DONORS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE
Philanthropy Advances Regional Mental Health Care for Kids
Philanthropy is transforming how Children’ s Colorado cares for kids with mental health care needs across the region— including rural and southern communities, along with other states— from renovated spaces in Colorado Springs to driving statewide policy change and expanding telehealth access. Together, these investments ensure more children can access safe, specialized services and receive the right care, at the right time, closer to home.
Generous Family Helps Launch Youth Mental Health Initiative
In March, Children’ s Colorado and Healthier Colorado— a nonprofit advocating for policies that positively affect Coloradans’ health— announced they will lead Mind Our Future Colorado, a statewide initiative to ensure child and youth mental health is a top priority in the 2026 gubernatorial race and beyond. Mind Our Future is strengthened by coalition partners across Colorado. Its mission is to ensure every child and family in the state can access the mental health care, community support and resources they need to thrive from their earliest years through adolescence and beyond.
Thanks to a significant investment from a generous donor family, who committed $ 500,000 as a challenge gift toward this advocacy vision as a dollar-for-dollar match, the vision for Mind Our Future can be realized, driving lasting reform with youth mental health advocacy experts who are trusted across healthcare, education and government.
Learn how you can get involved at MindOurFutureColorado. com.
Donors Invest in Mental Health Room Renovations for Colorado Springs
Children’ s Hospital Colorado, Colorado Springs is taking a transformative step forward in protecting the mental health of children, made possible through the extraordinary generosity of our donors. Thanks to $ 1.7 million in total investments by several philanthropic foundations, construction will soon to be underway on hospital rooms designed to give kids in a mental health crisis a more secure, more supportive environment for care. Children’ s Colorado has seen a 40 % rise in mental health-related emergency visits in recent years. By renovating four hospital rooms to meet these psych safer standards, we can open more beds in the Emergency Department, reduce the average length of stay and ensure that every child receives the right level of care when they need it most.
A Decade of Telehealth Care Made Possible by Philanthropy
In 2014, an anonymous donor made a visionary investment to help launch Children’ s Colorado’ s telehealth program. In its first year, 500 patient visits were conducted virtually.
No one could have predicted how vital this early groundwork would become when the COVID‐19 pandemic struck in 2020.
Telehealth visits skyrocketed, growing from 5,200 in 2019 to over 128,000 visits in 2020. Thanks to those early donations, Children’ s Colorado already had foundational infrastructure, expert staff and emerging technology in place, allowing teams to pivot rapidly and keep kids connected to essential care.
A decade later, Children’ s Colorado now provides more than 100,000 telehealth visits per year. This growth means that more families can access world‐class care from home,
6 CHANGEMAKERS