Breakfast of Champions 2026
September 17, 2026 | Infinity Park Event Center | Denver, CO
Denver's Premier Morning for People Who Believe in the Next Generation
The Breakfast of Champions is Colorado UpLift's signature annual gathering, a morning that brings together Denver's business leaders, community champions, and longtime supporters around a shared conviction: that every young person in this city deserves someone who shows up for them.
This is not a typical nonprofit breakfast. The stories told in this room are real. The students who speak are the proof. The leaders who fill these tables leave with a clear picture of what their investment actually produces.
Sponsoring this event is a public declaration that your company believes in the future of this city.
- Date
- Wednesday, September 17, 2026
- Time
- 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM
- Venue
- Infinity Park Event Center, Denver, CO
- Attire
- Business professional
- Contact
- Nicole Wirtz | nwirtz@coloradouplift.org | 720.219.4201
Brian Dawkins
Pro Football Hall of Famer | Community Champion | Mission Believer
Brian Dawkins is one of the most celebrated players in NFL history, nine Pro Bowls, six All-Pro designations, a place on the NFL All-Decade Team for the 2000s, and induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018. The Philadelphia Eagles retired his number 20 in 2012, making him only the ninth player in franchise history to receive that honor.
But Dawkins' legacy extends far beyond football. In 2009, he was named the Byron "Whizzer" White NFL Man of the Year, the highest honor the NFLPA bestows for dedication to community service. In 2019, he founded The Brian Dawkins Impact Foundation to help disadvantaged young people and families through transformative mentorship and community investment. The Foundation believes in the power of transformative moments to trigger a spark in young people who have the desire to make positive decisions, resulting in ripple effects on families and entire communities.
Dawkins is not a celebrity guest. He is a mission believer. His presence at Breakfast of Champions is a reflection of what this event stands for: that character, leadership, and showing up for others are not soft values, they are the ones that matter most.
Make a Gift
Sponsoring the event is a way to invest in our mission and highlight your company alongside a morning Denver's business community pays attention to.
Invest in the Morning. Invest in the Mission.
Sponsoring the Breakfast of Champions is one of the most visible and meaningful ways your company can stand alongside Colorado UpLift. Every tier includes a table of ten, stage recognition, and direct association with a morning that Denver's business community pays attention to.
Presenting Sponsor
- One table of 10 with exclusive premier seating
- Recognized as Presenting Sponsor from stage
- Full-page advertisement in electronic program (provided by sponsor)
- Logo displayed prominently in ballroom, program, and UpLift website
- Social media recognition in lead-up to event
- Dedicated pre-event VIP reception access
Champion Sponsor
- One table of 10 with exclusive seating
- Recognized as Champion Sponsor from stage
- Full-page advertisement in electronic program (provided by sponsor)
- Logo in ballroom, program, and UpLift website
- Social media recognition in lead-up to event
Leadership Sponsor
- One table of 10 with premier seating
- Recognized as Leadership Sponsor from stage
- Half-page advertisement in electronic program (provided by sponsor)
- Logo in ballroom, program, and UpLift website
- Social media recognition in lead-up to event
Supporting Sponsor
- One table of 10 with select seating
- Recognized as Supporting Sponsor from stage
- Logo in electronic program and UpLift website
The Room Changes You
Every year, the people who sit in this room leave differently than they arrived. They hear a student say something that stays with them for years. They see a Teacher/Mentor describe why they chose this work. They understand, in a way that a brochure cannot replicate, why this organization has been doing this for over forty years and why it works.
Student Stories
Every Breakfast of Champions features real UpLift students and alumni speaking directly to the room about what a Teacher/Mentor relationship changed in their lives.
Business Leadership
The tables at this event represent some of Denver's most respected companies and community leaders. The conversations that happen in this room become partnerships that last for years.
Measurable Impact
Sponsors and attendees receive direct access to UpLift's outcomes data, the third-party validated results that set this organization apart from every other youth program in the region.
Last Year, This Happened in That Room.
The 2025 Breakfast of Champions was a morning that people are still talking about. Peyton Manning joined us, not as a brand, but as a believer. And then a student named Mooku stood at the microphone and said something that silenced the room.
"I used to hide in my closet because I was scared. UpLift taught me I can rise above my circumstances and become a leader."
Mooku, UpLift Student, Breakfast of Champions 2025
That is what happens in this room. That is why the tables fill up every year. And that is why your sponsorship is not a line item, it is a statement about what your company believes.
Tables Are Going. Do Not Wait.
The 2026 Breakfast of Champions will sell out. If your company is ready to be in the room, and to be seen by Denver's business and civic leadership as an organization that invests in this city's future, the time to act is now.
Nicole Wirtz, Director of Revenue and Strategic Communications
nwirtz@coloradouplift.org | 720.219.4201
Forty Years of Showing Up. Will You Join Us?
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