Steadfast Visions, Nimble Approaches
WFCO Awards $450,000 in Unrestricted Funding to 27 Leaders, With 12 Receiving First-Time Grants
One of the first questions we ask Women & Girls of Color Fund applicants is “What do you want us to know about your work?” It’s a simple question, but it never fails to illustrate how women and nonbinary leaders of color approach their missions with exceptionally responsive and intersectional strategies.
Latina SafeHouse, a 2022 and 2023 Women & Girls of Color Fund grantee, provides bilingual and culturally sensitive services to Latiné survivors of domestic violence and their children. Since the start of the pandemic, the need for their work has grown alongside the increased number and severity of domestic violence cases.
Rising to meet the need, Executive Director Angela Ceseña led the organization to focus on collective healing and adopted a housing-first model.
“Healing is a lifelong journey, and it starts with safe and secure housing at its core. We provide support and resources for Latina women and girls to have safe and stable housing, employment, food, and basic necessities to then be able to prioritize physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.”
-Angela Ceseña, Latina SafeHouse
As they were completing their application for the 2023 cycle, Latina SafeHouse was mobilizing to meet another urgent need as one of the key organizations supporting newly-arrived migrant women and children during the recent influx of Venezuelan migrants to the Denver area.
Whatever it looks like, when her community has a need, Angela responds.
Like Angela and Latina SafeHouse, all of our 2023 Women & Girls of Color Fund grantee partners are working tirelessly alongside their communities to create a better future for Colorado women, girls, and gender expansive people of color. We are proud to invest in these incredible organizations and we invite you to meet them below.
Meet the Grantees
Adam’s Purpose*
Shay Jacobs
Headquarters: Denver County
Serving: Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, and Jefferson counties
Adam’s Purpose provides help, hope, and healing for the Black community impacted by loss through acknowledging the need for normalizing grief recovery through awareness, education, and access to culturally responsive support services. Our aim is to make peer and professional grief support relevant and accessible to Black families in urban communities.
Asian Girls Ignite
Joanne Liu
Headquarters: Denver County
Serving: Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, El Paso, and Jefferson counties
Asian Girls Ignite builds a strong community of Asian American and Pacific Islander girls and women to celebrate their individual and collective power through shared stories.
Casa de Paz*
Andrea Loya
Headquarters: Arapahoe County
Serving: Adams, Arapahoe, and Denver counties and communities statewide
Casa de Paz reunites families separated by ICE, one simple act of love at a time.
Collaborative Healing Initiative within Communities*
Sadé Cooper
Headquarters: Arapahoe County
Serving: Adams, Arapahoe, and Denver counties
CHIC builds women’s economic, social, and cultural capital because powerful women build healthy families and thriving communities.
Colorado Black Women Education Fund
Bianka Emerson
Headquarters: Denver County
Serving: Statewide
Colorado Black Women Education Fund encourages African-American participation in the political process and serves as a political advocate for black women throughout Colorado.
Colorado Dragon Boat
Sara Moore
Headquarters: Jefferson County
Serving: Statewide
Colorado Dragon Boat builds bridges of awareness, knowledge, and understanding between the diverse Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities and the general public through cultural education, leadership development, and athletic competition.
Colorado Jobs with Justice
Sofia Solano
Headquarters: Denver County
Serving: Adams, Arapahoe, and Denver counties
Colorado Jobs with Justice is a long-term, formal coalition of labor, community, faith, and student and youth organizations that come together to advance workers’ rights and social justice through building sustained relationships and taking direct action to create concrete change in the lives of working families.
Compound of Compassion*
Shana Shaw
Headquarters: Arapahoe County
Serving: Adams, Arapahoe, Denver, and Douglas counties
The Compound of Compassion provides a safe place of healing for youth, young adults, veterans and seniors.
Convivir Colorado
Tania Chairez
Headquarters: Denver County
Serving: Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, and Denver counties
Convivir supports youth impacted by migration as they find power in their migrant experience and use it to enrich themselves and their Colorado communities.
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Denver Alumnae Chapter
Janice Satchell
Headquarters: Denver County
Serving: Adams, Arapahoe, Denver, and Douglas counties
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated is an organization of college educated women committed to the constructive development of its members and to public service with a primary focus on the Black community.
El Grupo Vida
Elisa Aucancela
Headquarters: Denver County
Serving: Statewide
El Grupo Vida empowers immigrants with disabilities and their families with information, training, and direct advocacy to help them become more self-sufficient and give our community a voice, raising awareness about our rights.
