Access to effective treatment and support for Coloradans experiencing mental health and/or substance use challenges remains limited. Along their recovery journey, many individuals experience compounding life challenges, such as housing instability, unemployment, financial stress, and social isolation, that can interfere with treatment engagement and long-term recovery goals.
Recovery supports can be most effective when they are aligned through trauma-informed and harm reduction approaches. Harm reduction and trauma-informed practices emphasize safety, trust, choice, and dignity, meeting individuals where they are and recognizing recovery as a non-linear process. When these approaches are available and accessible, individuals can experience more consistent, respectful, and responsive support that promotes engagement, autonomy, and long-term healing within their communities.
Purpose
The purpose of this funding opportunity is to expand access to culturally responsive recovery support focused on integrating harm reduction and trauma/healing services into Colorado’s recovery ecosystem. This funding is intended to expand access and strengthen CHF’s ability to connect with and learn from the communities served.
Goal
The key objectives of this opportunity aim to:
• Increase Access to Support: Support individuals in accessing services that address harm reduction, social, economic, and behavioral health-related barriers to recovery, including addressing trauma and healing needs.
• Strengthen Recovery Outcomes: Enhance individuals’ ability to engage in and sustain recovery by addressing holistic needs.
• Promote Culturally Responsive Care: Ensure services are responsive to the cultural, linguistic, and community-specific needs of the populations served.
• Support Community-Based Solutions: Fund services delivered close to home, leveraging trusted community providers and local resources.
Applicants may include, but are not limited to:
• Community-based organizations, including nonprofit organizations
• Tribal organizations and Native or Indigenous-led entities
• Peer-led or peer-informed organizations
• Culturally specific organizations serving priority populations
• School-Based Health Centers
• Community Mental Health Center with integrated primary care services
• Current and prospective grantees of Colorado Health Foundation
To be eligible, applicants must:
• Be a 501(c)(3) public charity or a governmental unit.
o Organizations without 501(c)(3) status may apply through a qualified fiscal sponsor, which must sign a Fiscal Sponsorship Agreement.
• Primarily serve Colorado communities.
• Demonstrate experience serving individuals with mental health and/or substance use challenges.
• Show capacity to deliver services that are culturally responsive and accessible to the communities served.
• Deliver services within the community in ways that build connection and affirm dignity.
Funding Details
If invited to submit a full application, applicants may request a grant of up to $100,000 for a term of 12 months.
CHF believes those who have historically had less power or privilege should be at the heart of our work. Hence, we strongly encourage applications from those who identify with or are members of underrepresented communities.
Timeline
To apply for this opportunity, please submit the Letter of Inquiry (LOI) by 5:00 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time on July 24, 2026.
- LOI submission deadline: July 24, 2026
- After submission of your LOI, you will hear back from the Foundation within approximately 45 days.
- At that time, you will be informed if your LOI has been selected for full proposal submission or declined.
- Review of a full proposal takes approximately 90 business days from initial review to final decision.
Note
Organizations with an active grant under Adult Recovery or other Colorado Health Foundation funding opportunities remain eligible to submit a Letter of Inquiry for this funding opportunity. Submitting an application does not prevent organizations from applying for or receiving future funding from the Colorado Health Foundation.
Terms and Conditions
Application Rejection
CHF reserves the right to reject any or all applications, to waive informalities and minor irregularities in applications received, and to accept any portion of an application or all items proposed if deemed in the best interest of CHF.
Modification or Withdrawal of Applications
Applications may be modified or withdrawn prior to the established deadline.
Expenses
CHF is not liable for costs incurred in the preparation of a response to this request.
Review
The review will identify the applications that most effectively meet the requirements of the request.
Confidentiality
CHF and its partners will keep any materials submitted confidential and will not use them in any way other than for this selection process.
Applications and programming that:
• Are rooted in and reflective of the communities they serve
• Utilize human-centered and culturally responsive harm reduction approaches that prioritize the dignity, autonomy, and lived experience of individuals and communities.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the cultural, historical, and social contexts that shape health behaviors and access to care and are designed in partnership with the communities they serve.
• Employ individuals with lived experience (peer support)
• Serve populations that experience disproportionate barriers to care
• Demonstrate strong partnerships with behavioral health providers and community-based organizations
Applications and programming that:
• Deliver services in ways that are disconnected from the communities they intend to serve, without meaningful community partnership or input
• Lack access to culturally responsive care and approaches that reflect the diverse identities, experiences, and needs of participants
• Frame recovery as a linear, one-size-fits-all outcome or end goal, rather than honoring it as a personal, evolving journey Offer harm reduction services in isolation (e.g., solely providing Medication Assisted Treatment) without integrating them into broader, holistic, and community-based care systems