Carey and Community Support

The Alternative Board is a partner of Cultivate who supports our mission of helping seniors flourish through active engagement with their community. You can find more information about The Alternative Board on their website.

After he and his wife moved to Boulder five years ago, Carey Mason was ready to put down roots in his new community. Along with enjoying all the opportunities the beautiful Colorado climate has to offer—give Carey a wave if you spot him on the golf course—he wanted to actively contribute to his new community.

“I have been very fortunate and blessed in my life to have been touched by a lot of people who have helped me along the way,” Carey says about his passion for giving back. “I feel that I have a debt that I can never repay. I try every day to pay down on what I owe and hopefully make a difference.”

Carey started volunteering with our Fix-It program shortly after arriving in the area. Today, he’s the chair of our Board of Directors. Along with helping our Fix-It clients with minor home repairs, Carey supports Cultivate with his 35 years of business experience.

And Cultivate isn’t the only organization benefiting from Carey’s considerable career in business. When he’s not supporting Cultivate as a volunteer or board member, Carey is helping small business owners with The Alternative Board of Northern Colorado. “The objective is to provide small business owners and CEOs the opportunity to work on their business,” Carey explains. The Alternative Board (TAB) connects small business owners with individual coaching sessions as well as monthly group board meetings.

“It’s a process. Each member shares an update about their business during our monthly  meetings. The meetings are transparent and completely confidential, allowing each member to be their true selves—a luxury they don’t always enjoy within their business.” After meeting as a group, Carey meets individually with each TAB member to help them achieve their business goals. “We define strategies and measurable action plans so that business owners are working on their business instead of just in their business.”

Carey coaches small business owners throughout Northern Colorado, including in Boulder, Longmont, Loveland and Fort Collins. He works with business owners across all stages of success—from startups looking to get off the ground to experienced owners in the process of  selling their business. “No two businesses are alike, so getting a chance to really talk with them about their personal and business visions and then helping them with little incremental steps to achieve those visions—it never gets old.”

Throughout his nonprofit and business career, Carey has been giving his time, talent and tithings to support community organizations. It’s what he recommends to the business owners he works with—find ways to give back to local organizations doing good work. Whether it’s a donation after a good year or a team-building exercise that doubles as volunteerism, small businesses can make an impact. (Is your business team looking for a way to give back as a group? Check out our YardBusters program!)

If you’re a small business owner who is interested in building your business with targeted coaching, get in touch with Carey. If you mention Cultivate and this blog, Carey will give a donation back to us (even if your conversation doesn’t result in business).