First-Gen Near-Peer Mentoring Project
Maira Oliva Hernandez
Headquarters: Larimer County
Serving: Larimer County
First Generation Near Peer Mentoring PROJECT fosters a cycle of academic and socioemotional support for Spanish-speaking students in local K-12 schools by pairing 55+ mentors and mentees who share similar experiences and backgrounds in partnership with the Colorado State University Access Center.
Food to Power*
Patience Kabwasa
Headquarters: El Paso County
Serving: El Paso County
Food to Power cultivates a healthy and equitable food system in Colorado Springs. FTP envisions a world in which communities heal and thrive in relationship with food, land, and each other.
Fortaleza Familiar*
Mimi Madrid
Headquarters: Denver County
Serving: Adams, Arapahoe, Denver, and Jefferson counties
Fortaleza Familiar is dedicated to the wellness of Indigenous Chicanx Latinx Lesbian Gay Bi Queer Trans Two-Spirit young people and their families in Colorado.
Greater Purpose Media*
Summer Nettles
Headquarters: Denver County
Serving: Statewide
Greater Purpose Media is where stories that matter come to be told.
Haseya Advocate Program
Victoria Ybanez
Headquarters: El Paso County
Serving: El Paso County
Haseya works to ensure Native survivors of domestic and sexual violence have access to everything they need to live healthy, safe, and peaceful lives.
Latina SafeHouse*
Angela Ceseña
Headquarters: Denver County
Serving: Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson counties
Latina SafeHouse provides bilingual and culturally sensitive services to Latiné survivors of domestic violence and their children.
Mama Bird Doula Services*
Birdie Johnson
Headquarters: Arapahoe County
Serving: Adams, Arapahoe, Denver, and Jefferson counties
Mama Bird Doula Services improves the outcomes for Black maternal health and their babies in our community by ensuring that all birthing persons and their families feel Safe, Seen, and Heard through high-quality, compassionate, and culturally responsive care.
Promotores De Esperanza
Rica Rodriguez-Hernandez
Headquarters: Denver County
Serving: Adams, Arapahoe, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson counties
We strive to promote racial/ethnic health equity through the provision of culturally and linguistically competent services designed to minimize barriers for people of color in our communities.
QueenShipp*
Tanaka Shipp
Headquarters: Arapahoe County
Serving: Arapahoe and Denver counties
QueenShipp empowers all young people – including queer, trans, and non-binary students – through a holistic approach that includes leadership development, mentorship and community engagement to develop emotionally intelligent and civically minded leaders who contribute to their families and greater communities.
RISE 5280*
Michelyn Johnson
Headquarters: Denver County
Serving: Arapahoe and Denver counties
RISE 5280 provides equitable opportunities to close educational attainment gaps and promote fiscal and social mobility for Black and Brown youth.
Roshni
Deepali Lindblom
Headquarters: Adams County
Serving: Adams, Arapahoe, and Denver counties
Roshni believes that everyone deserves access to art and to harness its powers to be Uplifted, Healed and Inspired.
S.A.C.R.Ed Eco-Center (Seeding Ancestral Community Relationships Education)
Benu Amun-Ra
Headquarters: Arapahoe County
Serving: Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, El Paso, and Larimer counties
To hold space for decolonizing healing through ancestral knowledge, re-indigenization, and medicinal ecology while supporting our communities in advocacy and education
Ujyalo Foundation*
Amuda Mishra
Headquarters: Arapahoe County
Serving: Statewide
Ujyalo Foundation is a feminist organization led by South Asian women focused on enhancing the leadership capacity of women, girls, and nonbinary folks in decision-making roles. We believe in building societies and communities where women, girls and nonbinary folks of color especially from South Asia (which includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka) have meaningful participation and dignified representation.
United for a New Economy*
Carmen Medrano
Headquarters: Adams County
Serving: Statewide, Adams, Arapahoe, and Jefferson counties
United for a New Economy works to reimagine and rebuild our institutions, economy, and society by building a membership of low-income people, led by people of color and immigrants.
Youth Empowerment Agency*
Debra Locke
Headquarters: Denver County
Serving: Adams, Arapahoe, and Denver counties
Youth Empowerment Agency provides opportunities to youth in communities with barriers to resources to guide healthy lifestyle development, including mental health support, financial literacy, social and emotional support, physical opportunities, and stable living.
Youth Seen*
Tara Jae
Headquarters: Denver County
Serving: Adams, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, El Paso, Jefferson, and Weld counties
Youth Seen fosters and empowers the social and emotional well-being of LGBTQI youth and their families in all communities.
* indicates a returning grantee
Italics indicates a conflict of interest with a Women & Girls of Color Fund advisory council member. Advisory council members who have conflicts of interest with applicants recuse themselves from any conversation about or decision making on the organization’s application.
