A Living, Breathing Example of Regeneration
From our metaphorical trailhead, there are an endless number of pathways that stretch towards our vision of a Colorado where all people have the opportunity to be healthy and live in a healthy environment. As a public health institute, we actively support our partners in blazing their own trail and creating strategic, sustainable, community-based solutions to the issues they face. This is the work of our Administrative Partnership Program (APP). By re-envisioning our role as a fiscal sponsor that actively informs decision making, empowers partners with resources to remain mission-focused and serves as an advocate and mediator between funders and key stakeholders, we are evolving the APP program as a pathway for collaboration and capacity building in public health. Through this growth, Trailhead is building an accessible network of statewide partners that span from systems-level organizations to grassroots movements addressing diverse health needs across Colorado with potential for collaboration that stretches far beyond operational and financial supports.
As we continue to imagine the impact that is possible of our Administrative Partnership Program, it is an honor to share that Trailhead has received a $200,000 grant from The Colorado Health Foundation through the ‘Enhancement and Building on Community Opportunities for Organizations’ project. This significant funding will enable us to increase the number of partners that we support through our core services while also expanding our existing services to ensure ready support for community initiatives, growing organizations and grassroots movements from their inception to fruition.
Trailhead’s APP program relies on intentional partner recruitment. We see what’s possible for public health when we embrace the principles of regeneration – whole communities working together to bring forth innovation, individual and collective strength, and uphold work that supports health, healing and justice for all. We are filled with gratitude for the investment and support of funders like The Colorado Health Foundation who share our vision of advancing health equity in Colorado.
This post originated from our July newsletter. You can stay up to date on news from Trailhead and our partners by becoming a subscriber here.
Trailhead’s Administrative Partnership Program
Our Role
Trailhead serves as a premier fiscal and administrative partner developing independence and skills for groups and organizations addressing community challenges.
What We Do
APP provides operational and financial supports while working with partners to inform decision making, strategically align goals and actions and serve as a mentor to partners and an advocate and mediator between funders and key stakeholders.
Who We Work With
APP invests resources into start-ups and projects with incredible promise for transforming community health, regardless of whether they have existing funding, in order to provide them with an opportunity to grow and flourish. This includes grassroots coalitions, established 501c3s, individuals and collaboratives.
The Impact
Trailhead works hard to earn the trust of funders. As a result, our partners have been able to utilize higher levels of funding than ever before while remaining focused on their mission. As Trailhead has scaled the APP program to support 35 partners operating across Colorado, we have evolved our services to understand how we can equitably serve and provide for a diverse collection of partners. As we grow, we continue to explore how we are pushing our systems and structures in such a way that we are able to respond to all partners in order to meet the needs of communities. As a result, the services we provide and aim to expand provide partners with the ability to have increased capacity, capability and power within the communities and populations they serve, especially among those that have historically had less power and privilege.