With this funding opportunity, the Colorado Health Foundation is reaching out to community members directly and the organizations that support their actions through partnerships.

When community members themselves identify the issue and then work to generate and implement the solutions, they are able to raise their collective voice and strengthen their own power. The resulting community-initiated solutions are more likely to serve the needs of the specific community and demonstrate more long-term impact.

Given the Foundation’s intent to advance health equity, proposals that center on communities of color shall receive priority consideration. They want to fund ideas that increase health equity and lead to healthier communities by implementing solutions where community members drive the decision-making.

They want to provide an opportunity for the people themselves to address the health challenges that directly affect their lives. The Foundation is not determining which health focus/challenge will be chosen, or suggesting the approach to solving it. They want community members themselves to identify the health issue they want to tackle and take the lead in implementing solutions.

Thus, applications may request funding to support a range of programs and/or projects identified by community members as necessary to address their own health challenges. As part of these proposed programs and/or projects identified, they require that organizations collaboratively work with community members to:

• Address a health challenge
• Develop and implement a solution
• Leverage existing strengths and resources
• Improve health equity

Focus Area

• Strengthen Community Health

Examples of organizations considered for funding:

• Community-based groups or nonprofit organizations (at this time, community groups or community based organizations without 501(c)(3) nonprofit status will need to partner with a fiscal sponsor).
• Other applicants that can demonstrate a substantial commitment to community-identified and community-led efforts to address complex health-related issues and/or challenges.

Criteria

To be considered for funding, organizations must meet the following criteria:

• Aligns with our cornerstones; priority given to proposals demonstrating partnership “with” or “by” people of color.
• Clarify the specific issue/challenge and how it impacts health.
• Illustrate that the health challenge was identified and the proposed solution were developed by community members.
• Articulate how the implementation of the program/project and who is leading the effort are community members.
• Explain how the proposed solution is not only actionable but within the existing capacity of the community. (Preference will be given to proposals that build upon and leverage existing community capacity to successfully implement the solution.)
• Demonstrate how the solution will improve health equity

For more information, visit The Colorado Health Foundation.