GREELEY, CO (AUG. 27, 2024): The Weld Trust, a grantmaking foundation, continues to evolve in its work and impact for Weld County. In 2021, The Weld Trust constructed a strategic plan to determine the funding priorities they would focus on in health and education. Since 2021, The Weld Trust has awarded strategic grants totaling more than $75 million to promote excellence in health and education for Weld County citizens.
To date, all of the grants awarded, with the exception of one, have been reactive grants meaning that an organization applies for a grant for a specific program or project and The Weld Trust responds to that request.
This year, The Weld Trust established a hybrid model with their grant funding. In addition to awarding responsive grants through Letters of Inquiry grant cycles, The Weld Trust team has started to identify collaborative programs to which they will support through Proactive grants. Proactive grants are a way of identifying a community challenge and assembling the stakeholders to tackle the problem with funding from The Weld Trust and other funders.
The first Proactive grant to be awarded by The Weld Trust is a matching grant up to $100,000 for Colorado Youth Sports Gives Day. This Proactive grant will support youth recreation sports in Weld County. The Daniels Fund is also supporting this program up to $500,000 statewide. For Weld County organizations that sign up for this program, with the dollars they raise, they could qualify for a matching grant from The Weld Trust plus an additional match from the Daniels Fund, therefore potentially tripling their donation.
“The Proactive grants are a new concept for us,” The Weld Trust’s Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Carlson explained. “We are excited to begin supporting programs that are collaborative, innovative and meet an identified need for the community. Colorado Youth Sports Gives Day is our first Proactive grant, and our team has already identified several other projects in which we are considering investing.”
In addition to awarding the Proactive grant in July, The Weld Trust also awarded $2,193,937 in grants through their regular responsive grant cycle, known as Key Funding Initiatives. The grants are awarded to nonprofits, schools and government entities to support Weld County residents.
“This hybrid model of offering both responsive Key Funding Initiative grants as well as Proactive grants better aligns our organization to serve the community,” Carlson stated. “The Weld Trust is constantly looking for ways to improve our grant programs and increase our impact across Weld County.”
To learn more about The Weld Trust’s grant programs, visit: The Weld Trust.
