Deadline: 28-Feb-25
The County Public Benefits Innovation Cohort is an opportunity for Colorado county human service departments to test innovative, breakthrough strategies that increase the number of families able to successfully utilize public benefits in their communities.
Goal
- The overarching goal of the County Public Benefits Innovation Cohort is to maximize utilization of public benefits programs among Colorado families with children.
- Acknowledging that federal, state, and local assistance programs offer an array of supports spanning nutrition assistance, subsidies and vouchers for housing or child care, cash for general living expenses, health care and prescription drug access, etc., Gary is looking to counties to determine which benefit program(s) have greatest potential for utilization improvement and therefore, hold the greatest promise of improving financial stability and quality of life.
Funding Information
- Gary anticipates awarding (4) selected county applicants $100,000 each, disbursed over a 24-month term ($50K/yr for 2 years).
What Gary is looking for in applications?
- County applicants should demonstrate an interest in better understanding key access and use challenges related to a particular public benefit (or set of benefits), and suggest early ideas to improve utilization among families, whether those families are new to the benefit or already participating.
- An ideal application will demonstrate how the county intends to:
- Identify pain points and learn about the challenges residents experience when trying to access and use benefit,
- Involve frontline staff and user insights in co-designing and testing responsive strategies, and
- Articulate what success looks like for the participating county in the short- and long-term, including anticipated increases in benefits utilization rat
For more information, visit Gary Community Ventures (Gary).
