The Impact Fund Grant Program

GRANT FUNDING

In 2018, voters approved a 20-year ballot initiative to commit funding for behavioral health purposes in Larimer County. For every $100 spent in the county, 25 cents goes toward increasing access to affordable behavioral health care through three funding pathways: a behavioral health facility, the Impact Fund Grant Program, and the Bridge Fund (future initiative).

The Impact Fund Grant Program was created to invest funds each year to enrich community-based behavioral health services. Over the course of the 20-year sales tax initiative, the Impact Fund will have invested millions of dollars into local behavioral health community programming with a commitment to the following funding priorities:  

Types of Grant Funding: Impact Fund grants are restricted to funding programs/projects that address the behavioral health needs of Larimer County community members. BHS currently funds organizations through two types of grants: Targeted Grants and Responsive Grants.

Timeline: The application window is from June 1 through 5:00 pm on Friday, June 30. The review and evaluation process occurs in July/August. Final grant awards are approved by the Board of County Commissioners and officially announced in September.

Award Amounts: Program/Project support grants generally range from $10,000 to $150,000.  Requests up to the maximum of $250,000 are considered. 

Period of Performance: 12 months 

RESULTS-BASED ACCOUNTABILITY

BHS is embarking on a new data-oriented framework called Results-Based Accountability (RBA) which originated in the field of social services. RBA is designed to turn data into action and affect trends and improve life in communities. 

The RBA framework is being piloted through the grant program with engagement among community partners, and incorporated into other BHS departmental initiatives for Phase II of the behavioral health initiative (2024-2028). This year, RBA was used by our advisory groups to refine the targeted grant areas and identify appropriate strategies for each. 

We will continue to incorporate RBA to supplement our community-informed work and help “Turn the Curve” on behavioral health needs in Larimer County.

ADVISORY GROUPS

BHS utilizes community-informed, decision-making to determine the areas of focus that make up our Targeted Grants by relying on the input of its three advisory groups.