The Colorado Springs Mineralogical Society (CSMS), a 90-year-old nonprofit organization dedicated to geological education and promoting the hobby of rockhounding in the Pikes Peak region, has launched a major capital campaign to secure a permanent community facility. The new hub would allow CSMS to expand science education, scholarships, lectures, and community engagement across Colorado Springs and the surrounding area.
The campaign’s goal is to secure funding through member donations, grants, corporate sponsorships, and community support to purchase or construct a building that will serve as a centralized home for CSMS meetings, hands-on classes, workshops, youth programs, public lectures, and expanded outreach.
A permanent facility would also support CSMS’s long-standing scholarship program for college students pursuing geology, earth sciences, and related fields, helping strengthen Colorado’s future workforce in geology, earth, and environmental sciences. In 2025, CSMS awarded three scholarships to area students attending relevant colleges and universities.
Founded in 1936, CSMS has served the Colorado Springs community for nearly a century through public lectures, field trips, study groups, scholarships for geology students, and an annual gem, mineral, and jewelry show that attracts thousands of attendees each year. Despite its longevity, the organization has operated without a permanent facility, limiting the scope of its programming and long-term community impact.
“This project is about more than a building,” said Alex Field, president of CSMS. “It’s about creating a long-term community resource for science education, youth programs, adult classes, and deeper public engagement. With the right partners, we can support more students, serve educators and schools, and strengthen the region’s educational ecosystem in geology and earth sciences.”
Planned programs at the proposed facility include expanded STEM and earth science education for youth and adults; hands-on workshops in geology, mineralogy, faceting, jewelry-making, and lapidary arts; public lectures and community learning events; partnerships with local and regional schools, colleges, and civic organizations; and preservation and display of regional geological and mineral history.
Corporate sponsors and grant funders will have opportunities for program naming recognition, community visibility and branding, employee volunteer engagement, educational partnerships, and alignment with long-term community impact initiatives.
CSMS is seeking support from individuals, businesses, foundations, and civic partners who value science education, geological study, local history, and community enrichment. The organization invites the community to participate in building a permanent hub for geological education and public engagement in Colorado Springs.
Donations and sponsorship inquiries:
Website: www.CSMS1936.com
Email: alexfield1@gmail.com
Phone: 719-351-4897
Contacts:
Alex Field, President, Colorado Springs Mineralogical Society
William Myers, Chair, CSMS Fundraising Committee
Kevin Witte, Treasurer and Board Member
About the Colorado Springs Mineralogical Society
The Colorado Springs Mineralogical Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and registered charity with the State of Colorado, founded in 1936 to promote interest in geology, mineralogy, rockhounding, fossils, faceting, jewelry-making, micromounting, and the lapidary arts in the Pikes Peak region. CSMS provides educational programs, college scholarships, field trips, study groups, public lectures, and hosts an annual gem, mineral, and jewelry show attended by thousands each year.