December 22, 2022 GRAND JUNCTION, Colorado – Rocky Mountain Health Foundation has awarded Focus Area Fund grants totaling $1,855,200 to health-related organizations on the Western Slope, bringing the total giving for the year to $4,031,100. This total amount is more than double last year’s giving. More than 200 organizations received grants in 2022, with the dollars supporting physical, behavioral, and social-emotional health, basic needs, and healthcare workforce development. In this final funding cycle of the year, the Rocky Mountain Health Foundation board of directors approved awards to 95 organizations from 16 Western Slope counties. Fifty-one percent of the grants went to basic needs programs helping to ensure that individuals and families are housed, have access to transportation, feel safe, and do not go hungry. Programs that help people access affordable, quality physical and behavioral healthcare and disability services accounted for 49% of the grants. Awards ranged from $10,000 to $40,000. Multi-year, general operating grants were awarded in the following Basic Needs categories:
- Food (food banks and pantries, meal services, food-related equipment and delivery vehicles): $213,000 / 14 grants
- Housing (emergency shelters, safe houses, rental/mortgage assistance): $80,000 / 5 grants
- Safety (domestic violence, sexual assault, child advocacy, in-home parent education and child abuse prevention): $244,000 / 13 grants
- Transportation (medical, dial-a-ride vouchers, bus passes): $45,000 / 2 grants
- Multi-need (family resource centers): $279,000 / 14 grants
One-year, general operating grants were awarded for direct healthcare services:
- Physical Health (dental, vision, hearing, and medical screening and care; animal-assisted physical & occupational therapy; health navigators & promotoras; hospice/palliative/home health care; disability services, securing health insurance): $435,000 / 29 grants
- Behavioral Health (mental health counseling and therapy, crisis response, suicide prevention, substance abuse prevention, treatment, and therapy, animal-assisted behavioral health therapy, grief counseling): $390,000 / 18 grants
Focus Area Fund grant recipient Jenny Birnie, M.S.W., Executive Director of Gunnison Valley Health Foundation, wrote “I wanted to take a moment to thank the board for their support. The school-based therapy program is such an important part of the services we provide through our Behavioral Health Department and expanding this program will mean so much to our children and families.” In addition to these general operating grants, Staff Care grants were made to each of the funded organizations for a total of $169,200. Events of the last few years have put tremendous strain on everyone, but especially on employees in the health and human service field who are often stretched to the limit and sacrifice their own health in caring for their clients. The Foundation understands that staff are the most precious resource for any organization. In response, these unsolicited, restricted grants were awarded as a means for organizations to directly support the emotional and physical wellbeing of staff. RMHF believes these grants are a unique and meaningful way to further promote the health of people on the Western Slope.
Rocky Mountain Health Foundation was established in 2017 to improve the health of people living on the Western Slope by investing in community assets and by acting as a catalyst for new approaches. To learn more about Rocky Mountain Health Foundation and to see a detailed list of this year’s funded projects, visit https://rmhealth.org/grant-making/funded-projects/. Contact: Michaelle Smith, 970.644.8126, michaelle@RMHealth.org