News Article

Together We Protect Vaccine Equity Fund Awards

April 8, 2021

Colorado Funders Grant $2.51 Million to Support Vaccine Equity

Second round applications now being accepted.

(Denver, CO) – With access to the COVID-19 vaccine now available to all Colorado residents 16 years of age and older, $2.51 million in grants was announced today to ensure access to the vaccine for Coloradans who face barriers to this critical health care service due to race and/or their socioeconomic status. The grants were made by Together We Protect, a partnership of Immunize Colorado, Colorado Vaccine Equity Taskforce, and 12 Colorado funders (listed below) that came together to create Colorado’s COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Fund.

Organizations may continue to apply for a second round of funding from Together We Protect, with applications accepted until 5 pm on April 28, 2021. Learn about applying for this funding opportunity.

Forty-eight community-based nonprofit organizations, health clinics, and mental health centers were awarded first-round grants, ranging from $10,000 to $100,000, to provide outreach, education and vaccine access in communities disproportionally impacted by COVID-19. Black, Latino, and Native Americans have all experienced rates of infection, hospitalization, and death that far exceed their proportion of the population. Access to COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination rates for both COVID-19 and other vaccines in these communities lag behind those for white Coloradans.

“With deep roots in the communities they serve and a history of providing culturally responsive and trusted information and services, these organizations are uniquely positioned to increase COVID-19 vaccine confidence and increase vaccination rates,” said Linda Reiner, president and CEO, Caring for Colorado Foundation, which is coordinating the fund. “We need to do all that we can to get people vaccinated both quickly and equitably.”

In addition to grants to support vaccine confidence and access, Together We Protect is also partnering with Uber to distribute 21,000 free and discounted rides to Coloradans to reduce transportation barriers to accessing to a Covid-19 vaccine.

See a listing of all grantees here. Examples of organizations receiving grants include:

  • KSUT Tribal Radio and Four Corners Public Radio will work to increase confidence in the vaccine among Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribal members and other members of Southwest Colorado by airing information about vaccine access and the safety and efficacy of getting vaccinated.
  • Adelante Community Development will deploy “vaccine registrars” to personally talk with and register Spanish-speaking Latinos in Adams, Arapahoe, Douglas, and Weld counties for the vaccine.
  • The Mobile Intercultural Resource Alliance’s 40-foot RV bus, retrofitted with medical supplies and snow tires, will travel to Spanish-speaking neighborhoods in the Eagle River Valley and El Jebel/Basalt to provide COVID testing and vaccinations.
  • The Center for African American Health will communicate culturally-relevant information to Black/African Americans in metro-Denver and metro-Colorado Springs to increase confidence in the vaccine, and will host vaccination events, providing transportation and other types of support to help reduce barriers.

Organizations interested in this effort and applicant eligibility requirements can watch a recorded informational webinar and visit https://caringforcolorado.org/together-we-protect/ to learn more. Applications are being accepted until 5 pm on April 28, 2021.

Together We Protect, Colorado’s COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Fund, supports organizations working in communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19 to ensure that people who face systemic barriers have the most appropriate and accessible information about the COVID-19 vaccine and can access the vaccine through low-barrier opportunities. Together We Protect is a partnership of Immunize Colorado, Colorado Vaccine Equity Taskforce, and these Colorado funders: