The Colorado Health Foundation is seeking applications
for the Equity Collective Initiative to build power within and across the
communities they serve.
The Foundation believes that communities have the inherent ability
to identify and solve their own challenges when they are equipped with the
decision-making power, infrastructure and financial capital to do so.
Organizations led by people of color – who are deeply rooted in health equity and
racial justice – have not historically been afforded the same access to
resources to sustain their work and build power. The Foundation’s Equity
Collective Initiative will put these resources in the hands of organizations –
that are led by people of color – to advance health equity and build power in
community through approaches they determine on their own.
Funding Information
The Foundation will provide one-time investment
awards – ranging from $750,000 to $1,500,000 – to selected organizations to develop
their own approaches and long-term direction to drive health equity and racial
justice work forward.
Examples of long-term strategies and approaches
the Initiative intends to support include, but are not limited to:
- Creating an endowment to
achieve financial sustainability and support organization’s long-term
health equity and racial justice efforts.
- Building cash reserves to
stabilize and scale up organizational capacity.
- Long-term investments such as
real estate acquisition to build financial equity, create stability and/or
expand revenue streams.
- Other financial tools to
leverage lending power and/or other institutional investments.
Eligibility Criteria
Investments will be awarded to community-based
501(c)(3) nonprofits and groups with a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor. Organizations
considered for an investment will deeply align with and reflect the following
characteristics:
- Strongly aligned with the
Foundation’s mission and cornerstones.
- Community-based and grassroots
organizations that are based in Colorado and focus specifically on
Colorado communities.
- Have existing work that is
deeply rooted in health equity and racial justice efforts.
- Led by people of color
- These organizations have a
governing and implementation body (board, executive leadership, staff,
etc.) who are predominantly people of color—Arab/Middle Eastern,
Asian/Pacific Islander, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx, and
Indigenous/Native American and multiracial communities— and their purpose
is to center, improve the lives of and uplift that specific population.
- Clearly demonstrated credibility,
trust and historical connections with communities they exist to serve.
- Positioned to conduct and
advance work “with” and “by” communities they exist to serve, and a track
record of collaborative and constructive approaches within and across
communities to advance health equity and racial justice.
- Demonstrated strategic thinking
on organization mission and purpose. The Foundation is not requesting a
strategic plan, but instead want to understand the strategic thinking
about the role and intent of the organization’s long-term work to advance
health equity and racial justice.
- Demonstrated capacity to engage
in and advance self-determined approaches to put investment award to use
in advancing health equity and racial justice.
- Minimum organizational budget
of $100,000 or a minimum $100,000 budget for fiscally-sponsored projects.
- An interest, openness and
commitment to engaging in a participatory review process.
- Commitment to transparency,
openness and reciprocal relationship with The Colorado Health Foundation
and other community partners, as well as a high tolerance for risk of
unknowns in the context of a fluid, participant-driven effort.
Post Date - 23-Jul-2021