We Direct Resources Where They’re Needed Most

We support academic institutions and government agencies by moving funding quickly into communities and easing administrative burdens that get in the way of effectively working with community members.

We Improve How Large Institutions Work With Communities

We use our expertise in administration and community engagement to help universities, government agencies, and community members work together. Together, we help ensure funding and resource quickly reach the people they are meant to support.

See the Projects We Support

Explore the Funding We’ve Administered

Colorado State Flag hanging in Denver's Larimer Square

Looking for Funding?

Current funding opportunities that we administer will be posted below when available.

Please note that we are not a funder. We administer grants and funding programs on behalf of government agencies, universities, and other partners. Funding comes from our partners, and eligibility and award decisions are determined by the requirements of each program.

How We Help University Partners

Universities and research institutions rely on Trailhead to manage the operational details that make community-engaged research possible. By handling administrative and financial processes, we help researchers and project teams focus on advancing their work and building meaningful community partnerships. We help partners:

Public Health AmeriCorps member Emily Evans sits with fellow program members at a meeting at the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment

  • Administer grants and contracts.

  • Process payments quickly for community members, facilitators, and research participants.

  • Review and manage Requests for Applications (RFAs).

  • Support compliance and financial management requirements.

  • Provide an efficient administrative structure that strengthens trust with community partners.

Current Projects We Support

The Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI) is a collaborative enterprise involving Colorado universities, research organizations, health care organizations, and multiple community organizations. Through many programs and services, the CCTSI provides the infrastructure to help build research teams, speed the development of treatments, and improve human health with the goal of reducing health disparities in the Rocky Mountain Region. Each year the CCTSI awards nearly $250,000 in pilot grants and training awards through the Community Engagement Pilot Grant Program.

  • We manage all the funds that are going into the community for this program and oversee a Community Research Liaison (CRL) Program and a Pilot Grants program.

  • Within the Community Engagement Pilot Grants program, we oversee and review the Requests for Applications (RFA) process to alleviate administrative burdens on the university system to better serve community partners.

The Colorado Community Engagement Alliance Against Health Disparities (CO-CEAL) is a partnership between the CU Anschutz Medical Campus, several community-based organizations, and dozens of trusted local community members. CO-CEAL’s mission is to impact health disparities through active community engagement and outreach, capacity building, and long-lasting community partnerships to improve diversity and inclusion in health research.

  • We ensure all people who are collecting data, taking surveys, participating in Boot Camp and facilitating the processes are paid and engaged.

Heart and lung disease are the leading causes of illness and death in the United States, and the disease burden is unequal across groups defined by race, ethnicity, sex and/or gender, and socioeconomic status. Disparities Elimination through Coordinated Interventions to Prevent and Control Heart and Lung Disease Risk (DECIPHeR) is an initiative to address health disparities in diverse Colorado communities through community, school, and health sector engagement. The overarching goal is to help underserved kids with uncontrolled asthma live healthier lives.

The Mountain West Climate-Health Engagement Hub is a collaborative partnership to promote climate resilience and health equity for rural and urban communities. The project seeks to understand how rural and urban communities in the Mountain West are experiencing climate stressors (drought, air quality, and wildfires) and what current and future actions they envision to build climate resilience and advance health equity.

The project is based at the Colorado School of Public Health and funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Agreement (OT2HL158287) through the Alliance for Community Engagement for Climate and Health.

  • We ensure community members are compensated quickly and efficiently for their work in university-based advisory boards.

Completed Projects

The goal of Research, Engagement and Action on COVID-19 Health Outcomes via Testing (REACH-OUT) is to improve the reach, uptake, and sustainability of COVID-19 testing among four underserved and socially or medically vulnerable populations via a community-based, participatory action research approach. This project was built from the work of both CCTSI and CO-CEAL in the specific area of COVID-19 testing hesitancy.

Colorado’s Health Care Provider Training Grant Program works to improve access to care and health outcomes for underserved and marginalized communities by providing funding to nonprofit organizations, health care providers, and health care associations to develop culturally relevant and affirming trainings for health care providers. All trainings through the Health Care Provider Training Grant program adhere to the national CLAS standards and focus on capacity building, cultural responsiveness, and improvements to the quality of healthcare for underserved and marginalized communities.

  • Trailhead administered the grant program on behalf of the Office of Health Equity and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

In March 2026, we completed our work with the University of Colorado Anschutz on our latest Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) project focused on how to prevent childhood overweight/obesity for Latino children in rural areas.

  • We supported the compensation of community members that attended community meetings, serving as the bridge between the university and community to ensure participants were paid in a timely manner.

In 2013, Trailhead was selected to be the first regional Pipeline Awards Program Office for the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute’s (PCORI) Pipeline to Proposal (P2P) program.

Trailhead successfully closed out PCORI’s P2P program in 2019, sunsetting a multitiered program supporting partnerships made up of patients, community, stakeholders, and researchers working together toward patient-driven research outcomes.

  • As the lead program office, Trailhead built and ran all aspects of the program, overseeing program deliverables while providing technical assistance, training, and coaching to more than 200 awardee partnerships across the country.

How We Help State Agencies

Government agencies trust us to administer funding, manage programs, and support community-centered initiatives. We help agencies:

Diverse group of women hands in stack for teamwork. Women hands in stack for teamwork. Group of businesswomen hands in stack for teamwork. Women team hands in stack for teamwork

  • Move funding efficiently from government programs into communities.

  • Manage grant administration and financial oversight.

  • Coordinate partners across sectors and organizations.

  • Reduce administrative barriers that can slow implementation.

Funding We’ve Administered

In October 2025, Trailhead administered $7 million in emergency funding approved by Governor Polis and the Joint Budget Committee through the Colorado Department of Human Services to respond to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) emergency amid the federal government shutdown. All funds were directed to Feeding Colorado to support food pantries statewide and enable rapid, large-scale food purchasing and distribution.

In 2023, Trailhead administered $785,000 on through the Health Care Provider Training Grant Program for the Office of Health Equity. Over 1,700 health care providers complete 106 training sessions to better serve marginalized communities.

Beginning in March 2020, Trailhead managed the Emergency Hunger Relief Fund in response to urgent food access and nutritional needs that emerged as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. By year-end, Trailhead issued over 400 grants, resulting in approximately $22.5M distributed into local communities.

In 2020, Trailhead administered nearly $2M in funds through The Colorado Farm & Food Systems Respond & Rebuild Fund which was created to support Colorado agriculture producers through COVID-19.

Through partnership, the Colorado Farm & Food Systems Response Team and Trailhead helped more than 250 farmers and families receive aid to keep their businesses thriving.

In 2025, Trailhead administered $94,500 in payments and reimbursements for the Rocky Mountain Public Health Training Center’s Student Leaders in Public Health program. For many years, Trailhead has served on the RM-PHTC’s Student Leaders in Public Health Application Review Committee and participates in RM-PHTC’s bimonthly executive committee meetings.

Have a Question?

Email us to discuss how we can support your work.