributions	$367,940
Cash & Equivalents	$454,929	$661,527	$206,598
Accounts Receivable	$0	$0	$0
Pledges & Grants Receivable	$0	$0	$0
Receivable, Other	$0	$0	$0
Inventories for Sale or Use	$0	$0	$0
Investment, Securities	$0	$0	$0
Investment, Other	$0	$0	$0
Fixed Assets (LBE - Depreciation)	$25,138	$36,884	$11,746
Other	$500	$3,354	$2,854
Total Assets	$480,567	$701,765	$221,198

Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

Documents

Letter of Determination is not available for this organization

Form 1023/1024 is not available for this organization

Executive Director

Sherry Burkhard

Number of employees

Source: IRS Form 990

Rise Against Suicide

Officers, directors, trustees, and key employees

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

Compensation

Other

Show data for fiscal year

Compensation data

Download up to 5 most recent years of officer and director compensation data for this organization

There are no highest paid employees recorded for this organization.

Rise Against Suicide

Board of directors
as of 05/20/2026

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Board of directors data

Download the most recent year of board of directors data for this organization

Alma Nielsen Director

Amy Paterra

Rise Against Suicide

Andy Jacobs Director

Brady Burke Director

Emilie Burns Director

Lori Berman Director

Mark Braman Director

Peter Burns Director

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? yes
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? yes
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? yes
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? yes
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? yes

Organizational demographics

Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity

White/Caucasian/European

Gender identity

Female

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

Transgender Identity

Sexual orientation

Disability

We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.

Rise Against Suicide

Helping Youth Find Hope

Mission

Programs and results

Reports and documents

What we aim to solve

Our programs

Rise Against Suicide Services

Where we work

Our results

Evaluation documents

Rise Against Suicide uses the Columbia Protocol. The Columbia Protocol supports suicide risk screening through a series of simple, plain-language questions that anyone can ask.

Totals By Year

Population(s) Served

Related Program

Type of Metric

Direction of Success

Context Notes

Our Sustainable Development Goals

Goals & Strategy

Charting impact

What is the organization aiming to accomplish?

What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?

How we listen

Financials

Revenue vs. expenses: breakdown

Liquidity in 2025 info

10.93

Months of cash in 2025 info

4.7

Fringe rate in 2025 info

16%

Funding sources info

Assets & liabilities info

Financial data

Digitizing IRS form 990 data

Rise Against Suicide

Rise Against Suicide

Operations

Documents

Executive Director

Sherry Burkhard

Number of employees

Rise Against Suicide

Compensation data

Rise Against Suicide

Board of directors data

Board leadership practices

Board orientation and education

CEO oversight

Ethics and transparency

Board composition

Board performance

Organizational demographics

Leadership

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

Transgender Identity

Sexual orientation

Disability

Liquidity in 2025

Months of cash in 2025

Fringe rate in 2025

Funding sources

Assets & liabilities