The Colorado Health Foundation was created in the late 1990s. The left-leaning organization focuses on providing access to primary health care, behavioral health resources, food, affordable housing, and physical activity for children. The Colorado Health Foundation has more than $3 billion in assets and awarded more than $113 million in grants in 2021, with a number of those grants supporting left-leaning causes such as the Colorado People’s Alliance, a left-of-center organizing coalition, and Everytown For Gun Safety Support Fund, a gun-control advocacy group.

History

The Colorado Health Foundation (CHF) began in the late 1990s under the name HealthONE Alliance. The organization was created as a result of a joint venture between HealthONE, a nonprofit hospital system, and Hospital Corporation of America. In 2006, HealthONE rebranded to become the Colorado Health Foundation, aiming to make Colorado the healthiest state in the nation. ¹

In 2011, the organization sold its equity stake in HCA-HealthONE for $1.45 billion, after which the organization’s assets grew to more than $2 billion. ²

Activities

The organization has a handful of focus areas including “Maintain Healthy Bodies,” “Nurture Healthy Minds,” “Strengthen Community Health,” and “Champion Health Equity.” ³ The Maintain Healthy Bodies program encourages physical activity for children and access to primary healthcare ⁴ while Nurture Healthy Minds programming provides various behavioral health resources. ⁵ The Strengthen Community Health focus area promotes increased access to food and affordable housing  ⁶ and the Champion Health Equity program focuses on helping organizations and individuals develop advocacy skills. ⁷ The organization engages with communities through investing and policy advocacy. ⁸

CHF awards grants to various organizations across the state. In 2023, FirstBank received a $1 million grant from the organization to continue funding the Providing Access to Homeownership (PATH) grant program providing $10,000 to minority individuals to purchase a home. ⁹ In 2022, CHF awarded a $1.7 million grant between University of Colorado College of Nursing at Anschutz Medical Campus and Fort Lewis College to create a four-year undergraduate degree in nursing to increase the healthcare workforce in rural and tribal communities in the state. ¹⁰

Support for Left-Leaning Advocacy

The organization consistently awards grants to left-leaning organizations throughout Colorado. In 2021, the organization awarded more than $113 million in total grants, ¹¹ including grants to left-leaning groups such as the Access Fund ($5,400); the Alliance for Global Justice ($157,040); the Bell Policy Center ($294,308); the Chinook Fund ($402,700); the Colorado Center on Law and Policy ($459,832); the Colorado Fiscal Institute ($100,000); the Colorado People’s Alliance (over $1 million); the Everytown For Gun Safety Support Fund ($5,000); the First Nations Development Institute ($1.6 million); and the One Colorado Education Fund ($358,485). ¹²

In 2020, CHF awarded over $120 million in total grants, including those to left-of-center organizations such as the ACLU of Colorado Foundation ($130,200); the Alliance for Global Justice ($214,900); the Bell Policy Center ($266,756); the Chinook Fund ($438,500); the Colorado Center on Law and Policy ($544,928); the Colorado Civic Engagement Roundtable ($170,000); the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition ($227,200); the Colorado Fiscal Institute ($100,000); the Colorado People’s Alliance ($457,000); the Council for a Strong America ($112,500); and the New Era Colorado Foundation ($50,000). ¹³

Leadership

Karen McNeil-Miller has been the President and CEO of the CHF since 2015. Before joining the Colorado Health Foundation, McNeil-Miller was the president of a private foundation in North Carolina and, previously, worked at the Center for Creative Leadership, a leadership development organization. She sits on the board of the Association of Black Foundation Executives, Campbell University, Center for Creative Leadership, Denver Academy, and Healthier Generation. She earned a bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro as well as a doctorate from Vanderbilt University. ¹⁴

Tommy Barnhart, president of Ten Mile Enterprises LLC, and Ross Brooks, CEO of the Mountain Family Health Centers, are the board chairs. Other board members include Cedric Buchanon, Denver market president at 5Star Bank; Dawn Davenport, an executive at Mental Health Center of Denver; and Oswaldo Grenardo, an executive at Centura Health. ¹⁵

1. “History.” The Colorado Health Foundation. Accessed July 29, 2023. https://coloradohealth.org/about-us/history.
2. “History.” The Colorado Health Foundation. Accessed July 29, 2023. https://coloradohealth.org/about-us/history.
3. “Focus Areas.” The Colorado Health Foundation. Accessed July 29, 2023. https://coloradohealth.org/focus-areas.
4. “Focus Area: Maintain Healthy Bodies.” The Colorado Health Foundation, January 18, 2018. https://coloradohealth.org/focus-area-maintain-healthy-bodies.
5. “Focus Area: Nurture Healthy Minds.” The Colorado Health Foundation, April 26, 2017. https://coloradohealth.org/focus-area-nurture-healthy-minds.
6. “Focus Area: Strengthen Community Health.” The Colorado Health Foundation, May 2, 2017. https://coloradohealth.org/focus-area-strengthen-community-health.
7.  “Focus Area: Champion Health Equity.” The Colorado Health Foundation, March 23, 2017. https://coloradohealth.org/focus-area-champion-health-equity.
8. “Focus Area: Maintain Healthy Bodies.” The Colorado Health Foundation, January 18, 2018. https://coloradohealth.org/focus-area-maintain-healthy-bodies.
9. “FirstBank Awarded $1 Million from the Colorado Health Foundation to Fund Mortgage Assistance Program for Colorado’s Black and African American Communities.” GlobeNewswire News Room, May 30, 2023. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2023/05/30/2678561/0/en/FirstBank-Awarded-1-Million-from-The-Colorado-Health-Foundation-to-Fund-Mortgage-Assistance-Program-for-Colorado-s-Black-and-African-American-Communities.html.
10. Mook, Bob. “Urban-Rural Partnership Receives $1.7m Grant from Colorado Health Foundation.” CU Anschutz Newsroom, August 16, 2022. https://news.cuanschutz.edu/nursing/urban-rural-partnership-receives-grant-from-chf.
11. “2021 Spending Payout per Form 990-PF – Coloradohealth.Org.” Colorado Health Foundation. Accessed July 29, 2023. https://coloradohealth.org/sites/default/files/documents/2022-10/2021_SpendingPayout.pdf.
12. Colorado Health Foundation, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2021.
13. Colorado Health Foundation, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2020.
14. “Karen McNeil-Miller.” The Colorado Health Foundation. Accessed July 29, 2023. https://coloradohealth.org/people/karen-mcneil-miller.
15. “Who We Are.” The Colorado Health Foundation. Accessed July 29, 2023. https://coloradohealth.org/about-us/who-we-are.