Yes. Funding will be more competitive at large, because we have additional priority areas, including behavioral health and social determinants of health. Also, we are conducting outreach and building relationships throughout Colorado to ensure that we are having local and statewide impact. We hope this will result in new partnerships and a wider reach. As we receive more applications from all over Colorado, we expect that funding will be more competitive.

Our strategy will help bring health in reach for all Coloradans by strengthening bodies, minds and communities in the fight against unfair and avoidable differences in health.

Our focus areas are now organized to:

• Maintain Healthy Bodies: Having access to comprehensive primary care and ample opportunities to be active are two important building blocks to a healthy life. We are working to ensure that all Coloradans have access to high-quality, comprehensive primary care when and where they need it and that children can be active in a safe and fun way every day. Read more about the priorities in this focus area, including Primary Care and Child and Youth Physical Well-Being.
• Nurture Healthy Minds: We understand the urgency of providing Coloradans – of every age – with the resources they need to support mental and social well-being. We are addressing the behavioral health needs of our state by fostering the social-emotional development of children, equipping teens and young adults with resiliency skills, and giving adults – with mental health disorders and substance abuse challenges – continued support on their recovery journey. Read more about the priorities in this focus area, including Early Childhood Social-Emotional Development, Teen and Young Adult Resiliency and Adult Recovery.
• Strengthen Community Health: We believe communities deserve the opportunity to elevate their strengths and solve for challenges alongside partners who show up and understand the issues they face. By partnering with communities as they identify and tackle health-related challenges, and investing in quality food and affordable housing, we are creating a foundation for which communities can develop locally-specific solutions that lead to health equity. Read more about the priorities in this focus area, including Community Solutions, Food Access and Security and Affordable Housing.
• Champion Health Equity: For equity to be a reality, voices must be heard and skills developed to promote fair opportunities for all Coloradans to be healthy. We are supporting individuals and organizations as they develop and strengthen the skills necessary to advocate for and promote a more equitable health environment—one where our policies reflect our priorities, and health is in reach for all Coloradans. Read more about the priorities in this focus area, including Advocacy and Capacity Building.

We also have long-term cross-cutting work that spans multiple priorities, so we can work deeply within a specific geographic or subject area. These long-term efforts require extended focus and investment, which means that we are careful to take on only a few of these at a time. Currently, the Foundation considers our Locally-focused portfolio of work as cross-cutting.

We recognize that by partnering in communities across the state who are part of our Locally-focused Work, that we can not only move the needle on specific health-related issues, but that we have an opportunity to build the capacity of local institutions, improve policies and systems, expand local leadership and stimulate broad civic engagement. We are engaged in this effort in nine Colorado communities: Alamosa County, Crowley County, Eagle County, East Colfax Corridor, Montrose County, Morgan County, Otero County, the city of Pueblo and Rio Grande County.

Having health in reach means something different for every Coloradan and every community, because not all of us have the same opportunities.

To address this, we need two things: a broad vision and to dig deeply into issues that are often overlooked and therefore need the most attention. With that in mind, and after listening to voices across the state, we have refined our focus areas.

By working in partnership with communities and others serving the Coloradans who need the most, we can ensure that each of us has all we need in order to live healthy lives.

In a nutshell, for deeper impact. The more sharpened our focus areas and priorities are, the more profound of an impact we can have on those we serve. By centering our approach to be more specific about who we support, what we support and how we support it, we’ll have a deeper impact on the people, families and communities in our state who need it most.

No, there should be no change to an existing grant based on this update.

Proposals received at the Feb. 2018 cycle will be evaluated according to the criteria of the funding opportunities that were announced in January.

Anyone with a question about fit should talk to their existing program officer or seek out a program officer who works in or near the community you serve.

Not yet, but we’re working on it. That information will be communicated as we open funding opportunities related to a priority. The information will include how we are defining “rural” and other geographic terms in order to facilitate clear communications with potential applicants.

The easiest way to be notified about funding opportunities is to subscribe to our mailing list. We typically market new funding opportunities at least six weeks ahead of a funding deadline. Our deadlines are: Feb. 15, June 15 and Oct. 15.