The Weld Trust has awarded nearly $1.3 million in grants in the areas of workforce development and behavioral health. The mission of The Weld Trust is to promote excellence in health and education in Weld County. As part of these two Key Funding Initiatives, they awarded twenty grants to nonprofits and schools throughout Weld County.
The workforce development grants were awarded to ten Weld County school districts and nonprofits totaling more than $510,000. These grants will assist future workers with finding a great career fit, as well as helping employers develop and access resources for training programs, which will ultimately help address worker shortages.
All the workforce development grants this cycle went to support career pathways across the full spectrum of K-12 students, young adults, and adults. The grants awarded for K-12 and young adult programs made up 55% of the workforce development grants. These grants were awarded to assist with career exploration for high school youth and post-secondary young adults through internships, job shadowing, apprenticeships, mentorships, and certifications.
The Weld Trust also awarded career pathway grants for adults to re-skill and up-skill for employment opportunities, which consisted of the remaining 45% of the workforce development grants. Several of the programs are designed for specific populations including immigrants, veterans, and justice-involved adults. The re-skilling and up-skilling services also assist with resume writing workshops, interview preparation, assistance with job searches, and job training.
In addition to The Weld Trust’s workforce development grants, they also awarded behavioral health grants amounting to more than $775,000 to ten nonprofit organizations to assist Weld County families and individuals. The grants will serve four areas within behavioral health: direct intervention and prevention services, social emotional learning campaigns to increase mental health awareness, and continued education and training for specialists to deliver services.
Nearly 55% of The Weld Trust’s behavioral health grants will support activities and services for families, adults, and youth through support groups, prevention programs, school interventions, and telehealth. These grants will assist with both crisis intervention resources as well as promote mental wellness.
The social emotional learning grants comprised of approximately 20% of the behavioral health grants. These grants are geared toward children, ages K-12, offering evidence-based approaches to help these youth thrive both in school and the community.
To help address the stigma around behavioral health, The Weld Trust also awarded nearly 15% of its grants to promote awareness of mental health issues and ways to access services.
The fourth area within behavioral health that The Weld Trust awarded grants is to assist with the significant shortage of mental health specialists in Weld County. Over 10% percent of the behavioral health grants will help individuals with the necessary credentialing to serve youth and diverse populations with their mental health needs.
Workforce development and behavioral health are two of The Weld Trust’s seven Key Funding Initiatives. In 2021, they awarded more than $10.2 million in grants. The grants were awarded to the following organizations:
| Workforce Development | Behavioral Health |
| Greeley Dream Team | A Woman’s Place |
| Immigrant and Refugee Center of Northern Colorado | Aims Community College |
| Jobs of Hope | Centennial Area Health Education Center |
| Northern Colorado Veterans Resource Center | Community Grief Center |
| St. Vrain Valley School District RE-1J | Dementia Together |
| Success Foundation Serving Greeley-Evans Schools | Griffith Centers for Children |
| Sunrise Community Health | Life Stories Child & Family Advocacy |
| United Way of Weld County | North Range Behavioral Health |
| Weld County School District RE-3J | Soccer Without Borders |
| Weld County School District RE-5J | Success Foundation Serving Greeley-Evans Schools |
