By Susan Carter
The Colorado Developmental Disabilities Council is proud to announce our first grant for the FY26 grant cycle! The Council has funded The Traveling Gnomes, an organization that leads travel experiences for adventure seeking people with I/DD. They offer day trips and overnight expeditions, which help to build independence, confidence, and a sense of belonging. These trips also help to open doors to the community and the broader world, which creates a richer human experience.
The grant was awarded to The Traveling Gnomes to help them develop and pilot an inclusive overnight travel model. Once created, this model will be a structured approach to help other organizations start their own travel programs. They will learn how to balance safety and support with autonomy, and how to plan, staff, and implement trips. The project will offer additional training, operational templates, risk management tools, and technical assistance to get new organizations up and running with the model.
A key component of this project will be the inclusion of self-advocates who will form an advisory board. These individuals will make suggestions based on what can make a trip feel fun, while still being safe and meaningful. The advisory board will also help to develop evaluation measures to assess belonging and well-being. They will help guide the project at each stage, to make sure the model reflects lived experience and authentic inclusion.
This project advances Goal Four (Belonging) of the Council’s Five-Year Plan. By building capacity in this area, it will expand community access, strengthen social connections, and create genuine opportunities for Colorado adults with I/DD to fully engage in inclusive community life beyond traditional day programs. To learn more about The Traveling Gnomes, please visit https://www.thetravelinggnomes.org/
