Meet 18 Leaders Creating a Liberated Future Across Rural Colorado
Introducing 18 Inspirational Women and Nonbinary Executive Directors of Color from Across Rural Colorado
As we enter the third year of the Women & Girls of Color Fund, we are proud to introduce our 2023 rural grantees. The Women & Girls of Color Fund advisory council selected 18 organizations across 13 rural counties to receive $249,500 in unrestricted support.
“I am thrilled that The Women’s Foundation of Colorado sees the value of Black & Brown Youth and the work I created to give our Youth their own time and space to be with their peers in a specific way to support their beings & survive a culture not designed for us.” – PTISAWQUAH (they/them), Youth of Culture Program
While they represent a broad range of populations, issue areas, and strategies, they all have one thing in common: a leader whose experience, passion, and vision are creating a liberated future for all of us. We encourage you to learn more about each of our grantees and how you can support their work below.
Letters of interest for the 2023 Front Range Women & Girls of Color Fund grant cycle are open June 13 through July 13 at 5pm. Visit our website to read FAQ and for the link to submit your LOI through Google Forms.
Action is Safer*
Shannon Robinson
Headquarters: Mesa County
Serving: Mesa, Delta, Montrose, Garfield counties
Action is Safer is a community organization committed to Harm Reduction and fighting systemic oppression. Founded by BIPoC and Queer women based on the principles of solidarity, mutual aid, and autonomous direct action.
Antonito Together
Rene Lobato
Headquarters: Conejos County
Serving: Conejos County
Antonito Together is a non profit health equity community outreach organization.
BMS Foundation
Deana Lemos-Garcia
Headquarters: Weld County
Serving: Weld County
Our mission is to inspire, strengthen, and empower women by providing opportunities for furthering education, engaging in volunteerism, and self and professional development and wellness.
Construyendo Poder*
Wendolyne Omaña
Headquarters: La Plata County
Serving: La Plata, Montezuma, San Juan counties
Together we support resilience practices to heal ourselves and our children through ancestral methods of healing, professional massage therapy, herbalism, acupuncture, yoga therapy, zumba for people with different conditions, workshops with Latinx mental health professionals; among other services related to health and wellness.
El Movimiento Sigue*
Denise Torrez
Headquarters: Pueblo County
Serving: Pueblo County
El Movimiento Sigue (EMS) exists to build power in our community among historically marginalized populations.
Grand Valley Resident Team
Esmerelda Zuniga
Headquarters: Garfield County
Serving: Garfield County
The Grand Valley Resident Team works together to improve the well-being and progress of low-income families in the Colorado River Valley by developing leadership, education, and rights in communities.
Grupo Folklorico De Pueblo
Velma Roybal
Headquarters: Pueblo County
Serving: Pueblo County
The mission of Grupo Folklorico de Pueblo is to educate and perform folk cultural arts emphasizing Southern Colorado’s Latinx Cultural diverse identities while promoting community involvement, preservation of culture, and the emotional and physical development of children, youth, and adults.
Herbal Gardens Wellness*
Nancy Rae Kochis Clark
Headquarters: Custer County
Serving: Statewide
HGW empowers American Indians, Alaska Natives, and other Native individuals who generally experience barriers to holistic, relative-centered, culturally adaptive, and integrative health and wellness services.
Hispanic Women of Weld County*
Brenda Madrid
Headquarters: Weld County
Serving: Weld County
Our organization began as a place for Latina women to celebrate themselves and we continue this by supporting our members as they take on leadership roles in our organization. We strive to be a resource for our community through our workshops, events, and volunteer opportunities.
Integrated Community*
Nelly Navarro
Headquarters: Routt County
Serving: Moffat, Routt counties
Our mission is to assist and support immigrants as they integrate, contribute and maintain their independence in our Northwest Colorado community.
Lamar Unidos
Nancy Diaz
Headquarters: Prowers
Serving: Prowers, Baca, Bent, Otero counties
Lamar Unidos works with the community to tackle issues that are most pressing such as education, economic justice, immigration, financial and tax help, physical health and civic engagement.
Native Love*
Daisy Bluestar
Headquarters: La Plata
Serving: Archuleta, La Plata, Montezuma, San Juan counties
The mission of Native Love is to empower Native youth by provided culturally responsive programming.
San Luis Valley American Indian Center
Ruth Horn
Headquarters: Saguache County
Serving: Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache counties
The San Luis Valley American Indian Center is committed to promoting the health and well-being of American Indians of all tribal nations in the San Luis Valley by positively promoting and strengthening determinants of health through social unity, health equity, cultural education development, and enhancing self-determination by being committed to the preservation of Native/Indigenous culture; and by encouraging mutual understanding and respect between American Indians and non-Indians in the region.
San Luis Valley Immigrant Resource Center*
Flora Archuleta
Headquarters: Alamosa County
Serving: Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache counties
San Luis Valley Immigrant Resource Center is a unique non-profit organization and has been providing immigration legal assistance, advocacy, education, and outreach in the San Luis Valley for the past 22 years to over 2,000 individuals per year, who otherwise would not have access.
Southeast Project Protect Promotora Network
Betty Velasquez
Headquarters: Otero County
Serving: Baca, Bent, Crowley, Kiowa, Otero, Prowers, Pueblo counties
Project Protect Food Systems (PPFS) is a coalition representing immigrants, farmers, scholars, activists, unions, and workers across Colorado working to identify, elevate and address the needs of the people who contribute their labor to all parts of the food system. Over the past two years, the SE Project Protect Promotora Network has focused on farmworker advocacy and food justice with an explicit focus on health equity.
Tu Casa*
Theresa Ortega
Headquarters: Alamosa County
Serving: Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache counties
Tu Casa, Inc. exists to promote safe, healthy, and violence free lives for all people in the San Luis Valley.
Western Colorado Migrant and Rural Coalition
Angeles Mendez
Headquarters: Delta County
Serving: Delta, Garfield, Mesa, Moffat, Montrose, Ouray, Pitkin, Rio Blanco, San Miguel counties
Our organization exists because there is a large number of agriculture workers and sheepherders in the Western Slope. These workers have been neglected in many different areas from healthcare to their very own rights. Our organization fights for these workers for the right to have accessible healthcare as well as knowledge of their rights as human beings.
Youth of Culture Program
PTISAWQUAH
Headquarters: La Plata County
Serving: La Plata County
The Youth of Culture Program exists to create space & time to Youth of Culture (IBOPoC) in schools as well as at the Rainbow Youth Center.
* = Returning grantee
Italics = Executive director serves on the Women & Girls of Color Fund advisory council
