The mission of the Colorado Health Foundation is to improve the health of Coloradans. It operates on three cornerstones: serving Coloradans with less power, privilege, and income, especially prioritizing those of color; being informed by the community it aims to serve; and focusing all efforts towards creating health equity.
This grant supports planning for outdoor spaces in Colorado that invite children, youth, families, and especially communities of color and those living on low incomes, to co-design their physical activity spaces. With a focus on health equity, the program emphasizes community engagement in the design process to reflect the community's needs, history, and culture. Planning grants, ranging from $25,000 to $50,000, may cover various costs including community engagement activities, technical assistance by landscape architects, and more. Projects should prioritize the needs of communities living on low-income, communities of color, and rural communities. The planning process should employ models like the Community Engagement Spectrum or Equity-Centered Community Design, aiming for designs that promote physical and psychological safety and encourage lifelong physical activity practices.