Voces Unidas de las Montañas today announced it has been awarded an unprecedented $1 million general operating grant from The Colorado Health Foundation (TCHF) to support the organization’s transformative work in the central mountain and Western Slope regions.
The 5-year grant is part of TCHF’s Advancing Advocacy and Justice with Communities of Color funding opportunity, which aims to build power in the advocacy ecosystem with organizations like Voces Unidas, which are led by and centered on people of color. The grant will support both long-term movement-building and the ability of Voces Unidas to act when high-leverage opportunities to influence more equitable policy solutions and civic reforms arise.
“Tackling racial injustice and creating health equity for communities of color requires courageous models of philanthropy, and The Colorado Health Foundation is leading by example,” Voces Unidas President and CEO Alex Sánchez said. “We work to bring health within reach of people who have been denied access to power, privilege, or income to attain justice on their own, and our ongoing partnership with The Colorado Health Foundation has enabled us to address these issues head-on over the past three years. We are forever grateful for their support.”
The most recent grant is awarded in addition to the $1.6 million TCHF has already invested in Voces Unidas since our founding in 2020. The new funding opportunity recognizes the organization’s regional importance in elevating rural voices to drive racial, economic and health justice work.
“The role that Voces Unidas plays in the High Country and Western Slope is critical to our success as a region and state,” said Beatriz Soto, Chair of the Board of Directors of Voces Unidas. “We are making tangible progress in the ongoing battle for equity, but it takes partners like The Colorado Health Foundation to achieve our mission where Latinas and Latinos are thriving at all levels of society.”
Now working in 12 Western Slope counties, Voces Unidas has established itself as the region’s leading advocacy organization created by and for Latinas and Latinos. By lifting rural Latino voices at the local, state, and federal levels, we are creating a more equitable Western Slope region for all.
Since 2020, Voces Unidas has engaged more than 9,000 Latinos in our programs, invested in the growth of more than 850 local leaders in the region, coordinated more than 320,000 touchpoints with voters, and helped pass more than 20 pieces of legislation with our support.