In Good Health

After another challenging year with the COVID-19 pandemic, and its far-reaching socioeconomic impacts, we applaud Colorado’s nonprofit community for their continued fight to bring health, equity and justice in reach for all Coloradans. You inspire us to work harder and smarter, challenge ourselves, and more deeply live into our mission. We are grateful for your partnership in this critical work.

As a token of our appreciation, Foundation staff select Colorado-based nonprofits annually to receive a $10,000 holiday donation – recognizing each for their commitment to improving the health of Coloradans. Join us in congratulating this year’s recipients:

• Asian Girls Ignite builds a strong community of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) girls and women to celebrate their individual and collective

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We know there are many factors that affect Coloradans’ abilities to have health closer in reach – and financial security is one key measurement. Through Pulse, we learned: while Coloradans are expressing belief in a strong economic recovery, they are also feeling pinched by the state’s increasing cost of living – from the lack of affordable housing to the high cost of child care. Often, this financial insecurity is paired with challenges to mental health and well-being, including anxiety and depression.

Pulse found that nearly half of all Coloradans are worried about at least one of four major financial stressors, including:

• Losing their home because they cannot afford to pay their rent or mortgage;
• Keeping their

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) make up around 4% of the folks who call Colorado home, and its a growing population. Our commitment to listening through Pulse: The Colorado Health Foundation Poll includes seeking out the priorities, concerns and hopes of our growing and diverse AAPI population.

The term “AAPI” is a broad one, encompassing people who identify as Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese, as well as Filipino, Indian and South Asian. Each community under the AAPI umbrella possesses unique histories, beliefs, values and lived experiences. Each community contributes tremendously to Colorado – socially, culturally and economically. Far too often, the identities of these communities are excluded from the story of the state, leading to less research, resources and

Between one and two percent of Coloradans identify as Native American, American Indian or Indigenous. It’s a population often forgotten in research and omitted from data that claims to accurately describe the experiences, perspectives and priorities of the people living in our state.

Because of the small size of the population, and a long history of violations of trust, conducting research with Native Americans requires an intentional investment of resources and relationship building. That doesn’t happen nearly enough, reinforcing many of the injustices our country is built on. Repeated harm perpetuated by institutions – including governments and philanthropic organizations – has created distrust that may keep Native Americans from participating in research.

Through Pulse: The Colorado Health Foundation Poll, we