CHF Investment Accelerates WFCO’s "Until Every Woman Thrives" Campaign Across Colorado
Aug. 20, 2026 (DENVER) – The Women's Foundation of Colorado (WFCO) is announcing a five-year, $10 million investment from The Colorado Health Foundation (CHF), the lead gift for WFCO's $40 million comprehensive campaign, “Until Every Woman Thrives.”
The gift supports four areas of WFCO's comprehensive campaign to transform lives, deepen relationships, and amplify its impact: The Women & Girls of Color Fund, the WFCO endowment, rapid-response grantmaking and impact investing, and the annual fund to build WFCO’s capacity.
“Health is shaped by the conditions people live in every day, and racial injustice is one of the most persistent barriers standing in the way of health and well-being for communities of color, especially those with less power, privilege, and income,” said The Colorado Health Foundation President and CEO Dr. Karen McNeil-Miller. “Gender bias deepens those barriers in ways we see across Black maternal health outcomes, domestic violence and sexual assault, reproductive freedom, economic opportunity and more. This investment reflects our belief that when Colorado women and gender-expansive people have what they need to thrive, our whole state is stronger.”
A Philanthropic Partnership Rooted in Trust, Collaboration, and Institutional Change
Since 2015, when Dr. McNeil-Miller and Lauren Y. Casteel became CEOs of The Colorado Health Foundation and The Women’s Foundation of Colorado, their relationship and the partnership between the two foundations has been rooted in a rare philanthropic collaboration. Both women share a decades-long commitment to racial justice, health equity, and the belief that communities closest to inequity should help shape the solutions. That personal and professional relationship helped forge a deep relationship between CHF and WFCO, and is helping drive this major investment from CHF.
It is particularly meaningful since Casteel retired from WFCO last year and now serves on CHF’s Board, and Dr. McNeil-Miller announced her own retirement this year.
Since joining CHF, Dr. McNeil-Miller guided its work to more deeply center health equity through racial justice and to be informed by the communities it serves. Her leadership shaped CHF’s strategy, culture and investments, including its Centering Race Framework, support for BIPOC-led organizations, and community-informed approaches to policy, advocacy and grantmaking, including a focus on rural communities.
Similarly, Casteel diversified WFCO’s communities of giving and investments and introduced values-based and innovative grantmaking programs, including the Women & Girls of Color Fund, a community-designed fund that invests in the leadership of women and gender-expansive leaders of color.
“Karen and Lauren’s partnership is a model of what’s possible when philanthropic leaders build trust across institutions and share visions of what’s possible,” said Renee Ferrufino, President and CEO of The Women’s Foundation of Colorado. “We honor their legacies by ensuring this investment is deployed through a gender, racial, and economic equity lens, exactly as they envisioned.”
A Lead Gift for a Bold Campaign
CHF’s investment anchors “Until Every Woman Thrives,” launched in 2024 to strengthen The Women’s Foundation of Colorado’s impact across all 64 Colorado counties. Nationally, only 2.6% of charitable giving goes to women and girls and only 0.5% of foundation funding supports women and girls of color. WFCO’s campaign is designed to help close that gap in Colorado by resourcing work shaped by women, girls, and gender-expansive people most affected by racial and economic inequities. The campaign has raised 60% of its fundraising goal with two years remaining.
With CHF’s lead gift, WFCO is already moving resources in ways that reflect community leadership and long-term impact:
- WFCO increased its Women & Girls of Color Fund grantmaking dollars by 40% in 2025.
- WFCO launched a statewide rapid-response grantmaking program in 2025. More than 70 organizations serving women, families, and communities received over $500,000 to help meet urgent community needs in the face of federal budget cuts and rollbacks.
- WFCO is strengthening its internal capacity and sustainability with investments in technology, a multi-year strategic plan, staff culture, and professional development.
About The Women's Foundation of Colorado
Founded in 1987, The Women's Foundation of Colorado is the state's only community-funded foundation protecting women’s progress and advancing gender, racial, and economic equity. WFCO has made nearly $40 million in grants and helped pass hundreds of policies benefiting Colorado women and families, including the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act and Colorado's Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program.
About The Colorado Health Foundation
The Colorado Health Foundation is a statewide philanthropic organization that champions the overall health and well-being of every Coloradan by advocating for and investing in solutions and policies that drive health equity and racial justice. Every day, the Foundation collaborates with organizations and communities across the state to break down the many systemic inequities that stand in the way of health.
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