First Grants Awarded in Culminating Phase of Community Partnerships Strategy

Last year, we announced the conclusion of our Community Partnerships strategy, which for several years provided funding and other resources for local leaders and teams to organize, then identify and address health equity-focused needs in their own communities. As part of the closure to this strategy, The Colorado Trust Board of Trustees committed $5 million to the “Culminating Phase” of this work. This phase includes providing one-time grants to invited organizations working within communities that were engaged in previous Community Partnerships strategy activities. Funds will be used towards efforts to reduce health inequities within their respective local areas.

We are pleased to share the first six grant recipients from this effort. These grants were approved at the end of 2022, with the remaining funds in the Culminating Phase set to be allocated and distributed in the next few months. Grantee and project descriptions are below.

For more information on this or other Colorado Trust grantmaking activities, please contact us.

Town of San Luis
$100,380
Support for the Envision San Luis Entrepreneurial Bootcamp, which will engage, empower and encourage community members of all ages to find ways to increase their income and financial stability. This program will include business development opportunities through educational training and workshops; aid for participants to start their own micro-business; internships; and hands-on support after the program is completed.

Regents of the University of Colorado
$248,453
Support for the CU Bueno Center’s College Assistance Migrant Program in Fort Lupton, which aids migrant and seasonal farm workers by offering financial, academic and social support through a cohort-based scholarship program. By having highly trained staff provide supportive services specifically tailored to this population, the program aims to build on its 20-year history of success to improve the social determinants of health for migrant and seasonal farm workers while honoring their cultural and historical identities.

Morgan County Family Center, Inc.
$189,724
Support to establish a housing resource center in Fort Morgan that will be accessible to people living in Morgan County. While focused on housing, this project’s primary goal centers on the long-term and generational wealth building that can accompany home ownership. The program will first address housing instability and access to housing by offering educational programming and connecting people to programs and resources; in the longer term, it will provide a place and space for people to connect with advocates working to meet their permanent housing needs.

Food to Power
$243,596
Support for the Hillside Community Food Hub in the Hillside neighborhood of Colorado Springs. For nearly six years, Food to Power engaged neighbors and partners to help form the vision for this space, which now features gardening education, no-cost grocery programs, a production farm, demonstration kitchen, events venue and more. Now that the food hub has been built, these funds will support efforts to fulfill its promise to address food insecurity and strengthen the social and community context of the Hillside neighborhood.

El Paso County Public Health
$222,219
Support for the Fountain Valley Communities That Care coalition and its Connect Fountain project, which aims to bolster community connection, involvement and resource access for Fountain Valley youth and their families. This will include encouraging youth to participate in the community, connecting youth and families to existing resources, and training service providers on youth and family engagement. Youth input will factor into a gap analysis, helping to identify ways to effectively meet needs. Enhancing and creating youth opportunities through Connect Fountain will increase a sense of belonging and interpersonal relationships, and show young people that they are valued residents of Fountain.

Alpine Achievers Initiative
$249,921
Alpine Achievers Initiative works to inspire, connect and nurture youth, families and communities in rural Colorado. This support is for three health equity-focused initiatives in Saguache County: summer programming in three communities that includes tutoring and recreational opportunities for youth; active allyship training for 40 educators that work in the county; and the implementation of gender sexuality alliances in multiple schools.