Golden is making amends with two moms who oversee a nonprofit serving disabled children after city officials referred to their organization as “pretty belligerent” and “a thorn in our side” because it didn’t have the proper permit to raise money at a summer arts festival.

City officials on Wednesday told The Gift of Grace nonprofit that they would waive the $20 application fee for a vendor license so the group can raise funds outside the Golden Fine Arts Festival this weekend. The organization hosts holiday parties for children with disabilities and provides money to their families so the kids can sign up for extracurricular activities.

Golden officialsalso apologized for the tone of their emails about the nonprofit, portions of which were published by The Denver Post on Wednesday in a story about the conflict.

For years, Rhe Gift of Grace — run by Susan Baldacci and Laurie Zitoli, who lost her daughter with Down syndrome, Grace, in 2017 — has raised money by setting up outside the Golden Fine Arts Festival and accepting donations in exchange for baked goods and water. The nonprofit couldn’t sell items because it didn’t have the proper permits, and it wasn’t a vendor at the art festival because Baldacci said the $500 fee to enter costs about half of the money raised each year.

Tensions between the city and the organization have been brewing for years, Baldacci said, culminating in emails sent earlier this year among city officials referring to the organization as “pretty belligerent” and “a thorn in our side” because it did not have a proper vendor permit.

When contacted by The Post this week, city officials said they needed to abide by code to ensure equitable opportunities for nonprofits and private entities.

On Wednesday, Meredith Ritchie, Golden’s communications director, said the city offered assistance in applying for the necessary license so the organization can fundraise outside the festival this weekend and to avoid future concerns.

“Our commitment is to educate and assist our community to succeed and uphold the rules we set across all vendors and nonprofits to ensure everyone has the same access to do business,” Ritchie said. “We regret the tone that our communication took during this situation, and we have spoken with Gift of Grace representatives to offer our apology.”

Baldacci said the organization had not been aware of the $20 permit. But she believed the media attention “made people do the right thing.”

“We’ve been doing this for years and no one has ever offered us this solution,” Baldacci said. “Grace Zitoli’s life was defined by persistence and never giving up. Parents were told she had two months to live because of heart defects, but she lived for 19. We are so glad that the spirit of Grace came through and the city has recognized that we are just two Golden moms trying to raise money for kids with disabilities.”

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Originally Published: August 7, 2024 at 3:37 p.m.