Alaya Preschool in Boulder received a $1 million grant this month, helping the school reach 77% of its total $2.2 million fundraising goal to save itself from shutting down.

The $1 million grant from the Echo Fund is contingent upon Alaya meeting its total $2.2 million fundraising goal. The preschool at 3340 19th St. has raised about $1.7 million so far and is now seeking the final $500,000 to reach its goal.

“We do, at this point, feel confident that Alaya will continue,” said Rachel Steele, Alaya’s director.

Alaya launched a fundraising campaign last year to raise $2.2 million to save the school, after Naropa University announced it would sell the property, which the university had used for its now-discontinued early childhood education program. Alaya was initially under a deadline to raise the money to buy the property from Naropa, and if the preschool failed, its property would be sold on the open market.

In the fall, however, Naropa decided to sell the preschool to Core Spaces LLC as part of an overall negotiation that sold Naropa’s main campus at 2130 Arapahoe Ave., nearby. Core Spaces is a Chicago-based student housing developer. The deal with Core Spaces extended Alaya’s deadline to raise the money to October 2026 and allows the preschool to still purchase its property from the new owners and turn the school into an independent nonprofit organization.

“We’re really happy to have been given more time, which is what the deal was really meant to do,” said Kaitlyn Sullivan, Alaya’s assistant director.The $1 million grant marks a turning point in the fundraising efforts to save Alaya Preschool. Steele said the school was in a holding pattern at 30% or 40% of its goal for a long time, and this large grant has helped the fundraising efforts move forward.

“We also have a number of donors who we have been speaking with over time, and I think having this next nudge up toward success is going to hopefully mobilize some people who have kind of been holding off on their donations to see if our dream is feasible,” Steele said.

Now, Alaya’s goal is to finish fundraising by the end of the calendar year. Steele said it’s “been amazing” to see the community rally around their small preschool, adding that raising $2.2 million is “no joke.”

“I think we have been really pleasantly surprised and amazed by how people have come together in support and how much love there is for this little school,” Steele said.

Alaya Preschool has educated more than 1,000 students since it opened in 1976. To donate, visit savealaya.org.