Amount
$25,000 – $125,000 (multi-year requests welcome).
← Back to all grant profiles
Caring for Colorado – Youth Well-Being
Deadlines
LOI Jan 16 2026 (MT); invited full proposal due Feb 20 2026.
Cycle
Annual Youth Well-Being cycle; decisions typically announced in April.
Effort & Priority
Effort: 6 | Priority: Must Pursue
Expected success: High.
Why It Matters
Caring for Colorado invests heavily in trauma-informed, equitable youth health. A multi-year award can underwrite bilingual therapy, expanded teen counseling, or family stabilization services that VOCA and VALE cannot fully cover.
Positioning
- Align the proposal with the foundation’s priorities: safe, nurturing environments and culturally responsive behavioral health for young people.
- Highlight SungateKids’ statewide reach (Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert, Lincoln) and partnerships with schools and MDT agencies.
- Frame the request around concrete capacity growth (e.g., adding a bilingual clinician, extending therapy past 12 sessions, launching caregiver support groups).
- Emphasize health equity: zero-cost services, language access, transportation support, and outreach to underserved communities.
Application Notes
- LOI is concise—state the problem, proposed solution, population served, and anticipated outcomes.
- Full proposal (if invited) requires detailed outcomes, evaluation approach, and sustainability narrative.
- Use January as prep month: gather FY2025 impact data, confirm low-income demographics, and line up partner quotes illustrating collaborative care.
- Request multi-year funding (2–3 years) to match the foundation’s emphasis on stability.
Success Factors
- Quantify trauma/healing outcomes (symptom reduction, caregiver resilience measures, school stability anecdotes).
- Describe how the project centers youth voice—incorporate feedback loops, advisory councils, or survivor-informed curriculum updates.
- Showcase alignment with community partners (AllHealth Network, school districts, MDT agencies) to reinforce systems-level impact.
- Articulate a sustainability plan pairing Caring for Colorado dollars with VOCA, VALE, and private philanthropy.
Risks & Mitigation
- Equity expectations: Back claims with demographic data and culturally responsive program elements.
- Competitive field: Stand out by pairing rigorous data with lived-experience stories of healing and justice.
- Timeline compression: Draft narrative components in December so the January LOI submission is polished despite year-end reporting.
Next Moves
December: compile outcomes and equity stats. Early January: confirm project scope and budget. Week of Jan 8: complete LOI draft for leadership review, then submit ahead of the Jan 16 deadline.