Deadline: 28-Apr-21
The Caring For Colorado Foundation has announced a call for applications for the Together We Protect – Colorado’s COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Fund to provide funding to organizations working in communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19 to ensure that people who face systemic barriers have the most appropriate and accessible information about the COVID-19 vaccine and can access the vaccine through low-barrier opportunities.
Coloradans who live daily without access to critical services and opportunities due to race and/or their socioeconomic status have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 in Colorado. These same communities are likely to face increased challenges accessing the COVID-19 vaccine due to structural barriers, including:
- A lack of culturally responsive and accurate information;
- Access to transportation, interpretation and translation services, and technology;
- Concerns about vaccine side effects;
- Immigration-related discrimination;
- Inadequate health care services; and
- Poverty.
Together We Protect will support Colorado community-based organizations, working in partnership with state-contracted vaccine providers, to provide culturally relevant outreach, education, and support to ensure communities who face systemic barriers have access to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Funding Information
- Grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 will be awarded to applicants from across Colorado.
Eligibility Criteria
- Be a community-based nonprofit organization; community health clinic; community mental health center; local public health and/or government entity that will coordinate to align outreach, education and vaccine access in the community.
- Have deep roots in and a history of providing culturally responsive and trusted information and services in at least one of the following communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19:
- communities of color,
- immigrant and refugee communities,
- people with limited English proficiency/language barriers,
- people with disabilities,
- people experiencing homelessness/housing instability,
- LGBTQ+ individuals,
- people without health insurance,
- minimum or low-wage employees,
- older adults living on low income.
- Be currently involved in COVID-19 response and relief activities at the community level with the flexibility and capacity to quickly develop and implement activities to provide accessible information and low-barrier opportunities for immunization.
- Demonstrate clear partnership with a state-contracted vaccine provider (if a community-based organization is the applicant) OR show strong partnership with a community-based nonprofit organization for implementation (if applicant is a local government agency or vaccine provider).
- Be willing to partner with Immunize Colorado to share lessons learned, education strategies and messages, and other creative ideas that help to address barriers to immunization in communities facing systemic inequities.
Funds can be used for expenses directly related to outreach, education and vaccine access activities. The following are examples of activities the funds can be used to support:
- Community health workers to provide one-on-one or small group health education and vaccine trust building engagement (ensuring strict compliance with public health orders concerning mask wearing and social distancing).
- Education and will-building campaigns using culturally appropriate messaging and media platforms, using digital and non-digital channels best suited for different communities.
- Low-barrier vaccine access such as pop-up or targeted immunization clinics in trusted spaces (churches, community centers, schools) or door-to-door vaccines for people with mobility barriers.
- Supportive services to reduce barriers to vaccine clinics including transportation assistance, translation and interpretation, scheduling assistance for those without digital access and other supports identified at the community level.
- Other emerging and best practice strategies that support people to seek and access the vaccine.
For more information, visit https://caringforcolorado.org/together-we-protect/