Communities Lead, Communities Thrive
BRIC serves as a vehicle to amplify
the voice of community members, often
unheard around social issues and policies directly affecting them.
BRIC IS A PROUD MEMBER OF:
House Bill 1356 will provide grants up to $100,000 to at least 350 organizations
The BRIC Fund is a founding member of the Communities Lead, Communities Thrive (CLCT) Steering Committee, a coalition of small Colorado nonprofits that serve Black, Indigenous, Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islanders, LGBTQ+, and rural communities. As Colorado strives to ensure equitable recovery from the pandemic, the coalition came together to ensure that nonprofits and the communities they serve were not left behind.
Outcomes/
Achievements
In early 2022, CLCT proposed Colorado House Bill 22-1356, which requested $35 million of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to provide infrastructure grants for smaller nonprofits that provide culturally appropriate and relevant services and resources to families and communities. But also, those organizations that have been historically underrepresented, underfunded, under-resourced, and continue to struggle with pandemic recovery.
HB 22-1356 - the Small Community-based Nonprofit Grant Program Bill - was passed by the Colorado Legislature and signed by Gov. Jared Polis on June 3, 2022.
This bill awards grant funds directly to the organizations best equipped to identify and generate community-led and culturally responsive solutions to address their specific needs.
Grants scheduled to be distributed in the first quarter of 2023.
“It’s an opportunity for the state of Colorado not only to say that we are promoting equity, but we are putting in practice equity in the way we are doing better investments for small nonprofits.” ~ Ricardo Perez, CLCT Member and executive director, Hispanic Affairs Project