Upcoming Winter/Spring 2026 Funding Opportunity
CSHF’s Winter/Spring 2026 Funding Opportunity will open on November 3, 2025 (tentative). It is available to Pikes Peak region tax-exempt and tax-supported organizations doing work in three of our six funding focus areas: (1) Healthcare access; (2) Suicide prevention; and (3) Trauma prevention or healing.
Here is the funding cycle timeline:
- Nov. 3, 2025 (tentative): Opportunity released and application available.
- Nov. 3, 2025 – Jan. 16, 2026 (tentative): Pre-application phone calls open. This is a required step in our process for any interested organization.
- Jan. 16, 2026 (tentative): Pre-application phone calls deadline.
- Jan. 27, 2026, noon MT (tentative): Application deadline. No exceptions.
- Late March 2026 (tentative): Grant decisions communicated to applicants.
CSHF will email its distribution list when the opportunity is open. If you’re not signed up for our distribution list, go to our website homepage, www.cshf.net, and scroll to the bottom right corner to input your email address.
Summer/Fall 2025 Funding Cycle: A Summary
In mid-September, Colorado Springs Health Foundation’s Board of Trustees awarded 40 grants totaling $3.5M. These grants relate to three of our six focus areas: food, physical activity and transitional or affordable housing. Here are some data on the applications and grant awards:
- Total applications: 59
- Total grant awards: 40 (68% award rate)
- Grant awards ranged from $3,000 to $500,000
- % of grants awarded by funding focus area:
- 32% Transitional or affordable housing
- 32% Food
- 36% Physical activity
- % of grants awarded by grant type:
- 73% Program
- 22% General operating
- 5% Capital
Community Reviewer Program
CSHF’s Community Reviewer model is now in its fifth cycle. Community Reviewers enhance the grantmaking process by incorporating diverse perspectives and insights that reflect the true needs and priorities of the community we serve. This Community Review process, adapted from a similar approach at Caring for Denver Foundation, asks local experts to review a subset of grant applications and provide staff and board with thoughts about application strengths, challenges, and key questions. Big gratitude goes to our four reviewers for the Summer/Fall 2025 Funding Cycle. We will engage a new group of Community Reviewers for the Winter/Spring 2026 Funding Cycle.
If you would like to participate as a community reviewer, recommend someone for the role, or learn more about the process, please reach out to Jamie Brown by emailing [email protected].
Trustee Reappointments
The Colorado Springs City Council recently reappointed two current trustees to CSHF’s board: Mary Coleman and Jim Johnson effective Jan. 1, 2026. We are grateful for their continued interest and willingness to serve.
As background, the Mayor of Colorado Springs is responsible for nominating trustee candidates to the Colorado Springs City Council, which makes the final appointment decisions. Each trustee term is three years and trustees may serve up to three, three-year terms.
Recent Learning Session
CSHF hosted a learning session, “2024 El Paso County Coroner’s Annual Report” presented by Dr. Emily Russell-Kinsley, El Paso County Coroner. This was an in-person session held at the El Paso County Citizens Service Center. You can find the report here.
The report revealed several encouraging trends:
- We observed an approximately 17% decrease in all accidental deaths and a 27% reduction in accidental drug overdose deaths. Fentanyl deaths, in particular, diminished by 44% from the prior year. However, methamphetamine exhibited a resurgence with a 7% increase from 2023.
- Suicides in our community decreased roughly 18% in 2024, and suicidal deaths among minors dropped by 60%.
- While these one-year figures are a welcome indicator of progress, suicide statistics are subject to volatility and may or may not reflect a downward trend.
- Drug-related fatalities in our unhoused population decreased 37%, and the number of deaths requiring autopsies fell by 25% for this group.
CSHF’s Learning Sessions are free and open to the public.
Access to Services in the Pikes Peak Region
CSHF recently completed an access to services study aimed at better understanding how our funded partners currently meet the diverse access needs in the Pikes Peak region. The primary goals were to understand local nonprofit sector access-related strengths and challenges; to identify, celebrate and share local best practices; and to identify learning opportunities that may help funded partners further expand access to services. This effort provided us with valuable insights into how we can best support their vital work and vision.
The study also highlighted clear priorities from our partners on how foundations can help. They specifically requested ongoing support through capital grants and capacity-building funds for crucial needs like professional development, technology upgrades, and associated training.
To learn more, you can find the complete report here.
CSHF Grantmaking in Action: Bricker Elementary Schoolyard Renovation Groundbreaking
Photo: Bricker Elementary staff, Trust for Public Land staff and community leaders celebrating the groundbreaking of their new schoolyard, which CSHF has helped to fund through a grant to The Trust for Public Land.
What We Are Reading About or Listening to Now
- Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala is a powerful memoir of loss and a deeply moving journey through grief and resilience.
- Of Boys and Men by Richard V. Reeves. This book explores the challenges boys and men face in education, work, and family life, and offers practical solutions to help them thrive in a changing world.
- A New York Times article about the Timeless Torches, a dance group that consists of men and women over the age of 40 by Gia Kourlas, “The Timeless Torches Are Dance Warriors. We Need Them.”