Weld Trust awards $5.5M in first 2023 grants

GREELEY — The Weld Trust has awarded $5,531,538 in grants to nonprofit organizations and schools throughout Weld County toward its mission to promote excellence in health and education in Weld County. 

The organization provides grantmaking three times per year, with this being the first grant cycle in 2023. The Weld Trust has seven key funding areas, three education initiatives and four initiatives in health.  

The Weld Trust’s education grants totaled $1,521,688 for 23 programs to 20 organizations, the trust said in a press statement. The education grants fall into three initiatives: Access to Resources, Childhood Literacy, and Workforce  Development. 

The Access to Resources grants are awarded to programs that remove barriers toward learning or promote learning for K-12 students. Childhood Literacy grants focus on improving reading skills to increase reading proficiency by third grade. Finally, Workforce Development grants assist with apprenticeships, internships, reskilling and upskilling the Weld County workforce.  

The health grants awarded totaled $1,509,850 for 17 programs to 16 organizations. These grants were awarded across four initiatives: Behavioral Health, Housing Stability, Food Security, and Healthy Habits. 

The Behavioral Health grants assist with both direct intervention and prevention services, as well as supporting programs to promote social connectedness for all ages. The Housing Stability grants provide support for emergent needs, prevention services and affordable housing. Food Security grants aim to maximize the distribution of nutritious foods throughout the county, especially to vulnerable populations. Finally, Healthy Habits grants promote healthy living, including education on positive behaviors. 

“In addition to The Weld Trust’s strategic grantmaking, we are also starting to award Flagship grants, which are typically for larger community-based projects,” said Tom Grant, board chair. The Weld Trust has just awarded a Flagship grant to High Plains Housing Development to construct a 58-unit permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless individuals. “We are excited that this Flagship grant from The Weld Trust is supporting the creation of permanent housing for the most vulnerable homeless population in our community,” Grant said.  

In 2022, the total grants awarded by The Weld Trust was more than $12.8 million. “This year, we expect to  exceed $15 million in local funding,” Grant said. “We are thrilled to support our nonprofit partners to help Weld  County become a healthier and more educated community.” 

The recipients of the recent grants are: 

• Balon USA. 
• Meals on Wheels of Greeley. 
• Book Trust.
• North Range Behavioral Health.
• Catholic Charities.
• Northern Colorado Youth for Christ.
• Centennial BOCES. 
• Poudre Learning Center Foundation. 
• City of Fort Lupton. 
• Project Angel Heart. 
• Community Grief Center. 
• Regents of the University of Colorado. 
• Dayspring Christian Academy. 
• Success Foundation Serving Greeley-Evans.
• Eaton Public Library. 
• The Avery Center. 
• Finally Home. 
• The Greeley Dream Team. 
• Frontier Academy. 
• United Way of Weld County. 
• Habitat for Humanity-St. Vrain Valley. 
• University of Northern Colorado Foundation. 
• Hispanic Women of Weld County. 
• Weld County School District RE-2. 
• Hope at Miracle House. 
• Weld County School District RE-3J. 
• Hope House Northern Colorado. 
• Weld County School District RE-5J. 
• I Have a Dream Foundation of Boulder County. 
• Weld County School District RE-7. 
• Jobs of Hope. 
• Weld Food Bank. 
• Larimer County Partners. 
• Weld RE-4 Educational Foundation. 

Source: BizWest