On behalf of the Planning and Grants Committee, the Council is delighted to announce our 2024 Spring Mini Grants recipients for capacity building under our state plan goals. The Council received 45 applications from communities across the state, which gave evaluators great insight into the needs and efforts of organizations in our field. The Council appreciates the time and effort each agency put into preparing an application and sharing their needs with us. The following 11 proposals were awarded funding based on application scores and the available funding of $380,000.
The Council held a kickoff meeting for grantees on June 5th. We continue to be impressed by the innovation and deep knowledge and commitment of these organizations to engage in systems change and capacity building towards a meaningful life for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We look forward to the connections being formed and the learning that comes from these projects. Congratulations!
Download a table of 2024 Spring Mini Grant awards.
PEAK Parent Center, Inc – $52,640
- To pursue our vision for a comprehensive capacity building initiative centered on technology and AI, aiming to significantly enhance our operational efficiency, service delivery, and community engagement.
- Service Area: Statewide
University of Colorado – Center for Inclusive Design and Engineering – $49,965
- To deliver a public service campaign in accessible formats that provides weekly information and instructions during Emergency Preparedness month in September.
- Service Area: Statewide
IN! Pathways to Inclusive Higher Education – $34,825
- To develop and implement a formal evaluation of its current Inclusive Higher Ed programs to inform future organizational practices and policy that will further the independence and community inclusion of Coloradoans with intellectual disabilities.
- Service Area: Statewide
Developmental Disabilities Resource Center (DDRC) – $54,750
- To sponsor the participation of up to 20 Colorado residents in the National Leadership Consortium’s (NLC) weeklong Leadership Institute in Colorado in September 2024.
- Service Area: Jefferson, Clear Creek, Gilpin and Summit Counties, Statewide (for this project)
Our Own Lives – $12,500
- To develop customized employment (CE) workshops to educate regional employers about CE and to train two new Customized Employment Specialists to promote CE and foster connections between the disability community and employers in Southwest Colorado.
- Service Area: Southwest Colorado (Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma, and San Juan Counties)
The Arc – Jefferson, Clear Creek & Gilpin Counties – $26,667
- To create and implement a research study to assess the need or interest for a program employing Peer Advocates and generate stakeholder buy-in for this program.
- Service Area: Jefferson, Clear Creek and Gilpin Counties
Arc of Larimer County – $30,729
- To research the value of developing and financially supporting a nonprofit legal services entity designed to serve the specific legal services needs of individuals with IDD in northern/rural Colorado and develop an operational plan to provide these legal services for individuals with IDD.
- Service Area: Larimer County
Developmental FX (DFX) – $37,595
- To create a video to demonstrate the importance of creating truly inclusive classrooms, workplaces, and community gathering spaces; to purchase technology to demonstrate the potential of therapeutic support mobile applications; and to create, publish, and distribute a workbook designed to guide clinicians, parents, and teachers who are working with a child who has Fragile X.
- Service Area: Primarily Denver Metro (Denver, Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Boulder, Douglas, Jefferson), Statewide via telehealth
Hampden Farms – $15,699
- To develop free and accessible digital media inspired by the intersectionality of a disability, race and social/economic disparity. Use storytelling to increase capacity of families and people with IDD to experience inclusion, integration, or opportunities to participate in all aspects of life within the community at-large.
- Service Area: Denver, Statewide (for this project)
Tall Tales Ranch – $20,520
- To determine the feasibility and viability of creating a new workforce development program using feedback from individuals with IDD and parents/caregivers and employers.Tall Tales Ranch will use the results of surveys, questionnaires and interviews to create a business plan for supported employment.
- Service Area: South Metro Denver
Hopkins Education Services – $44,110
- To provide organized, professional resources to support the individualized learning goals of homeschooling families with children with IDD.
- Service Area: Front Range in person, Statewide virtual