The Denver-based Boettcher Foundation said Monday that it has committed $100,000 toward construction of the planned U.S. Olympic Museum in downtown Colorado Springs, which organizers say is another significant step forward as they seek to raise $80 million for the project.

"It's important for the museum to have a broad base of support," said Dick Celeste, the former Colorado College president who heads the nonprofit museum's board of directors.

Civic and business leaders see the museum as a valuable addition to tourism in the Pikes Peak region, while they also hope it can spark redevelopment of southwest downtown - a mostly light industrial area where it would be built and that's been targeted for improvements for more than a decade.

The Olympic Museum was one of 18 nonprofits to receive capital funding grants from the Boettcher Foundation, one of the state's largest philanthropic organizations and which awards funds to assist in the construction - not operation - of bricks-and-mortar projects.

Foundation president and executive director Tim Schultz said Boettcher this year had about $3 million to award on construction grants; the money is spread out over three categories - community enrichment, social services and education.

The foundation viewed the museum as a community enrichment project - something everyone in a community can use and enjoy, such as a library or a concert hall, Schultz said.

The foundation's board considered 90 community enrichment applications received this year and whittled that number to 30. It then selected 18 projects and divvied up its pot of money to fund them based on the merits of each. The $100,000 for the museum was the largest for the 18 projects, which reflected the trustees' belief it would meet many community needs, Schultz said.

"It's something that hits on several fronts," he said. "It supports the economy of Colorado Springs. It also supports the sense of community and the sense of pride you'd have in the community."

While $100,000 might seem like a small amount for a building with an $80 million price tag, and other organizations have pledged more, Schultz said "every dollar counts" and it's important for Colorado foundations to be represented in such projects.

"It was important for our foundation to make a meaningful gift, and for us, this was very meaningful in relation to all the other grants that were being considered and the limited amount of money that we had to give," he said. "This was sort of reaching out a little further than normal, but this is a very special project. It has so many local leaders involved and it's one of those projects that is, in a way, community defining and we wanted to be a part of it."

The foundation's commitment comes in the form of a challenge grant; the $100,000 won't be released to the museum until it has commitments for nearly all of the project's cost, Schultz said.

The 60,000-square-foot Olympic museum is intended to showcase the nation's Olympic and Paralympic movements through exhibits and artifacts; the U.S. Olympic Committee is based in Colorado Springs and the city is home to one of three Olympic Training Centers.

The museum is planned for a 1.7-acre site in southwest downtown; it's part of the City for Champions initiative, four projects designed to enhance the local economy and boost tourism.

The state of Colorado has committed $120.5 million in sales tax revenues to help fund the four projects over 30 years.

Celeste said the estimated cost of the museum and exhibits is about $65 million, although he's said he wants to raise $80 million to cover contingencies and provide an endowment to help pay operating expenses. The museum has about $46 million committed, he said; the Springs-based El Pomar Foundation has pledged $10 million, while Springs philanthropist Margot Lane has given $1 million.

Museum officials hope to open the venue no later than the start of the February 2018 Winter Games.

The Boettcher Foundation, founded in 1937 by businessman Charles Boettcher, has a history of charitable giving for libraries, medical facilities and other projects. The foundation also has a well-known scholarship program.