Featured in this Newsletter
- $550K awarded to policy and advocacy organizations to advance reproductive health equity
- Welcoming three new members to Caring for Colorado’s Board of Directors
- Celebrating our departing board members’ contributions
$550K awarded to policy and advocacy organizations to advance reproductive health equity
Caring for Colorado’s multi-year initiative, ReproCollab, recently awarded $550,000 to 11 policy and advocacy organizations in its Lead and Advocate for Reproductive Equity grantmaking strategy. These awards support leadership development, policy implementation, and coalition building for grassroots and grasstops organizations working to improve state and local public policies for reproductive health and rights and to address regulatory barriers to reproductive health services. Using the tools of community engagement and mobilization, legal support, policy implementation, and communication campaigns, these organizations are working to ensure that everyone in Colorado, especially those facing barriers to care, can access reproductive healthcare and education. Review a list of the Lead and Advocate for Reproductive Equity grantees.
ReproCollab is supported by The Colorado Health Foundation, The Colorado Trust, Craig-Scheckman Family Foundation, Colorado Gives Foundation, Rose Community Foundation, the Chambers Initiative, and Caring for Colorado.
Welcoming three new members to Caring for Colorado’s Board of Directors
A warm welcome to our newest board members, Steven Federico, Will Hays, and Landon Mascareñaz.
We asked our new board members to comment on the question,
“What does giving done right mean to you?” This comes from a national conversation started by the Center for Effective Philanthropy. Follow us on LinkedIn to hear from board members throughout the year!
Steven Federico, MD, is the Chief Government and Community Affairs Officer at Denver Health and a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. His passion for equitable healthcare is fueled by his ongoing experiences as a pediatrician at Denver Health, a hospital and community health system that serves more than 150,000 people every year. In his prior role as the Director of General Pediatrics at Denver Health, he oversaw three community health centers and 19 school-based clinics that provide comprehensive physical and mental healthcare to 70,000 children across Denver. Federico’s advocacy work has focused on eliminating the barriers to health coverage and care faced by children and families in Colorado. He has been appointed to various child health task force groups by Governors and Lt. Governors of Colorado and previously served on the Mayor’s Children’s Cabinet for the City and County of Denver.
“Giving done right means investing in our communities in a manner that empowers sustainable change. I am excited to join the board to learn about effective philanthropy from the giving side of things. I have been a healthcare provider in Denver for 25 years. I have been a part of various teams who have benefited greatly from philanthropy to build systems of care for children and adolescents. I have been fascinated to learn how philanthropy can drive policy, health, and change and the community level.”
Will Hays, MSSW, has over 30 years of experience working in the mental health and human service fields. He is currently the President of Hilltop Community Resources, Inc., a nonprofit that provides comprehensive human services in Western Colorado, with a focus on Mesa, Delta and Montrose counties. His passion for the work lies in connecting people with the support they need to create opportunities they may have never imagined for themselves and their families. Hayes has a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Religion, and Social Science and a Master of Science in Social Work. He is a current board member of the Colorado Mesa University Foundation and was appointed by Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Council in 2012 and appointed its Chair in 2015. Will is proud to call Grand Junction home for over 30 years.
“I believe that foundations should partner with providers to achieve mutual outcomes. Giving done right focuses on outcomes and doesn’t dictate how those outcomes are achieved. The only involvement a foundation should have in how outcomes are achieved should be related to ensuring that services are delivered in a way that aligns with the values of the foundation and the recipient organization.”
Landon Mascareñaz, EdLD, is an educator, writer, and democracy builder living in Denver. He is the co-founder of the Open Systems Institute, a nonprofit organization promoting an “open systems” education model where schools actively engage with their communities in decision-making processes to co-create policies and improve outcomes. He advises The Colorado Project and Denver Democracy Summit, promotes democracy redesign through ranked choice voting as co-chair of Denver Deserves Democracy, and expands economic opportunity in southern Colorado by adapting the award-winning Emergency Campus initiative to Trinidad. He is also a founding leader of The Cornerstone Project, working to upgrade democracy infrastructure in education races across the country. Mascareñaz is currently the elected chair of the Colorado State Board for Community Colleges & Occupation Education, appointed by Colorado Governor Jared Polis. He also serves as chair of the Reisher Scholars Program.
“Giving done right is a dynamic, open conversation between all those involved that sparks genuine co-creation. If done right, what can be generated will be an endeavor where both the investment and opportunity is greater than any one individual or idea would have done on their own. This responsiveness goes at the heart of how we must redesign our systems, which means philanthropy can lead the way by ensuring openness is at the center.”
Celebrating our departing board members’ contributions
A special thank you to departing board members, Dr. Patricia Braun, David Henninger, and Phyllis Sanchez. Braun and Henninger both served as board chairs during their tenure on the Caring for Colorado Board of Directors, leading the organization through significant changes including COVID-19 response and the development of a new 10-year strategic direction for the organization. Henninger and Sanchez remain on the Caring for Colorado Centennial Fund Board of Directors. We are grateful for their vision and leadership as we work to advance health and well-being for young people and their families throughout the state.