The Colorado Health Foundation

The Colorado Health Foundation is a private foundation focused on bringing health in reach for all Coloradans by engaging closely with communities across the state through investing, policy advocacy, learning and capacity building. The organization's partners include nonprofits, health care leaders, policymakers, educators and the private sector.
The Foundation operates within four focus areas: Maintain Healthy Bodies, Nurture Healthy Minds, Strengthen Community Health and Champion Health Equity.
As of 2017, the Foundation had assets of $2.6 billion. It awarded $80 million in grants and contributions throughout Colorado the same year.
History.
In 1995, HCA-HealthONE LLC began as a joint venture between various affiliates of HCA and Denver's HealthOne hospitals. The purpose and intent of the original joint venture was to strengthen and grow the HealthONE hospitals, while maintaining an ongoing commitment to community benefit and charity care. The HealthONE Foundation assumed the trade name of HealthONE Alliance in 1999.
In 2006, HealthONE Alliance changed its name to the Colorado Health Foundation to reflect its work across the state and adopted the goal of making Colorado the healthiest state in the nation. In addition to its grantmaking, the Foundation operated five graduate medical education (GME) residency programs and three community programs.
On Oct. 13, 2011, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers approved the sale of the Foundation's 40 percent equity stake in Denver-area's HCA-HealthONE LLC health care system for $1.45 billion. In 2013, it created and seed funded an independent 501(c)(4) advocacy organization, Healthier Colorado.[5]
President and CEO Anne Warhover stepped down from the Foundation in 2014 after leading the organization for 10 years. Following a national search, President and CEO Karen McNeil-Miller joined the Foundation in Sept. 2015 from the Kate B. Reynolds Trust in North Carolina.
In 2018, the Board of Directors approved a new strategic framework for grantmaking that implemented four focus areas to guide its efforts and impact throughout the state: Maintain Healthy Bodies, Nurture Healthy Minds, Strengthen Community Health and Champion Health Equity. The Foundation also adopted a set of cornerstones on which its work is based. They are:
Grantmaking.
The Colorado Health Foundation funds impactful work that aligns with the organization’s 10 priorities: Primary Care; Children Move More; Early Childhood Social-Emotional Development; Youth and Young Adult Resiliency; Adult Recovery; Community Solutions; Food Access and Security; Affordable Housing; Advocacy; and Capacity Building.
The Foundation makes grants through funding opportunities, a responsive grants program and rapid response funding. Grant application deadlines for funding opportunities and responsive grants are Feb. 15, June 15 and Oct. 15 each year. Applications for rapid response funding, meant to support short-term advocacy initiatives, are accepted on a rolling basis.
Past Funding Initiatives.
Prior to 2017, the Colorado Health Foundation structured its funding activity across three long-term community outcome areas: Healthy Living, Health Care and Health Coverage.
In 2016, the Foundation made a $3 million program-related investment to establish the Colorado Healthy Housing Fund. The revolving fund provides loans for new and existing affordable housing developments that meet predetermined healthy housing criteria and design features.
In 2013, the Foundation invested $7.1 million in the public-private project, called the Colorado Fresh Food Financing Fund. The money helps retailers build and open grocery stores in food deserts, especially in low-income neighborhoods where fast-food restaurants outnumber grocery stores.
In 2013, the Foundation supported the state’s expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act and produced its own report showing the economic impact of Medicaid expansion to Colorado.
In 2012, the Foundation launched Healthy Places, a $4.5 million initiative to inspire and support the development of healthy communities in Colorado. Three communities, representing an urban, suburban or rural environment, each received three years of funding to implement a set of community-led project recommendations that promote physically active lifestyles.
In 2010, the Foundation announced it was investing $6.5 million to the Colorado Health Service Corps to repay student loans for doctors and other primary care health professionals in return for providing care in the state's most underserved areas. These professionals each make a three-year commitment to practice in a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), rural health clinic or other safety net facility in a rural or underserved urban community. The investment to the CHSC was administered by the Primary Care Office of the Colorado Department of Health & Environment (CDPHE).
Senior Management.
Board of Directors.
The Foundation’s Board of Directors is made up of 15 members and includes representatives from the fields of business, health care, education and philanthropy.
The Colorado Health Symposium.
Each year, the Foundation hosts the Colorado Health Symposium. The annual three-day event, formerly called the Dorsey Hughes Symposium, offers the chance to interact with cross-sector experts and dedicated professionals who are leading the way in addressing health equity. Registration typically opens in mid-May, with the Symposium in July or August.
A related Symposium Unplugged event series hosted by the Foundation puts on daylong discussions on topics related to the annual conference. These events take place in smaller, more intimate settings in communities across the state.
Both the Colorado Health Symposium and Symposium Unplugged events offer the livestreaming of select sessions for those unable to physically attend.
Dr. Virgilio Licona Community Health Leadership Award.
The Dr. Virgilio Licona Community Health Leadership Award recognizes impassioned Coloradans who are finding innovative and effective strategies to overcoming community health barriers across the state. Honoring the life and legacy of late Foundation Board member Dr. Virgilio Licona, the award was established in 2016 following his passing.
Recipients include: